Title I News

September 2024

Volume 8, Issue 9

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.”

― Robert Collier

Every task we undertake, no matter how small, contributes to the larger goal of enhancing student outcomes. Accuracy, attention to detail and thoroughness play critical roles in our daily efforts.

Whether we are managing records, planning events or communicating with families, our commitment to detail ensures that we provide the best possible support for our students and their families.

2024-25 Title I, Part A Comparability Report Due Nov. 1

The Every Student Succeeds Act 1118(c) requires districts to provide services using state and local funds to Title I schools that, taken as a whole, are at least comparable to services in schools that are not receiving Title I funds. Districts demonstrate the comparability of services by submitting the required comparability report in each of its schools using general funds.

The window for gathering data for the comparability report is between the last day of the second month of school (a school month is 20 teaching days) and Oct. 31 of the current school year. Often this timeframe will be Sept. 30-Oct. 31, inclusive, but this may depend on district calendars. 

The 2024-2025 comparability report checklist, the comparability report guide and the tutorial video can be found on KDE's Title I, Part A Documents and Resources webpage. The comparability report workbook is in the Grant Management Application and Planning system (GMAP) district document library. Districts must submit the report for approval in GMAP by Nov. 1.

This article focuses on the student enrollment and staff full-time equivalency data to be included in the comparability report, as well as some common errors when completing the report.

Student Enrollment Reports

Enrollment Summary Reports from Infinite Campus (IC) must be run on the selected date for each individual school that must be compared. Be sure to exclude preschool students at all locations.

If schools have half-day kindergarten, those enrollments should only be considered as half-time students. For example, 50 half-day kindergarten students would be documented as an enrollment of 25. It may be necessary to manually handwrite those calculations in your report.

Save a PDF of each report at the time it’s run. If your district is selected for monitoring, KDE consultants will check that the enrollment numbers provided on the comparability report match the data on the IC report. 

Staff Counts

Full-time equivalency (FTE) refers to the percentage of an employee’s salary and is reported in decimal form.

The comparability report looks at the FTE for instructional staff paid with state and local funds. Salaries or portions of salaries paid from any federal funds (Title programs, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, etc.) are not included in the report.

For the purpose of comparability, the FTE for a full-time staff member paid entirely from state and local funds would be 1.0, whereas a staff member paid 50% from state and local funds and 50% from federal funds would be 0.50. FTE information for instructional staff members assigned to the school who provide direct instructional services to children or who assist or supervise those staff members who provide instruction must be included on the comparability report. This includes, but is not limited to, teachers, principals, librarians, guidance personnel and paraprofessionals.

Preschool teachers should be excluded from the total staff FTE, as the comparability report focuses on grades K-12.

Non-instructional staff – such as administrative assistants, clerical personnel and cafeteria workers – are not included in the report. Refer to pages 10 and 11 of the Title I Comparability Guide for a more detailed list of staff to include and exclude on your report.

It is recommended to create a worksheet that can be used to quickly determine each school’s staffing counts. This does not have to be complicated. No matter how you choose to document your staff counts, be sure to maintain that documentation in the event that you are monitored, as it will be used to corroborate the FTEs provided in your comparability report.

Common Errors

Reports will be sent back for correction for some of these common errors:

• Date Range: The date reported is outside of the allowable date range. Student enrollment data must be pulled on either the last day of the second school month, or any date earlier than the report deadline. Typically, this is anywhere from Sept.30-Oct. 31.
• Grade Spans: Grade spans don’t match what is reported in GMAP. Note: the grade span groupings listed on the comparability report are only an example and should be changed, if necessary, to reflect your district’s actual breakdown of grade spans.
• Size Grouping: Size groupings have been used unnecessarily. If there is a significant difference in the enrollments of schools within a grade span – for example, the largest school in the grade span has an enrollment that is two times the enrollment of the smallest school in the grade span – the district may divide grade spans into a smaller size grouping and a larger size grouping. Any school whose enrollment falls between the two can be placed in the size grouping deemed most appropriate.
• Comparison Schools: The wrong schools are listed as comparison schools. For example, not all non-Title I schools in the grade span and group size are listed, or a Title I school that belongs in the high-poverty category is listed for comparison. Reports may get sent back if too many schools are listed as comparison schools. Up to one-half of the lowest poverty Title I schools may be used. It’s possible to use only one Title I school in the grade span for comparison. Instructions and examples of comparison schools are on pages 11-13 of The Comparability Guide.

