Parents » Title I

Title I

Title I is a Federal Program that provides financial assistance to local schools to meet current educational needs of all students to help ensure that all students reach high academic standards.

The program provides extra help to students who scored in Level I or Level II of the MCAS Tests. These are the students who are the furthest from meeting the standards the state has set for all children. Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School is committed to creating innovative and comprehensive educational opportunities for every student, enabling each student to attain his or her highest potential.

Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School welcomes the participation of parents in support of student learning and recognizes that parental involvement increases the opportunities for student success. The parent-school compact states the goals and responsibilities of parents, students, and school. It is used as a guideline to get an understanding of the expectations of the student, the parent/guardian and the Title I Staff. This compact is an agreement that all parties will work together to increase the student’s understanding of the materials in accordance with the curriculum frameworks. It is the policy of Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School to foster and maintain ongoing communications with parents concerning their student’s educational progress, the professional qualifications of their student’s teachers, and status of the student’s school.

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September 2017

Title I Compact

Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School and the parents of the students participating in activities, services, and programs funded by Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESSA), agree that this compact outlines how the parents, the entire school staff, and the students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership that will help children achieve the State’s high standards.  This School-Parent compact is in effect during the school year of 2017-2018.

School Responsibilities

  • Provide high quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective  learning   environment that enables the participating children to meet the State’s student academic achievement standards as follows:
  • In grades 9-12 English Language Arts and Mathematics classes, Title I eligible students receive additional support by highly qualified paraprofessionals.  All teachers are also highly qualified.  Providing support within the general education classroom allows the Title I students greater access to instruction based upon Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.
  • Supplemental Math and ELA services are also provided in the form of before school programming.
  • Hold parent-teacher conferences during which this compact will be discussed as it relates to the individual child’s achievement.  Specifically, those conferences will be held:
  • A general Title I Parent Meeting is held in the fall and spring of the school year.
  • Throughout the year, parent teacher conferences are held upon request.  These meetings provide opportunities for parents to formulate suggestions, and to participate as appropriate, in decisions about the education of their children.  The school will respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible.
  • Provide parents with frequent reports on their children’s progress.  Specifically, the school will provide reports as follows:
  • Provide to each parent an individual student report about the performance of their child on the State assessment in Math, English Language Arts and Science.
  • Provide information to parents of participating students in an understandable and uniformed format, including alternative formats upon the request of parents with disabilities, and to the extent practicable, in a language that parents can understand.
  • Provide to parents of participating children information in a timely manner about Title I, Part A programs that includes a description and explanation of the school’s curriculum, the forms of academic assessment used to measure children’s progress and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet.
  • Provide parents reasonable access to staff.  Specifically, staff will be available for  consultation with parents as follows:
  • Staff can be contacted by phone or e-mail.  Telephone numbers and e-mail addresses are readily accessible in the phone directory and on the school website.  Parent/Teacher Title 1 meetings are set up by the Guidance Department upon parent request.
    • Provide each parent timely notice when their child has been assigned or has been taught for four (4) or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who is not highly qualified within the meaning of the term in section 200.56 of the Title I Final Regulations (67 Fed. Reg. 71710, December 2, 2002).
    • At the high school level, parent participation is encouraged at annual Title I Meetings (fall and spring), the Title I awards ceremony at the end of the school year, and at Title I workshops held throughout the school year.
    • Involve parents in the planning, review, and improvement of the school’s parental involvement policy, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way.

Parent Responsibilities

  • Monitoring attendance.
  • Making sure that homework is completed.
  • Monitoring amount of television children watch.
  • Participating in Title I Workshops and Parent/Guardian Meetings.
  • Participating as appropriate, in decisions to my children’s education.
  • Promoting positive use of my child’s extracurricular time.
  • Checking my child’s progress on SchoolBrains.
  • Staying informed about my child’s education and communicating with the school by promptly reading all notices from the school or the school district either by my child or by mail and responding, as appropriate.

Student Responsibilities

  • Do homework every day and ask for help when I need to.
  • Read at least 30 minutes every day outside of school time.
  • Give my parents or the adult who is responsible for my welfare all notices and information received from my school every day.
  • Ask for clarification and/or assistance from classroom staff when needed.

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September 2017

Title I Supplement, Not Supplant Policy and Procedures

Title I funds may not supplant – public education services that are to be provided to all students.  At Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School, Title I funds only supplement and to the extent practical, increase the level of funds that would, in the absence of Title I funds, be made available from the non-federal sources for the education of eligible children participating in the Title I Program.

MCAS results and other objective educationally related criteria are assigned points on the Student Selection Criteria Sheet.  The sheets are calculated by grade and subject.  The total number of points is used to rank order eligible students.  Students who are in the greatest needs, or who are at most risk of failing are scheduled in an English and Mathematics classes with a Title I paraprofessional present.

