Public Notices from the Forest Area School District's
Title I Programs

Expectations and Implementation | No Child Left Behind | Parent Involvemenet Policy |
Reading Connection | School-Parent Compact

No Child Left Behind Act

Our school district receives funds from the federal government to help improve student learning. These funds are provided under the rules and regulations of a federal program known as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001.

This education law requires every state to determine academic standards for K- 12 students and for every public district to demonstrate successful academic achievement in order to receive federal funds. This law also requires public school districts to develop a parent notification process to inform them about student progress and encourage their involvement in their child's academic success.

The following are highlights of NCLB, our district and school's responsibilities and what they mean to you and your child.

Student Achievement

NCLB requires every state to establish academic standards for what students should know and be able to do. Each district and school is measured by how well students are progressing toward and meeting these standards. All students are required to make progress as measured by a state-developed test that is administered annually at specific grade levels.

Annually, the district will publish an easy-to-read and detailed "report card" identifying the progress of each school. Included in the report card is student achievement separated into groups by:

Parents will also receive information about the professional qualifications of teachers. The annual district report card provides parents with important, timely information about the schools their children attend and how they are performing for all children, regardless of their background.

Adequate Yearly Progress

"Adequate Yearly Progress" (AYP is the phrase used to describe progress toward achieving state academic standards. AYP is the minimum level of improvement that state departments of education, school districts and school must achieve each year. The state sets the AYP standard that every school must meet so that every student is proficient in reading, math, and language arts by the school year 2013-2014. All groups of students must make the minimum level of improvement each year. Failure of any one group of students may result in a district of school not making Adequate Yearly Progress. In addition, at least 95% of students enrolled in each group must take the test each year.

Accountability

Our district receives funds under Title I of NCLB, known as "Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged." More information about Title I is attached to this notice. Although progress toward AYP is reported for all schools, there are consequences for schools and school districts that receive Title I funds but do not achieve AYP. Depending upon the number of consecutive years AYP is not achieved, a district or school that received Title I funds will be identified for needing improvement, corrective action, or restructuring. District and school staff, with the involvement of parents, must develop plans to improve student learning so that AYP is achieved by all students and by each group of students.

School Choice and Supplemental Educational Services

Any child attending a Title I school that has not made AYP for two or more consecutive years must be offered the option of transferring to a public school or public charter school, if available, in the district. The district will notify parents if their child is eligible for school choice no later than the first day of the school year following the year for which their school has been identified for improvement. The No Child Left Behind Act requires that priority for public school choice be given to the lowest achieving children from low-income families. If no opportunity for transfer to another school exists, the district will notify parents of alternatives and options.

Students from low-income families who attend Title I schools that do not make AYP for at least three years are eligible to receive additional academic help called "supplemental educational services." These services include tutoring and after-school services from agencies and organizations that have been approved by the state. The district will provide annual notice to parents about the availability of supplemental services for eligible students and information on state approved providers.

Teacher Qualifications

No Child Left Behind requires that all teachers hired to teach core academic subjects in a Title I school or program after the first day of the 2002-03 school year meet certain requirements. Core subjects include English, reading or language arts, mathematic, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history and geography. In general, teachers must have full certification, a bachelor's degree and demonstrated competence in subject knowledge and teaching. Parents of students in Title I schools are guaranteed annual notification of their "right to know" about teacher qualifications by the school district. This means parents may request and receive from the school district information regarding the professional qualifications of their child's classroom teacher(s). All teachers within the district teaching core academic subjects must meet these requirements by the end of the 2005-06 school year.

What schools receive funds from NCLB?

Each year the district demonstrates which schools are eligible to receive Title I NCLB funds. Priority is given to schools with enrollment of 35% or more students from low-income families. Schools with enrollment of 40% or more students are eligible to operate a school wide Title I program. Schools that have school wide Title I programs must involve parents in developing plans designed to raise the achievement of low-achieving students by improving instruction throughout the entire school (thus using Title I funds to benefit all children).

Parent Involvement

Research overwhelmingly demonstrates the positive effect that parent involvement has on their children's academic achievement. In the event a Title I school is identified as needing improvement, corrective action or restructuring, the district will notify parents and explain to then how they can become involved in school improvement efforts.

In addition NCLB has other specific requirements for parent involvement that include:

• planning lat the district and school levels
• writing policies/plans on parent involvement at the district and school levels
• planning and holding annual meetings with parents
• training
• coordinating parent involvement strategies among various federal education programs

Parent Notification

Throughout the year, notices will be sent to parents of children attending Title I schools. In addition, information will be made available to the community regarding progress each school and the district is making toward achieving high academic standards established by the district and state.

If at any time you have questions regarding these notices or information, please contact you child's school for clarification or assistance. Your active participation in you child's education and school is important and encouraged.

More Information about Title I and NCLB

For you convenience, we have provided you with the language directly from the the No Chile Left Behind Act of 2001.

"The purpose of Title I 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 standards and state academic assessments. This purpose can be accomplished by:

1. ensuring that high-quality academic assessments, accountability systems, teacher preparation and training, curriculum, and instructional materials are aligned with challenging state academic standards so that students, teachers, parents, and administrators can measure progress against common expectations for student academic involvement;
2. meeting the educational needs of low-achieving children in our nation's highest-poverty schools limited English proficient children, migratory children, children with disabilities, Indian children, neglected or delinquent children, and young children in need of reading assistance;
3. closing the achievement gap between high- and low-performing children, especially the achievement gaps between minority and non-minority students, and between disadvantaged children and their more advantaged peers;
4. holding schools, local educational agencies, and states accountable for improving the academic achievement of all students, and identifying and turning around low-performing schools that have failed to provide high-quality education to their students, while providing alternative to students in such schools to enable the students to receive a high-quality education;
5. distributing and targeting resources sufficiently to make a difference to local education al agencies in schools where needs are greatest;
6. improving and strengthening accountability, teaching, and learning by using state assessment systems designed to ensure that students are meeting challenging state academic achievement and content standards and increasing achievement overall, but especially for the disadvantaged;
7. providing greater decision-making authority and flexibility to schools and teacher in exchange for greater responsibility for student performance
8. providing children an enriched and accelerated educational program, including the use of school-wide programs or additional services that increase the amount and quality of instructional time;
9. promoting school wide reform and ensuring the access of children to effective, scientifically based instructional strategies and challenging academic content;
10. significantly elevating the quality of instruction by providing staff in participating schools with substantial opportunities for professional development;
11. coordinating services under all parts of this title with each other, with other educational services, and, to the extent feasible, with other agencies providing services to youth, children, and families; and
12. affording parents substantial and meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children."

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Forest Area School District
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