UPPER DUBLIN, Pa. — Parents and educators pressed the Upper Dublin School District Board of School Directors on Aug. 26 to address longstanding disparities at Thomas Fitzwater Elementary School, the district’s only Title I elementary building and the lowest-performing elementary school in the district.

"Title I is meant to provide additional funding and support to close gaps, not to highlight them," said Felicia Evans, a parent of a third-grade student who identified herself as a "highly qualified educator" with 15 years of experience in a Title I charter school in Philadelphia. "How are Title I funds being used and why are we still seeing those disparities? When will we adopt the curriculum aligned with the science of reading?"

Nut graf: The public comments centered on literacy and math gaps, the district’s curriculum choices, professional development for teachers, and whether instructional coaches are targeted to the buildings and subjects of greatest need. Administration representatives responded with current and planned actions: a Title I-funded math specialist at Thomas Fitzwater, phonics and phonemic-awareness professional development already in place, and an ongoing elementary English language arts (ELA) curriculum review with a planned pilot this school year.

What parents asked
Evans told the board Thomas Fitzwater has the district's highest proportion of minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged students and consistently the lowest elementary performance. She asked specifically whether the district will adopt an evidence-based ELA program "aligned with the science of reading," requested clarity about how Title I funds are being spent at Thomas Fitzwater, and asked why local experienced teachers are sometimes not getting district positions.

Administration response and current work
Doctor Smith (district administration) said the number of administrators in the central office has not changed and that an item on the agenda that appeared to be a "new position" was in fact a title change and a restructuring of an existing role to a 12-month supervisor of student services. Regarding Thomas Fitzwater, district staff said Title I funds are being used to fund a math specialist at that building. "Thomas Fitz is the only building in the district that has that position," a district speaker said, and district staff reported that last year there was measurable growth tied to targeted interventions.

On literacy, district staff said the district uses an instructional approach that includes phonics and phonemic-awareness work. "We do use foundations of phonics for phonics and phonemic awareness. Our staff does receive professional development on both of those and will receive that again this week," the district representative said. Administrators also said they are conducting a formal ELA review: multiple elementary programs were reviewed over the summer, a pilot of a selected resource will run in the second and third marking periods, and the administration plans to bring a recommendation to the board in May for adoption.

Staffing and coaching
Evans questioned whether instructional coaches were focused on the district's greatest needs; administrators said the district employs four K–5 coaches and described their focus as including math and literacy. The administration highlighted a partnership for professional development (University of Delaware) tied to mathematics (Illustrative Mathematics) while saying that training and coaching on literacy and other areas are underway.

Ending: The board listened to public concerns and accepted staff explanations and timelines. The ELA pilot and the May recommendation are the next published milestones in the transcript; parents asked the board for a clear timeline and more targeted action to ensure Title I funds and coaching directly address the needs at Thomas Fitzwater.