Title I Part A

Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged

Title I is the largest single program of federal aid for elementary and secondary education. Decisions on the use of Title I funds are focused on needs at the school level within general guidelines from the state and district level. The critical element of the law is accountability, which requires educators to show results for their efforts rather than mere compliance with program rules.

Schools which have a high percentage of children qualifying for free or reduced priced meals receive an allocation of federal dollars. This allocation is formula based and used to pay for resources to support the purpose of Title I and the goals of the school’s School Improvement Plan.

What Families Need to Know About Title I:

Title I, Part A is a federal grant program designed to give educational assistance to ensure that all children meet challenging state academic content and student achievement standards.

School programs must use instructional strategies based on evidence research and implement family engagement activities. Title I is dedicated to improving the educational opportunities for all students by helping them:

succeed in the regular program
attain grade-level proficiency
improve academic achievement

FLVS Full Time Title I Schools:

Resources and Contacts:

Parent and Family Engagement

When schools work together with families to support learning, children are better prepared to succeed not just in school, but throughout life. FLVS has always recognized that a child’s education is a responsibility shared by the school and family. Although parents come to schools with diverse backgrounds, primary languages, and needs, they want their children to be successful in school. Title I, Part A has strengthened and/or expanded requirements for involving the parents of Title I students to partner with their school for improved student achievement.

Parent and Family Engagement Plans

The School Parent Liaison role is school-based and identified at each Title I, Part A School. The responsibilities of this position include working with parents, staff, and administrators to increase student academic achievement by building capacity and increasing parent involvement.

School Parent and Family Engagement Contacts:

FLVS Parent Liaisons:

Family Engagement Coordinator: Kimberly Wilson
Elementary School: Donia Rinaldi
Middle School: Melissa Perez
High School: Beth Sweet

Parent’s Right to Know

Annually, the district, through our full-time schools, must disseminate a letter that any parent can request for information about any teacher of their child. Under federal law, parents have the right to know:

All Title I schools are required to employ only state-certified teachers and highly-qualified instructional paraprofessionals. If at any time your child is taught by a teacher who is not certified, your school will notify you.

In addition, families have the right to:

Request whether your child’s teacher and/or paraprofessional meet the state certification or qualification requirements for the grade levels and subject areas in which they provide instruction.
Request whether a teacher and/or paraprofessional is teaching under emergency or other provisional status where state qualification or licensing criteria have been waived.
Request information on the baccalaureate degree major of a teacher and/or paraprofessional and any other graduate certification or degree held by the teacher and/or paraprofessional, and the field of discipline of the certification or degree.

If you would like to receive this information, please contact your child’s school principal.

Families in Transition

Authorized under Federal law through the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act, the FLVS district homeless education program, Families in Transition, provides services to ensure identified homeless children and youth have access to a free and appropriate public education by removing educational barriers due to homelessness. The McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless children as “individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence."

Upon identification of a student who appears to meet the definition as described above, school personnel should refer to the registrar for updated coding. Every effort should be made by all school personnel to properly identify homeless children and youth and connect them with appropriate personnel and/or services that best meet their needs.

Contacts:

FLVS Full Time Homeless Liaison, Viettka Jones
FLVS Full Time Title I, Part A Administrator, Jenny McDonough

Additional Resources

Caregiver's Authorization Form (PDF). This form is required to be completed only if the student is not residing with a legal parent or guardian. This is not a legal document; it is only required documentation for our records. If the adult enrolling the student has legal documentation of custody, this form is not necessary. If a student is an unaccompanied youth they should complete this form for the school to gather more information.
Florida Office of Homeless
Florida Coalition for the Homeless
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth
National Center for Homeless Education
FLVS Policy on Homeless Student Education (PDF)

McKinney- Vento Dispute Resolution

When a dispute occurs, the student shall be enrolled immediately, receive an enrollment decision in writing, and be referred to the District’s Liaison, who will carry out the dispute resolution per the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2001 (42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(3)(E)).

Dispute Resolution Process

If an enrollment dispute develops regarding the enrollment options available under the McKinney-Vento Act:

The student shall be immediately admitted to the school of origin or the local attendance area school as request by the parent or unaccompanied youth, pending resolution of the dispute.
The Principal shall complete the electronic “School Selection Committee Request” which notifies the District’s Liaison a written explanation of the school’s position regarding school selection of a student and the nature of the dispute.
The parent and/or student shall be referred to the District’s Homeless Liaison, who shall ensure the resolution process is carried out as expeditiously as possible after receiving notice of the dispute.
The Homeless Liaison shall refer the matter to the “School Selection Committee”, who shall, within 15 business days after receipt, schedule a meeting with school administration, and the family in an effort to resolve the dispute. The primary objective in reaching a resolution is to determine whether maintaining the student’s current enrollment is in the student’s best interest.
In the event the matter is not resolved, the District shall provide the parent or guardian of the student or the unaccompanied youth with a written explanation of the District’s decision regarding school selection, including the rights of the parent, guardian or student to appeal the decision through the District’s enrollment dispute procedure and the Florida Department of Education’s appeal process. The Homeless liaison will report the incident in the FDOE Dispute Resolution Tracking System.
The Homeless Liaison will provide the parent, guardian or student the FLDOE School Dispute Resolution Appeal Process form. The form must be completed and returned to the Homeless Liaison within 10 business day, who shall send it, along with any additional written documentation provided by the school, to FLDOE. The Homeless Liaison will report the state-level appeal in the FDOE Dispute Resolution Tracking System.
Upon receipt of the notice of appeal, the State Homeless Education Coordinator must within 10 working days, convene a FDOE panel, comprised of the Coordinator, the Director of the Title I Programs, and the Chief of the Bureau of Student Assistance. This panel shall review the entire record of the dispute, including any written statements submitted, and make a determination based on the child’s or youth’s best interest.
Within 10 business days of receipt of the recommendation, the Commissioner shall make the final determination. For educational purposes, the decision of the Commissioner in such cases is final. The FDOE will provide a written decision regarding the appeal to all parties involved, including the LEA Homeless Liaison.

To request this process, please complete the Dispute Resolution Form (PDF) and return to FLVS Full Time as indicated in the form.