Title I is a federally-funded program that provides supplemental educational service for eligible public and non-public school students. Services are designed to help students acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to meet academic performance standards of the IPS district and state. These services help provide support to Title I schools in an efficient, effective and timely manner in order to enable schools to address the needs of their students and staff.
Targeted Assistance School
The term “Targeted Assistance” signifies that the services are provided to a select group of students who have been identified as failing, or most at risk of failing to meet the State’s challenging content and student performance standards.
Schoolwide School
A schoolwide program permits a school to use funds from Title I to upgrade the entire educational program of the school in order to raise academic achievement for all the students. A school can become a Schoolwide School only after completing a comprehensive planning process.
Becoming a Title I School
- You need to complete an Indiana State Department of Education (IDOE) application and submit it to the Title I Office for review and submission to the state.
- IDOE selects the schools to participate in the year long planning process.
- The principal and selected teachers will be required to participate in planning workshops throughout the school year.
- IDOE Title I Office will determine, after the yearlong planning process, if schools qualify to become schoolwide schools.
No Child Left Behind
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), signed into law Jan. 8, 2002, regulates elementary and secondary education. This federal law sets three goals:
- Ensure that all students, including minorities, those from low-income families and those with special needs have an equal opportunity.
- Hold schools responsible if all children do not perform at grade level or above.
- Ensure there is a highly qualified teacher in each classroom.
To meet these goals, NCLB follows four guiding principles:
- Increased accountability for results.
- Enhanced flexibility for the way districts spend federal money.
- Expanded options for parents.
- Stronger emphasis on teaching methods that have been proven to work.
NCLB requires each state and school district to develop and implement standards, assessments and accountability plans for the areas of reading, mathematics, science and attendance. Each state is given the flexibility to define proficiency standards in each of these areas.
Under NLCB, parents may request information from their children’s schools about the professional qualifications of classroom teachers and paraprofessional staff.