Title I

For a school to qualify as a Title I Schoolwide program, the campus must have a student population of at least 40% or more that are economically disadvantaged (i.e. students who would qualify for free or reduced meals under the National School Lunch Program).  Ferris ISD is currently a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) district, and therefore does not use  the NSLP Free/Reduced Priced Meals application.  All Ferris ISD students receive free meals, but not all students qualify as economically disadvantaged.  Students are identified as economically disadvantaged based on income information provided by parents to the Central Registration office upon initial enrollment and again each year as part of Returning Student Registration or based on information received from the Texas Department of Agriculture for families who receive SNAP or TANF benefits.

All Ferris ISD schools are currently served as Title I Schoolwide Campuses.

Each campus is given an allocation of Title I Part A funds through a specified formula.   The school must spend those funds on strategies that will directly impact student instruction (such as academic interventions, instructional programs, supplemental teachers, etc.), professional development trainings for teachers, and Parent and Family Engagement activities. 

All activities and/or resources paid with Title I, Part A funds must be:

• identified in the Comprehensive Needs Assessments, and

• included in the Campus Improvement Plan, and

• reasonable, necessary, allocable, and allowable, and

• meet all EDGAR requirements, and

• in accordance with all district policies and procedures.

Notification to Parents of Teacher/Paraprofessional Qualifications:

In accordance with Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)/ PARENTS’ RIGHT-TO-KNOW, this is a notification to every parent of a student in a Title I school that you have the right to request and receive in a timely manner: a) information regarding the professional qualifications of your student’s classroom teachers and/or paraprofessionals.

The information regarding the professional qualifications of your student’s classroom teachers/paraprofessional shall include the following:

1. If the teacher has met state certification/qualification criteria for the grade level and subject areas taught:

2. If the teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which state certification/qualification criteria are waived;

3. The teacher is assigned in the field of discipline of the certification;

4. Whether the student is provided services by paraprofessionals, and if so, their qualifications. [ESSA 1112(e)(1)(A)(i)-(ii)]

In addition to the above information you will be notified if your student has been taught for four or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who does not meet the applicable state certification requirements at the grade level and subject area in which the teacher has been assigned. [ESSA 1112(e)(1)(B)(ii)]

Teachers may meet this requirement if the district is implementing its approved District of Innovation teacher certification policy or if the teacher meets the State Certification assignment rules.

If you would like to receive any additional information about any of the above issues, please contact your child's principal. 

Student Achievement 

Each Title I, Part A campus provides, to each individual parent, information on the level of achievement of the parent’s child in each of the required state academic assessments.   

The Parent and Family Engagement provisions in Title I, Part A reflect the four principles in ESEA/ESSA. Specifically, these provisions stress a shared partnership between schools and families for high academic achievement, including (a) supplemental educational services for eligible children in low-performing schools, (b) local development of Parent and Family Engagement plans with sufficient flexibility to address local needs, and (c) building parent and family capacity for using effective practices to improve their child’s academic achievement.  

The Title I Parent and Family Engagement Program focuses on three categories:

1. Parent and Family Information (informing parents of their rights under ESSA, as well as details of the Title I program).

2. Parent and Family Engagement in Campus Decision Making: this is typically met by parents being members of the Site-Based Decision Making committee (also known as the Campus Education Improvement Committee), as well as parents being part of the committee that revised the campus Parent and Family Engagement Policy and School-Parent Compact.

3. Parent and Family Trainings: Campus Title I Parent and Family Engagement allocations also will be expended on providing academic trainings to parents in order to help their children succeed academically.

Important requirements include:

The district must develop a District-Wide Parent and Family Engagement Plan (developed jointly with parents):

1. Each Title I Schoolwide campus must develop a campus-level Parent and Family Engagement Plan (developed jointly with parents).

2. Each campus must hold an annual Title I Meeting for Parents to inform parents of the school's participation in the Title I, Part A program, and to explain the Title I, Part A requirements and the rights of parents to be involved in those programs.

3. Each Title I, Part A school must jointly develop, with the parents of children served under Title I, Part A, a School-Parent Compact as a component of its written Parent and Family Engagement Policy.