Title I

The federal Title I program provides funds to public schools with at least a 35 percent enrollment of children from low-income families. The program is intended to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic content and student academic achievement standards. Staff development and parent involvement are key components of the Title I program. About half of North Carolina’s traditional and charter public schools and all of the state’s 115 school districts receive Title I funding. The program was established by the federal government’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act in 2001 and is now regulated by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

For more than a decade, both Park View Elementary School and South Elementary School operated highly successful Title I programs providing targeted assistance to K-3 students, with a focus on early intervention to improve reading skills. In the 2014-2015 school year, Park View and South both transitioned to operating school wide Title I programs, which offer greater flexibility in offering services to all enrolled students.  Beginning in 2015-2016, Title I school wide services were expanded to both Mooresville Intermediate School (MIS) and East Mooresville Intermediate School (EMIS).

Title I funds enable the schools to provide enhanced literacy instruction and remediation tutoring to students at risk of failing to meet the North Carolina’s end of grade performance standards. The district is extremely proud of the exceptional performance of all of its schools. On September 6, 2023, North Carolina released its state accountability results for the 2022-2023 school year and MGSD continues to be one of the top performing school districts in the region and the state. Overall proficiency improved in 12 out of 14 tested areas for Reading and Math and six out of seven schools improved their student growth performance score. Out of 115 public school district's, MGSD was ranked #5 for Grade 6 End of Grade Math and #10 for Grade 6 End of Grade Reading. MGSD ranked #3 in North Carolina for graduation rate out of 115 school districts (0.1 away from 1st place).

Although MGSD’s impressive academic results clearly demonstrate the value of the district’s focus on early intervention, a key component of which is the Title I program, MGSD’s success is rooted in more than test scores. Regarding the accountability results, Superintendent Jason Gardner said, "We are proud of the continued academic growth displayed by MGSD students and staff as we navigate the impact of COVID related learning loss, as well as a statewide teacher shortage. We are presently embarking on implementation of a new strategic plan that we believe will further our tradition of excellence."