Students may also be assigned to the MCAS Remediation.  A Title I Before School Program is also available to these students.  These classes are in addition to the students’ regular English and Mathematics program.

Title I funds are used for professional development.  The professional development provides for pedagogy and teaching strategies, which will enhance instruction and thereby, improve student achievement.  The professional development funds are used to ensure that all teachers and paraprofessionals are highly qualified.  All students are held to the same high standards and expectations.

The Title I Director will disseminate this written policy and procedure to all administrators and Title I staff in the district.  Following such dissemination, the Title I Director will meet with administrators and all Title I involved staff to ensure clear understanding of the concept of Supplement, Not Supplant and the procedures enacted to follow this policy.

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 NOTICE OF PARENT/STUDENT RIGHTS UNDER SECTION 504

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, commonly referred to as “Section 504”, is a non-discrimination statute enacted by the United States Congress. The purpose of the Act is to prohibit discrimination and to assure that disabled students have educational opportunities and benefits equal to those provided to nondisabled students.  An eligible student under Section 504 is a student who has, or has a record of having, or is regarded as having, a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities such as learning, self-care, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, working, and performing manual tasks.

Dual Eligibility: Some students will be eligible for education services under both Section 504 and the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Students who are eligible under the IDEA have many specific rights that are not available to students who are eligible solely under Section 504. Procedural Safeguards (Due process procedures for parents and children) prepared by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction is available through the District’s Special Education Department and sets out the rights assured by the IDEA. It is the purpose of this Notice form to set out the rights assured by Section 504 to those disabled students who do not qualify under the IDEA.

The enabling regulations for Section 504 as set out in 34 C.F.R. Part 104 provide parents/and students with the following
rights.

  1. You have the right to be informed by the District of your rights under Section 504. (The purpose of this Notice form is to advise you of those rights.) (34 C.F.R. 104.32.)
  2. Your child has the right to a free appropriate education designed to meet his/her individual needs as appropriately as the needs of non-disabled students are met. (34 C.F.R. 104.33)
  3. Your child has the right to free educational services except for those fees that are imposed on non-disabled student or their parents. Insurers and similar third parties are not relieved from an otherwise valid obligation to provide or pay for services provided to a disabled student. (34 C.F.R. 104.33)
  4. Your child has a right to facilities, services, and activities that are comparable to those provided for non-disabled students. (34 C.F.R. 104.34)
  5. Your child has a right to placement in the least restrictive environment. (34 C.F.R. 104.34.)
  6. Your child has a right to an evaluation prior to an initial Section 504 placement and any subsequent significant change in placement. (34 C.F.R. 104.35.)
  7. Testing and other evaluation procedures must conform to the requirements (34 C.F.R. 104.35) as to validation, administration, areas of evaluation, etc. The District shall consider information from a variety of sources, including aptitude and achievement tests, teacher recommendations, physical condition, social and cultural background, adaptive behavior, physical or medical reports, student grades, progress reports, parent observations, and anecdotal reports. (34 C.F.R. 104.35.)
  8. Placement decisions must be made by a group of persons (i.e., Student Intervention Team and/or Central Office 504 Committee), including persons knowledgeable about your child, the meaning of the evaluation data, the placement options, and the legal requirements for least restrictive environment and comparable facilities. (34 C.F.R. 104.35.)
  9. If eligible under Section 504, your child has a right to periodic reevaluations, generally every three years. (34 C.F.R. 104.36.)
  10. You have the right to examine relevant records. (34 C.F.R 104. 36.) Parent Rights
  11. You have a right to notice of any action by the District in regard to the identification, evaluation, or placement of your child. (34 C.F.R 104.36.)
  12. You have a right to an impartial hearing with respect to the District’s actions regarding your child’s identification, evaluation, or educational placement, with opportunity for parental participation in the hearing and representation by an attorney. (34 C.F.R 104.36.)
  13. If you wish to challenge the actions of the District’s 504 Committee in regard to your child’s identification, evaluation  and education placement, you should file a written request for a hearing with your state department of education’s Section 504 compliance office. A hearing will be scheduled before an impartial hearing officer and you will be notified in writing of the date, time, and place for the hearing.
  14. If you disagree with the decision of the impartial hearing officer, you have a right to review of that decision by a court of competent jurisdiction. (34 C.F.R 104.36.)
  15. On Section 504 matters other than your child’s identification, evaluation, and placement, you have a right to file a discrimination complaint with the District’s Equity and Compliance Office, who will investigate the allegations to the extent warranted by the nature of the complaint in an effort to reach a prompt and equitable resolution.
  16. You have the right to file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights.

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