Interviews

Facts obtained from Title One Interview with Mrs.Miller from Mabel Elementary:

Mabel is a school-wide Title One program.  This means that they have more flexibility with how they spend the Title One money.  Mabel chooses to spend the bulk of its money on extra personnel.  They hired an extra classroom teacher.  Mrs. Miller’s position as the Title One Reading teacher is funded with Title One moneys.  Mabel also keeps a full-time guidance and a full-time speech personnel instead of part-time positions funded with county money.  They all hire tutors and extra teacher assistants with the money. They also purchase software and books with some of the money but not much is left over after the personnel costs. At least one percent of the money is reserved for parent development.
 The Title One program is designed to help with reading and math.  At Mabel, they spend most of their money on reading because their test scores are weaker in that area.
 Mrs. Miller has been at Mabel elementary school since 1991.  Before that she spent one year at Hardin Park school.
 She told me how the Title One program tries to help the various grade levels. Before the children start Kindergarten, they are assessed at the Kindergarten open house.  Parents can check out games from April through July to help their child improve before they begin school in the Fall.
 In the first grade, the needy children start the Early Steps program.  Children are chosen based on a screening process.  The neediest are served first and they continue to fill slots until there is no more room.
 In second and third grade, children are pulled out to work on the reading.  They read, work on skills and do a variety of activities.  In fourth and fifth grade, students also participate in a pull-out program.
 There is an extra teacher in the sixth grade that is funded with Title One money so Mrs. Miller does not work with the sixth graders.  They have smaller class size so the classroom teacher is better able to give more one on one instruction.
 In the seventh grade, Mrs. Miller teaches Pre-Algebra.  This might seem unusual that she would teach the more advanced students but as a class whole it is more likely that these students will make the necessary growth.
 Mrs. Miller also does a lot of diagnostic and prescriptive work for teachers.  She finds out individual students’ strengths and weaknesses.
 The Title One money is tied to making yearly growth.  As long as Mabel students make the necessary growth, Mabel can spend the money as they choose.  If half the students were not on free and reduced lunch, Mabel would have more strict guidelines on what they could spend money on.
 

Facts obtained from Title One interview with Mrs. Jones from Bethel Elementary:

Bethel is a full Title One school. This means that any child regardless of income is able to benefit from Title One programs. Title One is federally funded and Bethel gets a $5,000 per year budget.  The Title One programs are mainly reading but they can have math programs as well. First grade is a priority, then 2nd, Kindergarten, and 3rd grade.
Tutors can be hired with Title One funds for ten hours per week. There is no limit to what can be bought with the money as long as they can justify the need for it. The spending is well regulated and everything bought with the money must be documented.
Students are given different assessments based on grade level to determine if they will qualify for Title One. First graders are given the ERSI and Kindergarten and second graders are given a different assessment. For grades 3-8 they look at EOG scores. Teacher recommendation is also taken into account when considering a child for Title One. There is a lot of parent involvement with the programs.
Last year, there was a lot of inclusion with the programs in the classroom. This year, they are pulling the kids out of the classroom.
Mrs. Jones takes 6 hours of reading classes per year in order to be a Title One teacher. This is due to the No Child Left Behind law.
 

Pictures of things purchased with Title One funds from Mrs. Jones' classroom at Bethel Elementary School: