What is Title I?   

The purpose of these programs is to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging state academic achievement standards and state academic assessments. This purpose can be accomplished by–

• ensuring that high-quality academic assessments, accountability systems, teacher preparation and training, curriculum, and instructional materials are aligned with challenging state academic standards so that students, teachers, parents, and administrators can measure progress against common expectations for student academic achievement;
• meeting the educational needs of low-achieving children in our nation’s highest poverty schools, limited English proficient children, migratory children, children with disabilities, Indian children, neglected or delinquent children, and young children in need of reading assistance;
• closing the achievement gap between high- and low-performing children, especially the achievement gaps between minority and non-minority students, and between disadvantaged children and their more advantaged peers;
• holding schools, districts, and states accountable for improving the academic achievement of all students, and identifying and turning around low-performing schools that have failed to provide a high-quality education to their students, while providing alternatives to students in such schools to enable the students to receive a high-quality education;
• distributing and targeting resources sufficiently to make a difference to districts and schools where needs are greatest;
• improving and strengthening accountability, teaching, and learning by using State assessment systems designed to ensure that students are meeting challenging state academic achievement and content standards and increasing achievement overall, but especially for the disadvantaged;
• providing greater decision-making authority and flexibility to schools and teachers in exchange for greater responsibility for student performance;
• providing children an enriched and accelerated educational program, including the use of school-wide programs for additional services that increase the amount and quality of instructional time;
• promoting school-wide reform and ensuring the access of children to effective, scientifically-based instructional strategies and challenging academic content;
• significantly elevating the quality of instruction by providing staff in participating schools with substantial opportunities for professional development;
• coordinating services under all parts of this title with each other, with other educational services and, to the extent feasible, with other agencies providing services to youth, children, and families; and
• affording parents substantial and meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children.

Title I supports roles for schools, districts, and states. Schools are provided much more flexibility and responsibility for determining how to spend their Title I resources, and many more schools are now able to combine more of their resources to support comprehensive reform through school-wide programs.

Districts play a critical role through providing technical assistance, coordination of services, and high-quality professional development. States anchor the program by developing challenging academic standards and aligned assessments, linking Title I, with their overall education reform efforts, and still ensuring the proper and efficient administration and use of Title I funds.

In 2006-07, Washington State received $176 million dollars to be used to provide services to 286 local school districts through locally designed intervention programs. These programs provide additional educational support and instruction for struggling students in reading, math, and language arts.

Schools, which have 40% or more of their students who qualify for free and reduced lunches, may become "school-wide" programs. After a year of rigorous planning and research on best practices to promote learning, a school may combine state and federal dollars to design a comprehensive plan to raise the achievement of all students.

The Department of Education also allocates additional Title I funds to assist schools that were not meeting their state’s standards. This "School Improvement" grant was issued to 30 Title I districts. Parents can view our Title I Parent Policy and Procedure.

What is the Learning Assistance Program (LAP)?

LAP programs serve eligible students who need intensive academic support for reading, writing, and math, or the readiness to learn these core subjects. With special emphasis on the early grades, schools use their state LAP funds to design programs that give these students the strong start they need for academic success. Bremerton School District has a LAP Reading Specialist at each elementary supporting students.