6171.3 At-Risk and Title 1

NORTHFIELD BOARD OF EDUCATION FILE CODE: 6171.3

Northfield, New Jersey Monitored

X Mandated

Policy X Other Reasons

TITLE I

IMPROVING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT

The district shall comply with all state and federal requirements in developing, implementing, administering and evaluating funded compensatory education programs and in particular programs and activities provided with Title I funds.

The purpose of Title I funding is to provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps.

Definitions

A Title I targeted assistance program provides supplemental Title I services to eligible students who are identified failing or most at risk of failing to meet the New Jersey Student Learning Standards and have the “greatest need” for academic assistance. Categorizing students with “the greatest need” is based entirely on academic need (low achievement) and poverty is not a factor. Title I, Part A funds may only be used to upgrade the educational program for the targeted group identified as academically at risk. Schools with targeted assistance programs do not meet the 40% poverty threshold required for a school-wide program.

A Title I school-wide program permits a school to use Title I, Part A funds to upgrade the entire educational program of the school in order to raise academic achievement for all students. A school is eligible to have a school-wide program when the school meets the 40% or greater poverty threshold and has as a goal upgrading the entire educational program with Title I, Part A funds.

(Note: the 40% or greater poverty threshold is waived for propriety and focus schools under the approved New Jersey ESEA flexibility waiver.)

District Educational Plan

The district educational plan shall be developed with timely and meaningful consultation with teachers, principals, other school leaders, paraprofessionals, specialized instructional support personnel, charter school leaders, administrators, other appropriate school personnel, and with parents of children in schools receiving Title I funds. As appropriate, the district educational plan shall be coordinated with other federal programs as detailed in the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C.A. 1400 et seq.), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (20 U.S.C.A. 701 et seq.), the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C.A. 2301 et seq.), the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C.A. 3101 et seq.), the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C.A. 9831 et seq.), the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.A. 11301 et seq.), the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (29 U.S.C.A. 3271 et seq.), and other Acts as appropriate.

The district educational plan shall describe:

1. How student progress in meeting the New Jersey Student Learning Standards shall be monitored. To ensure that students are successful in achieving the New Jersey Student Learning Standards the district shall:
2. Develop and implement a well-rounded program of instruction that meets the academic needs of all students;
3. Identify students who may be at risk for academic failure;
4. Provide additional educational assistance to individual students determined to need help in meeting the New Jersey Student Learning Standards; and
5. Identify and implement instructional and other strategies intended to strengthen academic programs and improve school conditions for student learning;
6. How the district shall identify and address any disparities that result in low-income students and minority students being taught at higher rates than other students by ineffective, inexperienced, or out-of-field teachers;
7. How the district shall carry out its responsibilities when the district is identified as needing comprehensive support and improvement and targeted support and improvement;
8. The poverty criteria that will be used to select school attendance areas under the federal law (section 1113);
9. The nature of the programs to be conducted by the district schools including school-wide and targeted assistance programs (sections 1114 and 1115) and, where appropriate, educational services provided outside the schools for children living in local institutions for neglected or delinquent children, and for neglected and delinquent children in community day school programs;
10. The services the district will provide homeless children and youths, including services to support the enrollment, attendance, and success of homeless children and youths, in coordination with the services the district is providing under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.A. 11301 et seq.);
11. The strategy the district will use to implement effective parent and family engagement;
12. If applicable, how the district will support, coordinate, and integrate Title I services with early childhood education programs, including plans for the transition of participants in preschool programs to elementary school programs;
13. How teachers and school leaders, in consultation with parents/guardians, administrators, paraprofessionals, and specialized instructional support personnel, in schools operating a targeted assistance school program, will identify the eligible children most in need of services;
14. How the district will implement strategies to facilitate effective transitions for students from middle grades to high school and from high school to postsecondary education including, if applicable coordination with institutions of higher education, employers, and other local partners; and increase student access to early college high school or dual or concurrent enrollment opportunities, or career counseling to identify student interests and skills;
15. How the district will support efforts to reduce the overuse of discipline practices that remove students from the classroom;
16. As appropriate, how the district will support programs that coordinate and integrate academic and career and technical education content through coordinated instructional strategies; and
17. Any other information on how the district proposes to use funds to meet the purposes of the federal Title I program including identifying and serving gifted and talented students; and developing effective school library programs to provide students an opportunity to develop digital literacy skills and improve academic achievement.

If the district educational plan is not satisfactory to the parents/guardians of participating children, the district shall submit the parent/guardian comments with the plan to the New Jersey Department of Education.

