Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
United States Department of Education ESSA Information
New York State Department of Education ESSA Information
ESSA Information For Parents
NYSED ESSA Information for Parents: Click here for more information about the NYSED implementation of ESSA, including a parent dashboard and parent-friendly informational video.
NYSED ESSA-Funded Programs Complaints Procedures: Click here for NYSED complaint procedures for ESSA-funded programs
ESSA-Funded Title Grant Programs
Title I, Title II, Title III and Title IV Grants:
Title I, Part A - Improving Basic Programs for Economically-Disadvantaged
Title II, Part A - Supporting Effective Instruction
Title III, Part A - English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement
Title IV, Part A - Student Support and Academic Enrichment
Overview
Title grants are awarded to districts via State-established formulas, and are authorized by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), signed into law on December 10, 2015. School districts apply annually to receive their allocations via a consolidated application representing all grants for which the district is eligible. Click here for more information about the consolidation application for ESSA-funded programs.
Title 1, Part A
Title 1 Part A is a federally funded program that provides financial assistance to LEAs and schools with high numbers or high percentages of economically-disadvantaged children to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards. Title I has a range of allowable expenses that supplement, but do not supplant (replace) that which the district is required to do, or would ordinarily do, to support student learning across all schools. While Title I is typically considered a K-12 funding stream, the legislation states that funds can be used to improve school achievement for pre-school aged students. Increasing parental involvement in their children’s education is another key component of Title I funding.
Click here for the BCSD BOE Policy #3010 - Title I Parent and Family Engagement Policy
2024-2025 Title I Annual Parent Meeting Presentation - January 23, 2025
Do programs supported by Title I divert resources from other programs and schools?
The programs supported by Title I funds are required, by law, to supplement the education for identified, at-risk students and provide parent outreach to the families of such students. We are not allowed to replace a service that we would ordinarily provide to the Title I school and to other schools in the district using Title I funds. Title I funds can only be used to support existing, or newly created, supplemental programs and services.
Is there oversight of Title I?
Yes. The Title I proposed annual budget is reviewed by the Curriculum Office, BCSD Staff Development Policy Board and the MKES Compact Team before it is submitted to the NYS Department of Education (NYSED). NYSED’s grant office reviews the entire consolidated grant application before approving it. Periodically, the grants office audits Title I schools.
Our Choices:
Title I - Parents as Teachers Program (PAT)
Participation in Parents as Teachers increases school readiness and sustained school success. By participation in Parents as Teachers, parents get involved in their child’s early learning, which leads to increased parental involvement once their child enters school.
PAT helps to close the achievement gap for low-income children:
- With at least two years of Parents as Teachers combined with a year of preschool, 82 percent of poor children were ready for school at kindergarten entry – a level identical to non-poverty children with no Parents as Teachers or preschool (Zigler, Pfannenstiel & Seitz, 2008).
- Children in high-poverty schools who participated in Parents as Teachers were equivalent to those of children at low poverty schools with no preschool enrichment (Parents as Teachers or preschool). In addition, when children attending high-poverty schools participated in both Parents as Teachers and preschool, their scores were significantly higher than those of children in low-poverty schools with no preschool enrichment (Parents as Teachers or preschool) (Pfannenstiel, Seitz & Zigler, 2002).
PAT increases parental involvement:
- A significantly higher proportion of Parents as Teachers parents initiated contact with teachers and took an active role in their child’s schooling. For example, 63 percent of parents of Parents as Teachers children versus 37 percent of parents of comparison children requested parent-teacher conferences (Pfannenstiel, 1989).
- Parents as Teachers parents demonstrated high levels of school involvement, which they frequently initiated, and supported their children’s learning in the home (Pfannenstiel, Lambson & Yarnell, 1996).
Using Title I Funds
- LEAs have flexibility in designing their Title I, Part A programs and deciding what specific activities to support.
- LEAs may use Title I funds, for example, to pay for direct instruction, purchase instructional materials and equipment, and provide instructional support services.
- Title I funds may not replace or supplant State and local funds that would, in the absence of Title I, otherwise be spent to provide these children with educational services.
After an LEA (local education agency, the federal government’s term for a school district) receives its final allocation:
- The LEA determines which schools are eligible based on their poverty rates and allocates funds in rank order of poverty.
- School is eligible if its poverty rate is at or above the LEA average or 35%, whichever is lower.
- Higher poverty school must receive an equal or higher amount per economically-disadvantaged child than a lower ranked poverty school.
- LEA must first serve all schools above 75% poverty before serving schools in specific grade spans.
Two Types of Title I Schools
We have elected to designate Mount Kisco Elementary School as a Title I Targeted Assistance School since at least 2003. We use the term “elected” because the Title I funds allocated to districts may be used flexibly.
1) Schoolwide Schools
- A school with a poverty rate of 40% or more may use its Title I funds, along with other Federal State and local funds, to upgrade instructional program for the whole school that improves the academic programs for all students.
- To operate a schoolwide program, school must develop a comprehensive plan to improve teaching and learning that meets the requirements of Sec. 1114 of Title I statute and §200.27 of Title I regulations.
2) Targeted Assistance Schools (We designate MKES as a TAS)
- Otherwise, a school identifies students who are failing, or most at risk of failing, to meet State academic achievement standards.
- School must conduct a comprehensive needs assessment of the children it has identified as most in need and design an academic program that meets their needs in accordance with Sec. 1115 of the Title I statute.