Title 1 Program
Title I, the cornerstone of the No Child Left
Behind (NCLB) Act, is the largest federal education program. It is intended to
help ensure that all children have the opportunity to obtain a high quality
education and reach proficiency on challenging state academic standards and
assessments. Many of the major requirements in No Child Left Behind are
outlined in Title I - Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), teacher and
paraprofessional requirements, accountability, sanctions for schools designated
for improvement, standards and assessments, annual state report cards,
professional development, and parent involvement.
Title I, began with the passage of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965, provides federal funding for schools to
help students who are behind academically or at risk of falling behind.
Services can include: hiring teachers to reduce class size, tutoring, computer
labs, parental involvement activities, professional development, purchase of
materials and supplies, pre-kindergarten programs, and hiring teacher
assistants or others.
About half the schools in North Carolina receive
Title I funding as do all 115 of the state's school districts. Funding supports
Title I Schoolwide Programs and Targeted Assistance Schools, depending on the
level of poverty in the school and how the school wants to function. Schoolwide
Programs are in schools that have at least 40 percent of their children on free
or reduced-price lunch and go through a one-year planning process. School-wide
programs have flexibility in using their Title I funds, in conjunction with
other funds in the school, to upgrade the operation of the entire school.
Targeted Assistance Schools use Title I funds to focus on helping the students
most at risk of academic failure on state assessments.