1. Title I Annual Orientation
2012-2013
Federal Support
for
World-Class Schools
Berkmar Middle School
August 28, 2012
1

2. Agenda
• Slide Show Presentation: Title I Orientation
• Title I Overview
Georgia’s New Accountability and School Status
• Title I Planning
• Needs Assessment
• Title I Budget: 410 Budget, Set Aside
• Title I Parent Center
• Title I Documents: Parent Involvement Policy, Action Plan,
School/Parent Compact
• Parents’ Rights
• Parent Information Resource Center
• Volunteering and Parent Needs
• Questions/Answers
2

3. Title I Overview
• The goal for our program tonight is to provide information to you
about Berkmar Middle School’s Title I Program.
• As a Title I School, we receive funds from the federal
government to provide additional resources to assist with the
education of our at-risk children.
• We qualify for these additional funds because a large
percentage of our students receive free or reduced meals at our
school.
• The Title I funds received by our school are used to supplement
the state and local funds allocated to our school.
08/13/2012 3

4. Title I Overview (cont’d)
• Our school operates a Title I Schoolwide Program model.
• The goal of our Title I Program is to ensure every child is able to
learn and perform at levels that meet or exceed the state
academic standards.
• The Title I federal funds we receive help to achieve this goal.
• These additional resources allow us to provide enhanced
instructional programs for our most at-risk students and the
opportunity for our parents to be involved in their children’s
education.
08/13/2012
4

5. Title I Overview (cont’d)
• All of our students benefit from Title I funds through:
• additional teachers to lower class sizes;
• professional development and release days for our teachers;
• our on-site Parent Center;
• technology;
• math, reading, social studies, and science labs; and
• supplemental instructional materials
• To continue receiving these funds, there are guidelines we must
follow to comply with requirements mandated by the U.S.
Department of Education.
08/13/2012
5

6. Georgia’s New Accountability
• An application, requesting flexibility through waivers of ten Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) requirements and their
associated, regulatory, administrative and reporting requirements, was
submitted to the U.S. Department of Education (USED) by the Georgia
Department of Education (GaDOE).
• On February 9, 2012, Georgia’s Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (ESEA) Flexibility Waiver was approved by the USED.
08/13/2012
6

7. Georgia’s New Accountability
• Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, the Georgia Department
of Education will use preset formulas to determine which schools
(state-wide) are in need of the most support to improve the
academic performance of students.
• Student performance data from the 2010-2011 school year was
used to determine which schools are categorized as:
 Priority
 Focus
 Alert
• Current data from the 2011-2012 school year is now available to
provide more accurate information on our students’ performance.
08/13/2012
7

8. New Categories for Schools
Priority Schools:
• Identified every three (3) years
• Five percent (5%) of Title I Schools:
 The lowest performing Title I Schools in Georgia, based upon student
achievement (all students group) on statewide assessments
 Schools that have demonstrated a lack of progress on statewide assessments,
over a number of years (all students group)
 Title I participating or Title I eligible high schools with a graduation rate of less
than sixty percent (60%) over a number of years
 Tier I or Tier II schools under the School Improvement Grant (SIG) Program,
currently using SIG funds to implement interventions
08/13/2012
8

9. New Categories for Schools
Focus Schools:
• Identified every three (3) years
• Ten percent (10%) of Title I schools with:
 graduation rate of less than 60% over past two years;
 the largest within-school gaps between subgroups (highest achieving versus
lowest achieving); or
 the largest within-school (high school) gaps in graduation rates.
Alert Schools:
• Both Title I and Non-Title I Schools
• Identified annually
• Categorized as Graduation Alert, Subgroup Alert, or Subject Alert
08/13/2012
9

10. Title I Planning
• Our Schoolwide Plan (SWP) aligns with the Local School Plan for
Improvement (LSPI), which addresses the areas in which we want to
improve, so that all of our students will be successful.
• Our SWP Plan includes:
• a needs assessment,
• a detailed description of the academic programs and activities available to improve
student achievement;
• our school plan for working with our parents to become partners in their children’s
education; and
• the Title I Budget, federal funds that the school receives to assist in accomplishing the
goals outlined in the Schoolwide Plan.
08/13/2012
10

11. Title I Planning
• All parents were invited to participate in our Title I Planning Process
• Other participants include administrators, teachers, community members, and
students (high school)
• During the planning, we worked together to:
• Conduct a needs assessment by reviewing three years of student data, in addition
to surveys, evaluations, and other feedback;
• Determine our school’s strengths and areas for improvement
• Set goals for improvement
• Determine how to spend Title I funds allocated to the school to improve academic
achievement of our low performing students
• Revise our Schoolwide Plan for Improvement
08/13/2012
11