The final determination from the workbook shows my schools aren't comparable

Don’t panic! Try these possible quick fixes:

• Double check your student enrollment and staff FTEs. Does your math add up? Did you include and exclude the correct students and staff consistently at each location?
• Review your grade span and size groupings. Is there another way to group your schools that makes sense and meets requirements?
• Look at your comparison school(s). Did you list the non-Title I schools or the Title I school(s) with the lowest poverty? Did you list half or fewer comparison schools?
• Run enrollment data from a different day within the date range.

If you still can’t reach comparability, contact your Title I consultant who can walk you through the steps of salary comparison. If, after completing a salary comparison, the district still cannot achieve comparability, adjustments will need to be made in staffing assignments to rectify the inequity.

Exemptions

Districts that have only one school per grade span (or single school districts) do not have to complete comparability for that grade span. This means that some districts in Kentucky may not have to show comparability for any school. A comparability worksheet is still required by the due date, showing that the district is exempt, but the district will not need to maintain staff FTE counts or student enrollment reports.

If no schools within a grade span or size grouping receive Title I funds, the district is not required to calculate comparability for that grade span or size grouping. As the district enters the number of schools in each grade span and size group on the “CR Worksheet” tab, additional tabs will automatically generate if the district is required to calculate comparability for that group.

Principal's Perspective: From Entertainment to Engagement

Last month, we discussed the crucial role families play and how the goal of parent and family engagement in Title I schools is to build meaningful relationships. This month, let's explore how our Title I parent and family engagement opportunities are different from fundraisers, festivals or other social gatherings. The goal is to offer events that contribute to student improvement.

The purpose of your Title I family engagement opportunities is to build capacity in your families, so that ultimately, student outcomes are positively impacted. This means moving beyond social events like Muffins with Mom or entertainment events like fall festivals. While those activities have value in building your community and inviting parents to feel comfortable in the school environment, social or entertainment events ultimately do not impart skills or knowledge to families that can be used at home and cannot therefore be categorized as a Title I parent and family engagement event.

So, what do allowable Title I events look like? Below is a list of ideas to get your wheels turning:

• Parent Education: Provide events that empower parents with the knowledge and skills to support their children’s learning at home. Topics may include literacy development, math strategies, science technology engineering and math (STEM) nights, college readiness or even effective parenting strategies, just to name a few.
• Parent-Child Learning Activities: Organize activities where parents and children can learn together, such as science experiments or educational games.
• Technology Training: Provide hands-on training for parents on how to use school portals, educational apps and other online resources that their children use for learning.
• Community Partnerships: Partner with local organizations and community groups to provide additional support and resources for families. Perhaps families need financial literacy skills or need to know how to recognize and prevent cyberbullying. Community partnerships can enhance the school’s capacity to meet the holistic needs of families.
• Guest Speaker Series: Invite experts to speak on various topics that can help parents support their children’s education and personal development.
• Health and Wellness Workshops: Offer sessions on nutrition, physical activity and mental health to help families create a supportive environment for their children’s overall well-being.
• Conferences: In addition to discussing student progress, provide parents with strategies and resources to support learning at home. At least one conference event should be offered to all families at the elementary level. Don’t forget to spend some time reviewing the learning compact in relation to the individual child’s achievement (required at the elementary level). Ensure that the agreed upon activities of the school, the family and the student are occurring.

All the schools in the district do not have to offer the same events. Each parent population has different needs. Gathering feedback from parents on the types of events they want to see can increase event attendance.

By implementing events like these, Title I schools can empower families with the knowledge and skills they need to support their children’s academic success and overall development, as well as meet the intent of Title I parent and family engagement to increase parent capacity.

Open Title I, Part A Projects and Associated Deadlines

Please review the table below and make note of the approaching deadlines regarding the obligation and expenditure of funds from all open Title I, Part A projects.

In This Issue

• Title I, Part A Carryover Waiver
• 2024-25 Comparability Report Due Nov. 1
• Principal’s Perspective: From Entertainment to Engagement
• Reviewing GMAP Application Feedback
• Coordinator’s Year at a Glance
• Open Title I, Part A Projects and Associated Deadlines

Title I, Part A Carryover Waiver

Section 1127(a) of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) places a carryover limitation on Title I, Part A funds. No more than 15% of the funds allocated to a district for any fiscal year may remain available for obligation for one additional fiscal year.

Districts must ensure at least 85% of school year 2023-2024 (FY24) Title I, Part A funds (project 310K) are obligated for activities that occur no later than Sept. 30, 2024. As stated in Section 1127(c) of ESSA, this carryover limitation does not apply to districts that receive less than $50,000 in Title I, Part A for the fiscal year.

