I have been getting the question of when and if we’ll qualify for Title 1
pretty frequently. In response to this repeated query, I did a little research. I spoke with Anthony Threat, the State DOE Title 1 representative for
our region, and got a little more information to put our chance of Title 1
funding into perspective.
First of all, you can
click here for a website with extensive information on Title 1 funding, if interested.
Here is an excerpt from the website:
"Title I is a federal program that provides funds to school districts and schools with high numbers or high percentages of children who are disadvantaged to support a variety of services. Its overall purpose is to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging state academic achievement standards and assessments. The grant contains provisions for ensuring that children who are disadvantaged enrolled in private schools also benefit from the academic enrichment services funded with Title I, Part A funds."
To summarize my conversation with the regional representative for Title 1, Evansdale is VERY unlikely to
qualify for Title 1 funding anytime in the near future.
Here are some specifics:
- We live in a very poor county so there are many schools in our district with 100% of children below the poverty line.
- By law any school with 75% or higher kids below
the poverty line MUST be served with Title 1 funds. Any school below 75%
poverty is up to the discretion of the specific district whether or not to
fund.
- Title 1 funds are not a per pupil amount. That is, as
the population of the county in poverty increases, the pot of money stays the
same and gets cut into smaller and smaller pieces.
- DCSD has set their service limit at
59.86%. A school must be above that mark to get money. Other
wealthier counties have lower cut offs – some as low as 20% below poverty line
qualify for Title 1. That is not the case for DCSD.
- Schools are served in rank order by law.
Even if we hit 59.86%, there are currently 15 schools ahead of us that are not
yet being served with Title 1 funds but have higher poverty rates than
us. Even if we get to 59.86% poverty, the pie many not be able to be cut
into enough pieces for Evansdale to get a slice.
The State DOE Title 1 rep for our region (source of above
information) mentioned grants and other funding sources but did not know any specifics – he just knew they existed
somewhere. He suggested that we pursue grants and other opportunities to
bridge the gaps in our community.
In summary, I think we can close the door on the possibility of Title 1
funding and turn our attention to applying for alternate sources.