12. Title I Planning
We invite you to participate in our
Title I Planning Meeting
Our Title I Planning meeting was held on Thursday, Aug. 16th. If
you would like to participate in any future Title I planning
meetings, please contact Ms. Martin in the Parent Center.
08/13/2012
12

13. Needs Assessment
• Each summer, school faculty meet to review and discuss school
data. This data includes the following:
• Non-academic data including:
• Class Size Data, Stability and Mobility Rates, Student Attendance ~ Absent over 15
days, Student Ethnicity ~ October FTE Count Days, Socio Economic Data ~ Free and
Reduced Lunch Rate, Discipline Data
• Parent, Student, and Staff Surveys Results
• ESEA Waiver for the 2012 Performance Year
• Participation
• Reading, English/Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, and Science 2012 CRCT
Scores
• Historical 4 year trends for all subgroups in Reading, English/Language Arts, Math,
Social Studies, and Science CRCT Scores
• ITBS Results: Reading, Language Arts and Math, 2011-12
• 2012 Grade 8 Writing Assessment
• Gwinnett County Accountability and Assessment System Assessments
• Once reviewed, a detailed decision is reached regarding the
needs of our school. 08/13/2012
13

14. Needs Assessment (cont’d)
Berkmar Middle School’s needs assessment revealed areas for
improvement in Reading, Writing, Math, Science and Social
studies. In addition, concerns were found in the area of
technology indicating a need to increase student access to
technology and ensuring all content teachers have equivalent
resources.
Note – Title I expenditures must be linked to our school’s indentified academic
needs in one or more of the four core areas: Reading/Language Arts, Math,
Science, and Social Studies.
08/13/2012
14

15. Needs Assessment (cont’d)
The information below details our school’s current needs:
• Reading -Professional development activities, extended learning time,
textbooks for ELL, Reading/Language Arts ELT
• Writing – Professional development activities, Writing ELT program
• Math –Printing for math support booklets, 3 additional math, Math ELT
program professional development activities
• Science – Professional development activities, extended learning time,
release days, science materials
• Social Studies –Professional Development Activities, extended
learning time, release days, social studies supporting materials (Coach
Books)
• Discipline –Professional development for new and returning teachers
on the BMS discipline plan
• Technology, etc. – Software programs for student learning (Star
Reading and Math), Smartboard and Smart Responders, toners and
cartridges, and computer hardware
08/13/2012
15

16. Title I Budget - 410
Fund 410 Allocation = $440,080
Title I School-wide Program Positions = $ 294,385
• 1 6th grade teacher – Social Studies , 1 6th grade teacher - -Math, 1 7th grade teacher –
Science, 1 7th grade teacher – Math, 1 8th grade teacher – Social Studies , 1 8th grade
teacher – Math
Direct Instruction = $118,471
• SMART boards and Student Response systems that are used in the classroom to support
teaching and learning, Afterschool and Saturday ELT programs, STAR Reading and
Math, Mobile Laptop labs, supplies for ELT Program
Instructional Support = $24,453
• Provides opportunities for teachers to attend conferences that support teaching and
learning, conference travel and registration, professional development stipends, release
days for instructional planning
Parent Involvement = $2,771
• Salary for interpreters, childcare, presenters, postage, Coach books and
supplies, refreshments, printing
08/13/2012
16

17. Parent Involvement Set Aside
• For the 2012-2013 school year, Gwinnett County Public Schools has
received approximately $35,575,625 for Title I.
• By law, one percent (1%) of the total amount received is “set aside” for
parent involvement. The parent involvement set aside for 2012-2013 is
$3,800,000, which is greater than the required 1%.
• One hundred percent (100%) of the parent involvement set aside goes
directly to the Title I Schools.
• Gwinnett County Title I Principals have all agreed to combine each
school’s parent involvement funds to provide a Parent Instructional
Support Coordinator (PISC) at each Schoolwide Program School.
08/13/2012
17

18. Title I Parent Center
• The Berkmar Middle School’s Parent Center is in the front 7th grade
hallway, second door on the right, room 1.209B.
• The Parent Center is open Monday-Friday from 8:15 a.m-4:15 p.m.
• The Parent Instructional Support Coordinator (PISC) is Melissa
Martin.
770-279-6401
Melissa_L_Martin@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
08/13/2012
18

19. Title I Parent Center (cont’d)
• The Parent Center resources and the PISC are available to
support you in meeting the instructional needs of your children.
• The Center will be offering many workshops/training sessions for
parents throughout this school year.
Remember, our Parent Center
is a place you can always go for assistance.
08/13/2012
19

