Federal Programs
Director of Federal Programs
Toni S. Witherow, Ph.D
Email: toniwitherow@richmond.k12.nc.us
Title I Information
Federal Programs Overview
Federal Programs provide multiple areas of support under the guidelines of federal legislation. The newly adopted, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), outlines legislation directly impacting the Richmond County School District’s federally funded programs. For additional information on Every Student Succeeds Act, please visit: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/succeeds/
TITLE I
Title I, Part A provides support to K-8 and Ashley Chapel Education Center students. There are 12 schools that receive funding and support to improve student achievement:
Elementary: East Rockingham Elementary, Fairview Heights Elementary, L.J. Bell Elementary, Mineral Springs Elementary, Monroe Avenue Elementary, West Rockingham Elementary, Washington Street Elementary
Middle: Cordova Middle, Ellerbe Middle, Hamlet Middle, Rockingham Middle
Middle/High: Ashley Chapel Educational Center
For more information regarding Title I, please visit: https://www.dpi.nc.gov/districts-schools/office-federal-programs
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ESSA
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is the latest reauthorization of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and was approved by the U.S. Congress and signed into law in December 2015. ESSA reauthorizes the nation’s national education law and longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students and replaces the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. State education leaders are developing the new North Carolina Consolidated State Plan.
ASSESSMENTS
These include more specific achievement targets for each student group, guarantees that at least 95 percent of students participate in testing, high school graduation rate targets for each student group, and attendance rate targets for students in grades K-8.
Under the new ESSA Title I School Designations, Title I schools will be categorized as:
- Targeted Support and Improvement Schools – any elementary, middle, or high school that is contributing to the achievement gap in the state.
- Comprehensive Support and Improvement Schools – a school that has been identified as among the lowest-performing schools in the state or has a graduation rate of less than 66.7%.
PUBLIC REPORTING
Under ESSA, parents will continue to receive information on their children’s progress in meeting state academic achievement standards as well as their school’s success in helping all students meet those standards. Parents will know whether their children’s schools are succeeding or falling short, by being identified as Comprehensive Support and Improvement or Targeted Support and Improvement schools. When schools fall short, parents can be assured that school leaders will adopt strategies focused on school needs and targeted towards the students most at risk.
Information about how the federal ESSA program is implemented is available on the Federal Program Monitoring’s ESSA website at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/succeeds/
We Value Your Feedback
As part of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), each year the district is required to evaluate the content and effectiveness of the District Parent and Family Engagement Policy with meaningful involvement of parents.
If you would like to provide comments and/or suggestions, please click here for the online feedback form.
Valoramos sus comentarios: En Espanol
Title I Parent Information
Title IV
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) includes a number of provisions that promote equitable access to educational opportunity, including holding all students to high academic standards, ensuring meaningful action is taken to improve the lowest-performing schools and schools with underperforming student groups, and providing more children with access to high-quality preschool. The Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) program, authorized under subpart 1 of Title IV, Part A of the ESSA, is intended to help increase the capacity of local educational agencies (LEAs), schools, and local communities to: 1) provide all students with access to a well-rounded education; 2) improve school conditions for student learning; and 3) improve the use of technology in order to improve the academic achievement and digital literacy of all students.
As a result of this funding, Richmond County Schools is beginning to integrate more STEM educational opportunities for middle school students.
Title II
TITLE II, PART A - IMPROVING TEACHER QUALITY
The primary goals of Title II - Part A are to promote teacher, principal and paraprofessional quality through strategies such as high quality professional development in core subject areas and development of mechanisms and initiatives to promote the retention and hiring of qualified teachers.