Title I is a federal program that serves students throughout the United States. It operates under the guidelines of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended. The Title I program helps schools and students meet state and local education standards. Title I funds are directed to schools with the highest poverty levels as determined by schools' free and reduced lunch rates. School divisions apply each year for Title I grant money.
Title I in YCSD
Our Title I Program serves students in grades K-5 with additional support in literacy instruction The goal of the program is to develop students with strong word recognition and language comprehension when accessing a wide variety of texts at their grade level. Instruction focuses on students' specific needs and may include phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The Title I staff utilizes multisensory approaches to reading instruction such as Structured Literacy, Systematic Instruction in Phonological Awareness, Phonics, and Sight Words (SIPPS), and Heggerty Phonemic Awareness.
Students are selected for the K-3 program based on their Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) results and the Title I teachers' recommendation of the need for these services. Learn more on the subtests of PALS and find additional resources for families in early literacy skills.
In grades four and five, students are selected based on their Virginia Standards of Learning scores, Student Growth Assessment scores, quarterly assessments, overall literacy proficiency, and teacher recommendations.
Assessment
Section 1112(e)(2) of ESSA states that parents of students in Title I schools have a right to know about state or division policies regarding student participation in any assessments mandated by ESSA, including any policy, procedure, or parental right to opt students out of such assessments, where applicable.
Virginia does not currently have an Opt Out policy. In addition, York County School Division does not have an Opt Out policy. However, Section 22.1-253.13:3.C of the Code of Virginia includes information that relates to this topic; specifically, "the Board of Education shall not include in its calculation of the passage rate of a Standards of Learning assessment for the purposes of state accountability any student whose parent has decided to not have his child take such Standards of Learning assessment, unless such exclusions would result in the school's not meeting any required state or federal participation rate."
In addition, divisions that receive Title I funds must make widely available through public means information on each assessment required by the state to comply with 20 U.S.C. 6311, other assessments required by the state, and where such information is available and feasible to report, specified information regarding assessments required division wide by the division. The assessment requirements for compliance are presented to families during each required Title I open house as well as through parent notification of assessment letters sent from the division as required by the Virginia Department of Education.
2023-24 Title I Schoolwide Schools
School Quality Profiles for schools, school divisions, and the commonwealth provide information about student achievement, accountability ratings, attendance, program completion, school safety, teacher quality, and other topics. School Quality Profiles may be viewed and downloaded on the VDOE website.
Contact Us
Mollie Brown
302 Dare Road
Yorktown, Virginia 23692
757-898-0465
Christina Head
302 Dare Road
Yorktown, Virginia 23692
757-898-0452