Section 1127(b) of ESSA allows the state to waive this carryover limitation if 1) it determines a district’s request is reasonable and necessary or 2) supplemental appropriations for this subpart become available. Districts may apply for this waiver once in a three-year period.

Any district wishing to request a carryover waiver for 2023-2024 funds may do so no later than Sept. 30 by submitting an email to David Millanti. The email must:

1. State the district requests a waiver of the 15% carryover limitation;

2. Contain the reason for the excess carryover; and

3. Describe its plan for effectively using carryover funds.

Questions may be directed to David Millanti or your district’s Title I, Part A consultant. Additional information about the carryover limitation is available in the Title I Carryover Information document and the April 2023 Title I Webinar.

Reviewing GMAP Application Feedback

The fiscal year 2025 (FY2025) consolidated application was due in GMAP on Aug. 30. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication in adhering to the deadlines established by the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE). We appreciate your patience as our Title I consultants work to conduct a thorough review of each district’s application.

If your application has been returned as not approved by KDE, please be sure to carefully read the feedback provided by consultants in the Consolidated Checklist. The Consolidated Checklist is linked at the bottom of the Sections page in GMAP.

During the review process, consultants use the checklist to mark each page of the application as OK, attention needed or not applicable. Pages marked OK or not applicable do not require further action from the district. However, pages marked as attention needed must be edited prior to resubmitting the application to KDE.

Pages marked as attention needed on the checklist will also include notes from your consultant on why the page was not approved and what needs to be done to address the issue. Please read the feedback carefully to ensure you address all components of the identified issue and reach out to your consultant with any questions.

As a reminder, districts are not able to draw down on funds until the entire consolidated application has been marked as KDE consultant approved. Addressing issues in a timely manner will help ensure your application is approved as soon as possible so you can begin drawing down on funds.

Success Stories of Effective Partnerships with Families

During its 2023 term, the Kentucky Department of Education's Family Partnership Council (FPC) members conducted an in-depth analysis of the latest research on family partnerships and collaborated to create the Family Partnership Council’s recommendations to the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE).

These recommendations would:

• Support every school’s effort to form effective partnerships;
• Promote greater alignment of KDE’s and outside organizations’ family partnership initiatives; and
• Set the goals of the FPC for the next two years.

One of the four recommendations noted that KDE should encourage districts and schools to develop local webpages that include more robust relationship-building and communication metrics regarding meaningful family and community engagement. KDE is seeking to fulfill this recommendation by highlighting districts and schools that are doing family partnerships well and what they are doing with a special focus on innovative practices.

KDE is encouraging all Kentucky districts and schools to use the Success Stories of Effective Partnerships with Families form to share their stories of creating trusting relationships with families as partners that are making a positive impact for both students and families. Stories will be shared as a resource and inspiration to other schools across the Commonwealth as we seek innovative and successful ways to partner with our parents, families and our communities.

To learn more about the FPC, please visit the Family Partnership Council website.

Coordinator's Year at a Glance – Suggested Tasks for September

- Collect school schedules of annual Title I meetings for parents. KDE recommends these meetings be conducted by the end of October.

- Distribute the district’s written parent and family engagement policy to all participating parents and family members served by Title I.

- Ensure that each Title I school distributes its written parent and family engagement policy and compact to all participating parents and family members. The policy should be made available to the community. KDE recommends posting the documents on the school websites to ensure they can be accessed by parents and the community at any time.

- Prepare to pull the student enrollment summary report from Infinite Campus for attendance numbers by the last day of the second school month or a date between that day and Oct. 31 for the purpose of the comparability report.

- Prepare instructional staff listing and FTE by location and funding source to use for the purpose of the comparability report.

- Determine that all applicable parent notifications (testing transparency, right to request teacher qualifications, etc.) have been provided to parents.

- Consult with participating facilities for neglected and delinquent youth to develop an evaluation of services.

- Ensure Targeted Assistance Schools have notified parents and implemented services.

- Review and update Title I personnel lists for each building.

Monthly Title I Webinar

The August webinar and accompanying PowerPoint are available on KDE's Title I, Part A Documents and Resources webpage.

During the webinar, information centered around displaying the Office of the Inspector General’s fraud hotline poster and paraprofessional qualification requirements.

The September webinar will be held at 10 a.m. ET Sept. 26. A reminder email will be sent before the webinar.

We value your feedback and would like to learn more about what is helpful and what you would like to see more of in the monthly webinars. Anonymous feedback and topic suggestions may be submitted through the optional Title I Monthly Webinar Feedback Survey. The feedback will be used to help ensure the monthly webinars meet your needs.

CONTACTS

Title I District Consultant List