What is Title I?

The name, Title I, refers to a set of programs created by the U.S. Department of Education to distribute funding to schools and school districts with a high percentage of students from low-income families. The ultimate goal is to provide effective instruction for all students and offer additional remediation to eligible, struggling students.

Four of Appoquinimink's schools: the Appoquinimink Early Childhood Center, Brick Mill Elementary, Silver Lake Elementary and Townsend Elementary, currently operate school-wide, Title I Programs. Appoquinimink uses its Title I funds to provide reading programs for at-risk students.

Parent Involvement

Research shows that a child with a supportive family has a better chance of succeeding in school. Parents, guardians, and caregivers who attend after-school programs, communicate with teachers about homework, and attend Parent Conferences demonstrate that education is valued in their homes. Appoquinimink Schools offer families many different way to be involved and informed, including, but not limited to:

• Parenting classes
• Nightly communication via agenda books, email, websites and the Home Access Center (grades 6-12 only)
• Opportunities to volunteer in the classroom and on field trips
• Curriculum Nights
• Meet the Teacher Night
• Open House Night
• Conferences
• Education Fair
• Parent Teacher Association (PTA) / Parent Teacher Organization (PTO)
• Newsletters - school and district
• School Business Partner Program
• Parent Business Advisory Council
• Annual Satisfaction Survey (administered via Alert Now)

Additional information about Parent Involvement can be found on national websites for the Parent Information Center of Delaware, SEDL, and PTA.

Parent Rights and Title I Documents

Title I law requires a district to devote 1% of its federal funds to fostering parent and family engagement. Our schools hold events to discuss Title I programs, curriculum and the home-school connection. Flyers are sent home, website announcements are posted on school and district sites, and newsletter articles are published to keep you updated about parent meetings.

District and school policies are parent-friendly documents with a shared vision for student success. These documents are shared at Open House Events, located in schools and appear on school websites.

School-parent compacts are required by law in elementary schools to reinforce everyone's responsibilities for student achievement-teachers, students, and parents/guardians. These can be found on school websites and are distributed at various school activities and through literature.

Parents receive notification letters when their children receive Title I services and are taught by a non-highly certified teacher for four or more weeks consecutively. We encourage parent to participate in the educational process and communicate frequently with teachers to develop strong home-school relationships with core and Title I teachers.

Parents, guardians and caregivers have the right to learn about the credentials of their child's teacher(s). Parents with computers can access the Delaware Educator Data System (DEEDS) located on the Delaware Department of Education (DOE) website by clicking on this link: https://deeds.doe.k12.de.us/public/deeds_pc_home.aspx and using the Community Access boxes on the left side of the page.

Schools will notify parents and guardians in writing when their child has been instructed by a non-highly qualified teacher for four or more weeks.

How Can Your Voice Be Heard?

Parent suggestions are welcomed at the school, district and state levels because programs should reflect your child and family's needs. You are a stakeholder in the educational process and should be here to collaborate win program development and foster mutual understanding. At all three levels the goals are increasing student achievement and parent involvement.

• At the school level, you can participate in Title I Nights, curriculum nights, and become a member of the School Achievement Team to learn about the programs and practices that are in place.
• At the district level you can join committees including: Calendar Committee, Parent Advisory Council, Wellness Committee, District Achievement Team. A complete list and contact information is available from this link: http://www.apposchooldistrict.com/district/committees.cfm.
• At the state level, the Delaware State Parent Advisory Council (SPAC) welcomes district representatives to promote collaborative efforts between school districts and communities.

Notify your school principal if you would like to join the Title I activities at the building level.

ESEA/Title I Public School Choice

Appoquinimink has one school, Silver Lake Elementary, that was identified as a building in "School Improvement" for the current year. As required by the federal law, letters were mailed to families of each student enrolled at Silver Lake Elementary. The communication included an option to "choice" to either Bunker Hill or Townsend Elementary Schools for the 2011-12 school year as those two schools are not in school improvement, have comparable demographics, and are located in a different section of the geographic area that defines our school district. A copy of the letter and optional choice form mailed home to parents in August appears below:

Silver Lake Parent Choice Letter (English) PDF

Silver Lake Parent Choice Letter (Spanish) PDF

The District reserved $50,948.34 as a 20% set-aside from the Title I allocations for the 2011-2012 school year. This money will pay for the transportation of all students at Silver Lake Elementary who exercised their option to transfer to Bunker Hill Elementary or Townsend Elementary as a result of sanctions for being a school with a rating of "Under Improvement: Year 1".

While Silver Lake Elementary made enough growth on the DCAS state tests in Spring 2011 to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), they must still offer school choice and are considered "Under Improvement: Year 1" until making AYP for two consecutive years. ESEA Choice was extended to all students in the school for a second year because they must make AYP for two consecutive years before this Title I consequence is removed.

The numbers of ESEA Choice letters mailed, applications submitted to the district and applications approved are listed in the chart below. In addition, parents who selected ESEA Choice in 2010-2011 were notified that their children would remain at the selected choice school for the 2011-12 school year and for the remaining years of their elementary grades. Eleven of the choice students identified for the 2011-12 school year are students who exercised the choice option in the 2010-11 school year.

The law requires parents to have a minimal window of time lasting 14 calendar days prior to the start of school to consider exercising their option for ESEA Choice to another school. The cost of transporting students to and from these schools is paid by the school district using Title I funds earmarked for Choice for schools in improvement. Students who registered at any of these schools will be provided transportation by the Appoquinimink School District to and from school.

ESEA Choice Totals for 2011-2012

ESEA Choice Totals for 2010-2011

For further information about ESEA/Title I Public School Choice, please contact the Curriculum Director for Elementary Education at 376-4271 or Silver Lake Elementary School Principal at 378-5023.