Title I Part A, originally enacted in 1965, as part of the war on poverty to help the most disadvantaged students, is the largest federal investment in elementary and secondary education. Title I funding helps improve teaching and learning in schools with the highest concentration of poverty (based on the number of free/reduced lunch students at the schools) to help them meet challenging state academic standards.
Title I Part C (Migrant) provides supplemental educational and social services to migrant children and their families. At the preschool level, the focus is on language development and school readiness. Dropout prevention is the goal at the elementary, middle and high school levels. After-school tutoring, advocacy, counseling, social services and summer programs are provided. Parent involvement is a major focus.
Each Title I school develops a School Improvement Plan to improve the total school program after conducting a needs assessment and receiving input from the school staff, parents, and community. Each school's plan includes goals in reading, math, writing, and other subject areas. A School Improvement Plan is developed to improve the total school program after conducting a needs assessment and receiving input from the school staff, parents, and community. All of the school plans include goals in reading, math, writing, and other subject areas.
Increasing parent involvement is a major focus of all Title I schools. Each school has developed a compact—an agreement between the home and school sharing the responsibility to improve student learning—that defines their goals and expectations. Family Learning Centers are available at some Title I schools where parents can participate in parent workshops or receive one-on-one assistance and support. Many schools have a trained parent involvement liaison on staff to further assist families.
At the beginning of every school year, parents of students who attend Title I schools receive a notification (Right To Know Letter) informing parents that they have the right to request information on the professional qualifications of their child(ren)'s classroom teachers and paraprofessionals providing instructional support. In addition, schools must notify parents if their child is taught for four consecutive weeks (Parent Notification Letter) by a teacher who is not highly qualified.
Parents are encouraged to be active and involved participants in their child's education through participation in parent conferences, School Advisory Council (SAC), parent-teacher organizations (PTA/PTO), parent workshops, school events, volunteering, and other school activities.