Title 1 Reading

Title 1, short for Title 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (reauthorized in 2002), is the nation's largest federally funded education program. Its goal is to provide additional academic support and resources to help participating students meet Pennsylvania's academic standards and achieve the same high levels of success expected of all children.

At Spring Grove Area School District, our Title 1 Reading Program offers targeted instruction and evidence-based teaching strategies to strengthen students' reading skills and support success in the regular classroom.

Title 1 services are tailored to meet the unique needs of each elementary school and emphasize collaboration between Title 1 teachers and classroom teachers. Through ongoing communication and progress monitoring, educators work together to provide individualized support and instructional strategies that help every student reach their full potential. 

• It offers effective instructional strategies that “minimize removing children from the regular classroom during regular school hours for instruction” to provide a well rounded education to meet the state standards.
• It “promotes the integration of (Title I) staff and children served by Title I into the regular school program and overall school planning and improvement efforts and encourages the (Title I) personnel to collaboratively teach with regular classroom teachers.”
• It offers flexibility at each elementary school to meet the needs of that specific student population using both in-class and Title I instruction. The Title I Teacher will confer with the classroom teacher about each student’s progress in reading to determine what strategies can be used for improvement.
   

Students in all grades are selected based on performance assessments.
 

• Kindergarten: a minimum of 180 minutes per cycle
• 1st  Grade: a minimum of 180 minutes per cycle
• 2nd Grade: a minimum of 180 minutes per cycle
• 3rd Grade: a minimum of 150 minutes per cycle
• 4th Grade: a minimum of 150 minutes per cycle

In Kindergarten through 4th grade, the following research-based programs and resources are available to use with students:

• Fundations
• Heggerty Phonemic Awareness
• 95% Group Phonics
• Decodable Readers
• Phonics for Reading
• UFLI

 The following materials and techniques are used:

• Heart Word Strategy
• How to Plan for Differentiated Reading Instruction
• Dictation for Encoding
• Technology Resources
• Transfer to Text Activity
•  Teaching a New Letter Protocol
• Phoneme-Grapheme Correspondences
• Additive Sound-by-Sound Blending
• Whole Word Blending
• Word Chains (Switch-It)
• Alphabet Arc
• Read It
• Trace and Say
• Word Sorts

Students are assessed using grade-level Acadience assessments. These assessments may include information on letters, sounds, fluency, accuracy, and comprehension.

Additional information may also be gathered using the CORE Phonics Survey and Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Assessments. 

Pennsylvania Department of Education

The program will be evaluated by the Pennsylvania Department of Education using the end-of-year performance assessments and the criteria for success established by building principals. 

The program will also be reviewed by administrators, teachers, and parents to ensure the goals have been met.

Parents/Guardians

Each spring, parents/guardians are asked to complete a survey about the program. Survey data is used to revise the Parent and Family Engagement Policy for each building.

Each year, parents/guardians are given the opportunity to participate on the Parent Advisory Council for the Spring Grove Area School District. 

The Title 1 Reading Specialists will share assessment information with parents/guardians at parent-teacher conferences. Progress reports (mid-year and end-of-year) will be completed for each Title 1 student.
 

Title 1 funding is a federal program directing financial aid to local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools with high concentrations of low-income students to help them meet state academic standards. Schools receive funding based on the number of Free and Reduced-Price Lunch applications they receive.

Some of the ways we spend our Title 1 funds at Paradise Elementary include:

• Salaries and benefits for reading specialists
• Summer Pre-K program (salaries, benefits, transportation,  and supplies) to provide all students with the foundational skills for success
• Targeted assistance program
• Materials and supplies
• Parent/Family engagement events 

As part of Title I requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), teachers and staff receive annual training on communicating and working with families as equal partners. Spring Grove Area School District uses SPAC Skits as part of this annual staff training.