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“October had tremendous possibility. The summer's oppressive heat was a distant memory, and the golden leaves promised a world full of beautiful adventures. They made me believe in miracles.”
– Sarah Guillory
So many reasons exist to love October! The beauty of nature’s colors in various shades of yellow, orange, red and brown attract our admiration. Cooler temperatures are more constant, which means more fun enjoying the outdoors. Pumpkins and squashes begin to show up in large quantities, and flyers feature fall harvests and orchard visits. Our spirits feel lifted as we begin to think of year-end festivities. Soak in the sun and all the refreshing possibility that October holds.
Right to Know - Teacher Certification
Section 1112(e)(B)(i) of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires schools to send notification letters to parents when their child is taught for four consecutive weeks by a teacher that does not meet state certification standards, to include long-term substitutes and those on emergency certification.
A long-term, non-certified substitute filling in for a teacher on maternity leave is a common example of a scenario in which the notification letter is required. Current teacher shortages may result in schools hiring more teachers with emergency certification or hiring out-of-field staff.
For example, an individual certified to teach elementary school who is hired at a high school would require the letter be sent home to parents. Although the individual is a certified teacher, they are not certified to teach at the grade level to which they have been hired.
For clarification, a teacher who holds a temporary provisional certificate – including those issued pursuant to Option 6, Temporary Provisional – meets the applicable certification requirements at the grade level and subject area for which the certificate is required and does not require parental notice under ESSA.
Statewide Consolidated Monitoring
The Title I, Part A program participates in KDE's statewide consolidated monitoring process each year, along with other state and federal programs.
Districts are selected for monitoring using a risk assessment tool developed in accordance with the Uniform Grant Guidance regulations regarding monitoring, including 2 CFR 200.332 and 2 CFR 200.519. Program monitors note effective practices identified during the monitoring visit, provide recommendations for improvement and issue corrective actions that must be addressed, as applicable.
Monitoring for the 2022-2023 school year will begin in January and the selected districts will be notified soon. Additional information on the monitoring process, as well as a list of participating programs, is available on KDE's Statewide Consolidated Monitoring Process webpage.
Open Applications
34 CFR 76.700 of the Education Department General Administrative Regulations states that a subgrantee shall comply with applicable statutes, regulations and approved applications, and shall use federal funds in accordance with those statues, regulations and applications.
As subgrantees, districts are responsible for ensuring Title I, Part A funds are being spent on the initiatives outlined in the application that has been approved by the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) in the Grant Management Application and Planning (GMAP) system. When changes are made to the district’s plan, the application should be updated accordingly.
Remember to periodically revisit all open applications in GMAP and work with your finance officer to adjust and align to actual spending.
KDE recommends this alignment exercise, at minimum, be done quarterly. But with the changing landscape of COVID-19 and additional relief funds, you may find that you need to revisit your spending plans more often to revise staffing and budget items.
Coordinator's Year at a Glance – Suggested Tasks for October
The day-to-day activities and many hats you wear may make it hard to keep up with tasks in the Title I world, especially as this school year progresses differently from any other school year. As a reminder, the following activities should be taking place sometime this month:
- Conduct annual Title I meeting at all Title I schools and collect evidence of the meeting;
- Calculate comparability based on October data and make appropriate adjustments to Title I schools shown to be non-comparable;
- Initiate planning process for new comprehensive district improvement plan or comprehensive school improvement plan, if applicable.
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