The responsibility for implementation of the Title I policy is shared between the Title I Director and each building principal. The designation of these duties is described below.

Title I Staff Responsibilities

1. Provide letters to parents regarding Title I programs and curriculum, how their children were selected for Title I, how their progress will be measured, how much progress they are expected to make during the school year, and how their performance compares to that of their schoolmates.


2. Provide an orientation meeting for parents each school year before the end of the first quarter.


3. Provide parents of each school with the results of the annual review. This review is to include the individual school performance profiles.


4. Provide timely notification to parents, in the form of letters and flyers, regarding Title I meetings and workshops.


5. Offer professional development opportunities for teachers on increasing their effectiveness in teaching all students eligible for Title I services and on addressing the needs of Title I parents.


6. Offer workshops for parents on how to help assist in the instruction of their children.


7. Send data regarding year-end Title I program evaluation results to all parents.


8. Invite parents to and include parents in Title I program review team meetings.


9. Notify parents regarding the professional qualifications of their student's classroom teachers.

Title I Staff Qualifications

Teachers

Title I teachers hired after the first day of school for 2002-2003 must meet the following qualifications:

1. Have obtained full state certification as a teacher.


2. Hold at least a bachelor's degree.


3. Elementary teachers - have demonstrated subject knowledge and teaching skills in reading, writing, mathematics and other areas of the basic elementary school curriculum.


4. Secondary teachers - have demonstrated a high level of competency in each of the academic subjects that they teach.

Title I teachers hired prior to 2002-2003 must meet the same qualifications by the end of 2005-2006.

Paraprofessionals

Title I paraprofessionals hired after January 8, 2002, must have a secondary school diploma or a GED and meet one of the following qualifications:

1. Completed at least two (2) years of study at an institution of higher education, or


2. Obtained an associate's (or higher) degree, or


3. Have demonstrated knowledge of, and the ability to assist in instructing reading readiness, writing readiness and mathematics readiness, as appropriate.

Title I paraprofessionals hired prior to January 8, 2002, must meet the above qualifications by January 8, 2006. Exceptions to these qualifications would apply to those Title I paraprofessionals who primarily serve as translators or whose duties consist solely of conducting parental involvement activities.

Title I Building Level Responsibilities

Each Title I building administrator will invite all parents to attend their school's program planning meetings, school review and improvement meetings.

Title I teachers will provide parents with quarterly written reports on the progress of their children, so that parents can know the extent to which they are learning. Teachers will be available for individual conferences at the regularly scheduled District Parent/Teacher Conference dates and at other times by appointment through each building office. Meeting times will take into account the need to accommodate a variety of parent work schedules.

Through these reports and conferences, Title I teachers will provide parents with the results of evaluations of student progress. These evaluations will include, but will not be limited to, test results, measurements of homework turned in, homework completed, student attitudes and student behavior.

Each Title I school will:

1. Design and sponsor activities to address the needs of children which are unmet due to the absence of one parent.


2. Design types of parent involvement that do not involve being at school, such as helping teachers by assembling materials at home for use in classroom activities.


3. Offer opportunities and materials for parents to participate in classroom activities.

Parent Notification of Teacher Qualifications

At the beginning of each school year, the District will notify the parents of each student attending any school receiving Title I funds that they may request information regarding the professional qualifications of the student's classroom teachers, including, at a minimum, the following:

1. Whether the teacher has met state qualification and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction;


2. Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which state qualification or licensing criteria have been waived;


3. Whether the child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications; and


4. What baccalaureate degree major and any other graduate certification or degree is held by the teacher, and the field of discipline of the certification or degree.

In addition to the information that parents may request, the District will provide to each individual parent:

1. Information on achievement level of the parent's child in each of the state academic assessments as required under this part; and


2. Timely notice that the parent's child has been assigned, or has been taught for four or more consecutive weeks by, a teacher who is not highly qualified. Requests by parents for this information must be provided in a timely manner.

Title I Grievance Procedure

Any parent, other individual, or organization alleging a violation of state or federal laws, rules, or regulations or an approved application by the District in the administration of Title I shall file with the Superintendent a written complaint containing the specific nature of the alleged violation, the time and place of the violation, and related details of the alleged violation. The Superintendent shall cause a review of the written complaint to be conducted and a written response mailed to the complainant within ten (10) working days after receipt of the written complaint. A copy of the written complaint and the Superintendent's response shall be provided each member of the Board of Education. If complainant is not satisfied with such response, he or she may submit a written appeal to the Board indicating with particularity the nature of disagreement with the response and his/her reasons underlying such disagreement.

The Board shall consider the appeal at its regularly scheduled board meeting following receipt of the response. The Board shall permit the complainant to address the Board in public or closed session, as appropriate and lawful, concerning his/her complaint and shall provide the complainant with its written decision in the matter as expeditiously as possible following completion of the hearing.

If the complainant is dissatisfied with the action taken by the Board of Education, a written notice stating the reasons for dissatisfaction shall be filed within fifteen (15) working days following resolution of the complaint by the Board with the state director of Title I. The state director of Title I will initiate an investigation, determine the facts relating to the complaint and issue notice of his/her findings to the Board and the complainant. If the findings support the allegations of the complainant, the Board will be requested to take corrective action. If the findings support actions taken by the Board of Education, the Board's action will stand.