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“It is December, and nobody asked if I was ready.”
― Sarah Kay
Whether we’re ready or not, the winter season has arrived and with it brings a festive season of buzzing activity and service to our community. Throughout this busy season of events, gatherings and never-ending to-do lists, we hope you also take some time to slow down and enjoy some stillness and rest.
Tentative 2023-2023 Title I, Part A Census Poverty and Hold Harmless Rates
Be on the lookout for an explanation of tentative census poverty data and tentative hold harmless rates.
The numbers are issued to the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) in December by the U.S. Department of Education (USED). In turn, KDE will analyze and issue them in a notification posted in the Commissioner’s Monday Message and through direct email to district Title I coordinators in early January.
The hold harmless rates are set by USED and based on the tentative poverty percentages derived from U.S. Census Bureau data. Districts can multiply the hold harmless rate by the current year’s Title I, Part A allocation to produce an estimate of your 2023-2024 school year Title I, Part A allocation for planning purposes. It is highly recommended each district carefully review the information included in the document upon issuance.
Bear in mind that all data provided in the attachment is tentative and is provided for planning purposes only. It does not represent your district’s final Title I, Part A allocation for next school year.
We will be discussing census poverty data and hold-harmless rates during the December webinar. Be sure to join us on Dec. 15 at 10 a.m. ET.
For more information, contact your Title I, Part A consultant.
Examining Ways to Increase Parent Engagement
As schools work to ensure parent and family engagement requirements are met, it’s important to evaluate the activities, services and supports being provided to determine effectiveness. Feedback obtained from parents should be reviewed regularly and used to adjust the program as necessary.
If a district or school doesn’t receive a lot of feedback it may be beneficial to examine how the feedback was solicited to determine if improvements could be made. Consider how the request for feedback was communicated to parents and whether ample response time was provided. For example, a link to a feedback survey posted on the school’s social media page will not reach parents who don’t use social media. Providing the survey link in multiple places such as social media pages, the school website and an email to parents increases visibility and awareness of the survey.
There also may be parents or guardians in the district who don’t have regular access to technology, as well as others who may not have a lot of skill with technology and may find the concept of an online survey intimidating. Making paper copies of a survey available for those who need it increases the ability of all parents to provide feedback. Some schools provide computers and tablets at events where parents can complete a feedback survey on the spot.
Schools holding meetings to review documents such as the parent and family engagement policy and school-family compact must consider the schedules and availability of the average parent. If most of the parent population is not available in the afternoon, always holding meetings at 3:30 p.m. would prohibit those parents from participating.
Methods which work well for one district or school may not be as effective for others. Determining what works for each school’s unique population is key.
Gathering some basic information from parents at the beginning of the school year can help schools determine how to communicate information about their program throughout the year. The following guiding questions may help schools learn about the availability and preferences of parents:
- How would you like to receive information about school activities?
- What time of day is most convenient for you to participate in activities and events?
- What types of events would most benefit you?
- What topic(s) would you like additional guidance on?
As districts and schools work to increase engagement, it’s important to remember that determining what works best for parents is a process often involving trial and error. How an event is advertised, when the event is scheduled and the type of event are all factors that contribute to parent turnout. Parent preferences can change over time and schools should adjust their events and activities accordingly.
In Case You Missed It: Title1Admin® Addresses Paying for Incentives to Promote Student Attendance
On Nov. 1, Title1Admin® featured an article titled,"Can Title I Pay for Incentives to Promote Student Attendance," as a part of its ongoing “Can You Pay For …” series, which features examples of allowable or unallowable uses of funds.
As stated in the article, Title I funds cannot be used to pay for attendance incentives or awards for participating in a school activity. Participation incentives would be like paying students to attend class or other school activities, which is not allowable. The article goes on to discuss the allowability of using Title I funds to purchase small incentives for student performance and behavior if included in the school’s Title I plan. It may be beneficial to share this article with Title I schools as KDE Title I consultants regularly receive questions regarding the purchase of awards.
As a reminder, KDE is providing every school district in the state with a subscription to Title1Admin® throughout the 2022-2023 school year.
Coordinator's Year at a Glance – Suggested Tasks for December
The day-to-day activities and many hats you wear may make it hard to keep up with tasks in the Title I world. As a reminder, the following activities should be taking place sometime this month:
- Monitor implementation of schoolwide parent and family engagement activities.
- Ensure that methodology regarding supplement not supplant is on file at the district office, if required for your district. Circumstances under which a district is not required to have a methodology are outlined in question 26 of USED’s Supplement Not Supplant Non-Regulatory Informational Document.
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