ABOUT FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Talladega County Schools benefit greatly from federal educational funding. Nearly $2.5 million of Title I, Title II, Title IV, and Title V funding are utilized annually by the district to supplement the instructional program across the district.
Title I is a federal program that was established to narrow the gap in academic achievement between low-income students and their peers by providing supplemental funding to school districts. Title I is included as part of the larger Every Student Succeeds Act. The Talladega County School district uses Title I funding for a variety of purposes at 15 of the district's schools. Teachers providing supplemental instruction are employed for each of the district's Title I schools. Supplemental instructional materials and educational technology are purchased as well. In the coming months, changes will be implemented as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is instituted across the nation.
Fifteen schools in the district receive Title I assistance. These schools are classified as school-wide schools. In a school-wide school, all students enrolled at the school may receive benefits from Title I services. The Talladega County School district maintains a Consolidated Plan for the district.
As a requirement for receiving Title I funds, each school must develop a Continuous Improvement Plan. This is a detailed plan of how the faculty, administration, parents and students will utilize the Title I funds to improve the academic achievement of the school. The plan is based upon a comprehensive needs assessment at each school. This allows the school's Continuous Improvement Team to address the most critical needs at the school. The local school budget for Title I funds is developed by the team at the school to meet accountability standards and improve student achievement. This is known as school-wide authority. The CIP for each school can be found at the school or at the Talladega County Schools' central office. Parents are encouraged to participate in planning for the development of both the district and local school Title I plans. For additional information about the Title I program at your child's school, you may contact the principal.
Title I schools are also required to take measures to improve parental involvement in the educational process. Studies have shown what all good teachers know- having a parent take an active part in a child's education yields improvement in the academic achievement of the student. A portion of the Title I funding awarded to the district is set aside for use in supporting activities to improve parental involvement.
Parents' Right to Know
The Talladega County School District receives federal funds for Title I programs that are part of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). We strive to employ the most qualified teachers for the students in our system. For parents at Title I funded schools, in accordance with the law, you have the right to request information regarding the professional qualifications of your child’s classroom teacher(s). If you request this information, the district will provide you with the following as soon as possible:
- If the teacher has met state qualification and licensing requirements for the grade level and subjects in which the teacher is providing instruction;
- If the teacher is under emergency or other provisional status through which state qualifications or licensing criteria have been waived;
- If the teacher is teaching in the field of discipline of the certification of the teacher; and
- If your child is receiving Title I services from paraprofessionals and, if so, his/her qualifications.
If you would like to receive this information, please contact your local school principal and ask for the form “Parents Right to Know”. You may also download the form from our district website, www.tcboe.org. Complete the information and return it to the principal. Your request will be processed as soon as possible.
More information on Parent's Right to Know can be found here.
If you have questions or would like additional information regarding the Title I programs in Talladega County Schools, you may email Stephan Frank (firstname.lastname@example.org) for more information.
Title II contains funding for teacher and principal training and recruitment efforts at the state and local level, as well as teacher training at institutions of higher education. Title II monies are designed to rectify the problems of large numbers of students being taught by teachers with inadequate content knowledge and preparation in the subjects they are teaching.
Title II replaces the Eisenhower Professional Development Program. Title II also replaces the Class Size Reduction Program (CSR) aimed at class size reduction, teacher and principal training and recruitment. While certain elements of these two programs are still in the new Title II, the current Title is much broader and is tied to the teacher quality mandates of NCLB.
The Talladega County School District uses its Title II funding to pay for 4.40 teachers as Class Size Reduction units. For the 2019-2020 school year, these teachers are employed at Lincoln High School, Munford High School, Stemley Road Elementary, Sycamore Elementary, Watwood Elementary and Winterboro High.
English Learner / Title III
The Talladega County School district does not receive Title III funding to aid in English Language acquisition. While we do not receive this federal funding, Talladega County Schools continue to provide English language instruction to students for which English is not their first language. English Learner (EL) students are not excluded from special opportunity programs for the academically gifted, or other specialized activities based on English language proficiency, or identified for special education services because of language proficiency. English Learners are allowed to participate in Title I services on the same basis as all students in Title I participating schools.
The district has an English Learner Plan in place. Each school that has English learners enrolled provides supplemental activities to aid in the language acquisition of the student.
Questions regarding the English Learner program may be directed the Federal Programs Coordinator, email@example.com.
This is a flexible block grant program known as Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (SSAEG) under Title IV Part A, which is authorized at $1.65 billion in fiscal year 2017. Title IV, Part A authorizes activities in three broad areas:
- Providing students with a well-rounded education including programs such as college and career counseling, STEM, arts, civics and International Baccalaureate/Advanced Placement.
- Supporting safe and healthy students with comprehensive school mental health, drug and violence prevention, training on trauma-informed practices, and health and physical education.
- Supporting the effective use of technology that is backed by professional development, blended learning and ed tech devices.
The district currently utilizes this funding to provide additional school resource officers and security equipment, STEAM materials and supplies and professional development for technology.
The Rural and Low-Income School Program is designed to provide additional funds to rural school districts that serve concentrations of poor students.
Talladega County Schools use Title VI funds for several purposes. The first is the funding of additional school resource officers for the district. Finally, a portion of the funding is used to support the EL (English Learner) program with tutoring and translation services in the district.