Parent and Family Engagement

The Superintendent or his or her designees shall ensure that parents/guardians and family members are involved in developing the district Title I educational plan. The district shall provide the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist and build the capacity of all participating schools within district in planning and implementing effective parent and family involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance. In providing coordination, technical assistance, and other support, the Superintendent or his or her designee may obtain meaningful consultation with employers, business leaders, and philanthropic organizations, or individuals with expertise in effectively engaging parents and family members in education. To the extent feasible and appropriate, parent and family engagement strategies shall be coordinated and integrated with other relevant Federal, State, and local laws and programs. The Superintendent shall ensure that an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parent and family engagement policy is conducted annually.

Parents/guardians shall be involved in the activities of the schools. These activities may include establishing a parent advisory board comprised of a sufficient number and representative group of parents or family members of the district schools to adequately represent the needs of the district population for the purposes of developing, revising, and reviewing the board parent and family engagement policy.

School Level Parent and Family Engagement

Each district school served by Title I funds shall convene an annual meeting at a convenient time, to which all parents/guardians of participating children shall be invited and encouraged to attend. The purpose of this meeting shall be to inform parents/guardians of programs and activities provided with Title I funds, to explain the federal requirements for participation in the federal Title I program, and inform parents/guardians of their right to be involved.

The building principal or his or her designee shall ensure that parents/guardians are involved, in an organized, ongoing and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of Title I programs. Parents/guardians shall be included in the planning, review, and improvement of the school parent and family engagement effort consistent with board policy for targeted assistance programs and/or the joint development of the school-wide program plan.

A flexible number of meetings shall be offered, such as meetings in the morning or evening. Transportation, child care, or home visits, as such services relate to parental involvement may be provided with Title I funds.

The parents/guardians and family members of all participating children shall be invited to attend and participate in district Title 1 programs. The principal or his or her designee shall ensure opportunities are provided for the informed participation of parents and family members (including parents and family members who have limited English proficiency, parents and family members with disabilities, and parents and family members of migratory children), including providing information and school reports required by law in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents/guardians understand.

Specifically parents/guardians of participating children shall:

1. Receive timely information about programs and activities provided with Title I funds;
2. Receive a description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and the achievement levels of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards; and
3. If requested by parents/guardians, be provided opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children, and respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible.

If the school-wide program plan is not satisfactory to the parents/guardians of participating children, the principal or his or her designee shall submit any parent/guardian comments with the school-wide plan to the Superintendent and the board.

This parent and family engagement policy shall be distributed to parents and family members of participating children.

Building Capacity for Parent and Family Engagement

The Superintendent shall ensure effective involvement of parents/guardians and implement appropriate measures to support a partnership among the schools, parents/guardians, and the community to improve student academic achievement. The Superintendent or his or her designee shall ensure that each of the district schools shall at a minimum:

1. Provide assistance to parents/guardians in understanding New Jersey Student Learning Standards, the New Jersey Department of Education approved statewide proficiency assessments, school administered assessments, the requirements under federal law, and how to monitor a child’s progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children;
2. Provide materials and training to help parents to work with their children to improve their children’s achievement;
3. Educate teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, principals, and other school leaders, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and the school;
4. Coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs and activities to the extent feasible, with other Federal, State, and local programs, including public preschool programs, and conduct other activities, that support involvement;
5. Ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to the parents of participating children in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand; and
6. Provide such reasonable support as requested by parents/guardians.

School-Parent Compact

High student achievement is a shared responsibility. Each school receiving Title I funds shall jointly develop a school-parent compact that outlines how parents, the entire school staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership to help children achieve the State’s high standards. Such compact shall:

1. Describe the school’s responsibility to provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables the children to meet the challenging State academic standards;
2. Describe the ways in which each parent will be responsible for supporting their children’s learning; volunteering in their child’s classroom; and participating, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children and positive use of extracurricular time; and
3. Address the importance of communication between teachers and parents/guardians on an ongoing basis through, at a minimum:
4. Parent-teacher conferences in elementary schools, at least annually, during which the compact shall be discussed as the compact relates to the individual child’s achievement;
5. Frequent reports to parents on their children’s progress;
6. Reasonable access to staff, opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child’s class, and observation of classroom activities; and

4. Ensuring regular two-way, meaningful communication between family members and school staff, and, to the extent practicable, in a language that family members can understand.

Annual Evaluation

An annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of all schools shall be conducted with the meaningful involvement of parents and family members. The annual evaluation shall identify:

1. Barriers to greater participation by parents in activities authorized with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background;
2. The needs of parents and family members to assist with the learning of their children, including engaging with school personnel and teachers; and
3. Strategies to support successful school and family interactions.

The findings of the evaluation shall be used to design evidence-based strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary, the parent and family engagement policy.

Comparability of Services

*Note: This section shall not apply to a district that has only one building for each grade span.