20. Title I Parent Handbook
The Title I Parent Handbook provides you with
detailed information about Title I from the district,
state, and federal level. Contact information is
available for the GCPS Title I office.
08/13/2012
20

21. Title I Parent Involvement Policy
• The Title I Parent Involvement Policy describes our plan for
involving you and other parents in your children’s education.
• A copy of the our school’s Title I Parent Involvement Policy is
sent home with each student. It is also available on our school’s
website:
http://onmycalendar.com/Sites/BerkmarMS/home.html?
• The Gwinnett County Public Schools Parent Involvement Policy
is printed in the Title I Handbook issued to all parents of
students attending Title I Schools. That policy is also available
on the Gwinnett County Public Schools website:
gwinnett.k12.ga.us
08/13/2012
21

22. Title I Parent Action Plan
• The School’s Title I Parent Involvement Action Plan provides
detailed information about the workshops/training sessions that
will be presented through the school’s Parent Center for parents
this school year.
• Invitations and reminders about these events will also be posted
on our school’s website.
08/13/2012
22

23. Title I School-Parent Compact
• One way to support student achievement is through a Title I
School/Parent Compact.
• The Compact is an agreement made by administrators, teachers,
parents, and students about the kinds of things each will do to ensure
that children are meeting grade level expectations.
• Research shows that when parents know what their children are
doing in school and help support them at home, children will be more
successful in school.
• Parents are invited to participate in Title I planning to help revise our
School-Parent Compact every year.
08/13/2012
23

24. Title I Parent Receipt of Documents
• The Title I Parent Involvement Packet includes the following
documents:
 Title I Parent Handbook
 School Parent Involvement Policy
 Title I Parent Involvement Action Plan
 Title I School/Parent Compact
• This packet also includes a letter called the Title I Receipt of
Documents which needs to be signed and returned to the school
by your child.
• The signed receipt of documents lets the school know that
parents have all of the Title I documents in their possession.
08/13/2012
24

25. Parents’ Rights
As a parent, you have rights that you should understand:
• You have the right to request information about the qualifications
(certification and teaching credentials) of your child’s teacher or
paraprofessional.
• You have rights under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment
(PPRA) to be notified of any planned student activities and surveys
for marketing services and certain physical examinations conducted
by the school district. In addition, you have the right to review and
opt out of such surveys and activities.
08/13/2012
25

26. Parents’ Rights (cont’d)
• You have the right under the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act
(FERPA) of 1974 to protect the privacy of your child’s education
records.
• High Schools under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
(ESEA) must comply with a request by a military recruiter or an
institution of higher education for secondary students’ names,
addresses, and telephone numbers, unless you as a parent opt out of
providing such information.
08/13/2012
26

27. Parents’ Rights (cont’d)
• If you have complaints or concerns about our school’s Title I
Program, you may submit them to Kelly Paurowski, the Title I
Assistant Principal (AP).
• The Title I AP may be reached by phone at 770-279-6400, by email
at Kelly_Paurowski@gwinnett.k12.ga.us or by visiting the school.
The Title I AP’s office is located in the 7th Grade Office. This process
is also included in the Parents’ Rights handout.
• All of these parent rights are also listed in the Title I Parent
Handbook and the Gwinnett County Student Handbook you
received at the beginning of the school year.
08/13/2012
27

28. Parent Information Resource Center (PIRC)
• The National Parental Information Resource Center (PIRC) Grant
was not approved in the 2011 budget that ended September 30,
2011.
• The Georgia PIRC will no longer be in existence after September
2012.
• With the closing of PIRC, you may use resources offered through
Communities in Schools of Georgia
600 West Peachtree Street, Suite 1200
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
Main: (404) 888-5784
Website: cisga.org
08/13/2012
28

29. Reminders
• Please make sure that you sign–in on the parent sign-in sheets located
on the table as you entered the Media Center for tonight’s Title I
Annual Orientation Meeting.
• Before leaving, please complete the evaluation and drop it in the box
located on the table with the sign-in sheets. Thank you!
• We also ask that you sign-in in the front lobby before going to the areas
designated for Curriculum Night. We appreciate your help in
documenting your involvement in our school’s parent programs.
08/13/2012
29

30. Title I Schoolwide Programs
support
Gwinnett County Public Schools’ Vision
To become a system of world-class schools
where students acquire the knowledge and skills to be
successful as they continue their education
at the post secondary level and/or enter the work force.
08/13/2012
30

31. Thanks
Thank you to all of our parents, our students,
our teachers, and our staff for your commitment to
our school and for being here tonight. Together we
can attain success for all of our students. As the
achievement standards continue to rise,
we will meet the even higher goals that have been
set for us this year.
08/13/2012 31