Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Title I School Plans topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Upper Darby committee reviews federally designated Title I school plans ahead of August vote
Summary
Committee members heard a high-level review of school-level Title I plans, the district’s criteria for CSI/TSI/ATSI designations, and a timetable for posting final expenditure tables before the August board vote.
The Education and People Services Committee of the Upper Darby School District reviewed school-level plans for buildings that carry federal designations and receive Title I funding, a presenter said, and those plans will go to the full board for action at the district’s regular August meeting. "These plans act as our school's roadmap, helping staff prioritize goals, focus on key areas for improvement, and align efforts with district-wide priorities," the presenter said.
The presenter explained the federal accountability labels that can affect a school's oversight and support: TSI (targeted school improvement), ATSI (additional targeted support and improvement) and CSI (comprehensive support and improvement). He said Pennsylvania evaluates schools on multiple indicators—achievement in math and English language arts, growth, graduation rates, English learner proficiency, attendance and career readiness—and that the system now examines groups of students on a four-year cadence beginning in 2024. He noted that a school may be flagged for more intensive support if any group falls into the lowest 5% on key indicators or if a TSI school does not meet exit criteria within that four-year cycle.
Presenter: "A Title I school is a 100% federally funded supplemental education program that provides financial assistance to districts like ours to better serve educationally disadvantaged students," he said, adding that in Upper Darby any school with a poverty rate of 75% or higher qualifies for schoolwide Title I status and therefore may use Title I resources flexibly to support the whole school community.
The presenter said schools develop plans through a school planning committee that typically includes administrators, teachers, people-services staff, parents and representatives from the Delaware County Intermediate Unit, which provides technical assistance. Each school's plan, he said, must use evidence-based strategies, include a timeline for implementation, designate who will monitor progress and describe how progress will be measured.
Plans and related expenditure tables will be posted on each school's website and to BoardDocs; the presenter said expenditure tables are usually finalized in early July and that teams will update plans after those figures are set. The committee did not debate or amend the plans at length during this meeting; the presenter invited board members to submit questions after they review the posted documents.
The full board is scheduled to consider the Title I school plans at its regular August meeting, at which time the board may vote to adopt them.