As a condition of receiving Title I funds, State and local funds shall only be used in the schools to provide services that, taken as a whole, are at least comparable to services in schools that are not receiving Title I funds. When all the schools of the district are served by Title I funds, the district will use State and local funds to provide services that, taken as a whole, are substantially comparable in each school. Comparability may be on a grade-span by grade-span basis or a school-by-school basis.

To be in compliance with the requirements of federal law the board of education shall establish a district-wide salary guide.

The board directs the Superintendent to assign teachers, administrators, and other staff to the schools in such a way that equivalence of personnel is ensured among the schools. In addition, the board directs the Superintendent to distribute curriculum materials and instructional supplies to the schools in such a way that equivalence is ensured among the schools.

1. Equivalence

In order to meet the requirements for equivalence the board shall file with the New Jersey Department of Education a written assurance that the following has been established and implemented in the district:

1. A district-wide salary schedule;
2. A policy to ensure equivalence among schools in teachers, administrators, and other staff; and
3. A policy to ensure equivalence among schools in the provision of curriculum materials and instructional supplies.
4. Determination of Expenditures

In the determination of expenditures per pupil from State and local funds, or instructional salaries per pupil from State and local funds, staff salary differentials for years of employment shall not be included in such determinations.

1. Exclusion

Unpredictable changes in student enrollment or personnel assignments that occur after the beginning of a school year shall be excluded in determining comparability of services.

1. Procedures and Records

The Superintendent shall develop procedures for compliance with these requirements and maintain records that are updated biennially documenting the district’s compliance.

Supplement not Supplant

The Northfield School District shall use Title I funds only to supplement and to the extent practical increase the level of funds that would, in the absence of Title I funds, be made available for the education of pupils participating in Title I or state compensatory education projects. In no case shall Title I funds be used to supplant those non‑Title I or non-state compensatory education funds.

Maintenance of Effort

The board of education will maintain a combined fiscal effort per pupil or aggregate expenditures of state and local funds with respect to the provision of the public education for the preceding fiscal year that is not less than 90% of the required amount of the combined fiscal effort per pupil or the aggregate expenditures for the second preceding fiscal year.

Eligibility for State and Federal Funds

The Superintendent shall ensure that all requirements for receiving state and federal funds shall be fulfilled in an accurate and timely manner.

Control over such funds and title to all equipment and supplies purchased with such funds shall remain with the board of education. Procurement, control, use and disposition of equipment and supplies purchased with state/federal funds shall be in full compliance with the law.

General

The Superintendent shall direct appropriate administrative personnel to pursue vigorously all possible sources of funding, either state or federal, that support such compensatory services, and shall keep abreast of all changes in the law which restrict or expand the district’s use of state or federal funds.

Programs especially designed for migrant children shall be provided as necessary.

Adopted: No Date

NJSBA Review/Update: December 2009; January 2018

Readopted: October 24, 2011

Key Words

State/Federal Funds, Federal Funds, Compensatory Instruction, Basic Skills, Maintenance of Effort, Supplement not Supplant, Comparability, At-Risk Pupils

Legal References: N.J.S.A. 18A:35‑4.9 Pupil promotion and remediation; policies and procedures

N.J.S.A. 18A:59‑1

through ‑3 Apportionment and distribution of federal funds; exceptions

N.J.A.C. 6A:30-1.1et seq. Evaluation of the Performance of School Districts

42 U.S.C.A. 2000d ‑ 2000d4 – Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Hawkins-Stafford Elementary and Secondary School Improvement Act of 1988, (Pub. L. No. 100-297) amending Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, Pub. L. 114-95, 20 U.S.C.A. 6301 et seq.

Resources: New Jersey Department of Education Every Student Succeeds (ESSA) Guidance Document located at: http://www.state.nj.us/education/ESSA/guidance/njdoe/DistrictGuide.pdf (Last accessed 1/2/2018.)

New Jersey Department Of Education Webinar: An Introduction To Title I Targeted Assistance Programs. Located at: http://www.state.nj.us/education/title1/grants/ (Last accessed 1/2/2018.)

New Jersey Department Of Education Webinar: Transition from a Targeted Assistance Title I Program of Schoolwide Program. Located at: http://www.state.nj.us/education/title1/grants/ (Last accessed 1/2/2018.)

Possible

Cross References: *3220/3230 State funds; federal funds

*3514 Equipment

*5120 Assessment of individual needs

*5200 Nonpublic school pupils

*6122 Articulation

*6141 Curriculum design/development

*6142.2 English as a second language; bilingual/bicultural

*6142.6 Basic skills

*6171.1 Remedial instruction

*6171.4 Special education

*Indicates policy is included in the Critical Policy Reference Manual.