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Title I-A: Improving Basic Programs

Improving Education for the Disadvantaged

Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended (ESEA) provides financial assistance to districts and schools with high numbers or high percentages of children from low-income families to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards. Schools that receive funds under Title I-A are called “Title I schools.”

FY2024 Alaska Title I Schools (updated 3.4.2024)

Program Models

Targeted Assistance Programs

Schools that operated a Targeted Assistance Program must use Title I, Part A funds to provide academic services to children who are identified as failing or at risk for failing to meet state standards. The school makes this determination based on multiple, educationally related, and objective criteria. Any school with a poverty average of at least 35% or the district’s poverty average (whichever is lower) is eligible to operate a Targeted Assistance Program.

Schoolwide Programs

Schools that operate a Schoolwide Program are able to consolidate its federal, state, and local funds to upgrade the entire educational program. Though the school is not required to identify certain children as being eligible for services or to provide certain students with any specific supplemental benefits, the focus of the program must be on addressing the needs of low-achieving children and those at risk of not meeting state student academic achievement standards. Any school with a poverty average of at least 40% may operate a Schoolwide Program.

There are three required components of a schoolwide program that are essential to effective implementation: conducting a comprehensive needs assessment, preparing a comprehensive schoolwide plan, and annually reviewing and revising, as necessary, the schoolwide plan.

Title I-A Schoolwide Plan (#05-18-031) (docx)

Adapting a School Improvement Plan to use as a Title I Schoolwide Plan (#05-23-065) (docx)

What is the Difference - TA vs SW (docx)

Parent and Family Engagement

Title I, Part A has one of the strongest Parent and Family Engagement components of all Title federal programs. Parent and Family Engagement in a child’s education is a greater predictor of academic success. That’s why the Title I, Part A program insists on strong parent and family engagement activities at every school where federal funds support effective teaching and engaged learning.

Parent and Family Engagement Requirements

Instructional Paraprofessional Qualifications

Paraprofessionals can play important roles in improving student achievement in Title I schools where they can reinforce and augment a teacher's effort in the classroom. Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended, requires that paraprofessionals meet high standards of qualification, and ensures that students who need the most help receive instructional support only from qualified paraprofessionals.

Instructional paraprofessionals working in a Title I schoolwide program or instructional paraprofessionals paid in whole or in part with Title I-A funds in a targeted assistance program must meet one of the following qualifications:

  • Completed at least two years of higher education (at least 48 semester hours or the equivalent) at a regionally or nationally accredited institution of higher education
  • Obtained an associate’s degree or higher from a regionally or nationally accredited institution of higher education
  • A high school diploma or its equivalent and have passed the ParaPro assessment
  • A high school diploma or its equivalent and have passed the Higher Education Learning Profile (HELP)
  • A high school diploma or its equivalent and have passed the Paraeducator Online Training and Assessments
  • A high school diploma or its equivalent and have passed the specific WorkKeys assessments
  • A high school diploma or its equivalent and achieve the qualifying basic competency exam (BCE) scores under 4 AAC 12.310

Alaska Paraprofessional Qualifications Form (docx)

Alaska Paraprofessional Standards and Requirements (pdf)

Alaska Individual Paraprofessional Plan (docx)

Program Monitoring

Even if a district is not scheduled for a Consolidated Program Review, the checklist and resources can be helpful to regularly self-evaluate and document compliance with various requirements under Title I, Part A.

The 2024-2025 ESEA monitoring form (#05-25-009) is available on the DEED Forms page

ESEA Distinguished Schools

The National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators (NAESPA) - formerly the National Title I Association - has been selecting examples of superior, federally funded school programs for national recognition through the National ESEA Distinguished Schools program (recently renamed from its predecessor, the National Title I Distinguished Schools program) since 1996. These schools demonstrate a wide array of strengths, including team approaches to teaching and learning, focused professional development opportunities for staff, individualized programs for student success and strong partnerships between the school, parents, and the community. What makes National ESEA Distinguished Schools’ stories especially powerful are the documented student achievement gains that have resulted from their collaborative and targeted efforts and innovations.

Alaska’s National ESEA Distinguished Schools

National ESEA Distinguished Schools Program

Early Learning

Agreement with Early Learning Programs

Per Section 1119 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended, each school district receiving Title I, Part A funds, regardless of whether it operates a Title I, Part A preschool program, must carry out coordination activities with Head Start agencies and, if feasible, other early learning programs that serve children who will attend the schools of the school district. Each school district must develop agreements with the early learning programs to carry out such activities. The activities are to increase coordination between the school district and a Head Start agency and, if feasible, other entities carrying out early childhood education programs serving children who will attend the schools of the local educational agency, including:

  • developing and implementing a systematic procedure for receiving records regarding such children, transferred with parental consent from a Head Start program or, where applicable, another early childhood education program;
  • establishing channels of communication between school staff and their counterparts (including teachers, social workers, and health staff) in such Head Start agencies or other entities carrying out early childhood education programs, as appropriate, to facilitate coordination of programs;
  • conducting meetings involving parents, kindergarten or elementary school teachers, and Head Start teachers or, if appropriate, teachers from other early childhood education programs, to discuss the developmental and other needs of individual children;
  • organizing and participating in joint transition-related training of school staff, Head Start program staff, and, where appropriate, other early childhood education program staff; and
  • linking the educational services provided by such local educational agency with the services provided by local Head Start agencies.

Title I-A Agreement Between School District and Early Learning Program Template

Title I-A Funded Early Childhood Services

If a school district chooses to use Title I-A funds to provide early childhood education services to low-income children below the age of compulsory school attendance, the district must ensure that such services comply with the performance standards established under section 641A(a) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9836a(a)).

The specific Head Start standards applicable to Title I preschool programs are in regulations at 45 C.F.R. § 1302 Subpart C ─ Education and Child Development Program Services.

The U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services Curriculum Consumer Report:  Alignment with the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework

Guidance

More information can be found in the U.S. Department of Education Non-Regulatory Guidance: Serving Preschool Children Through Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as Amended (February 2024)

Important Dates

Title I-A Important Dates (pdf)

Contact Us

ESEA Administrator and Title I Lead

Title I-A Program Managers