March 2026

Volume 10, Issue 3

"Without data, you are just another person with an opinion."

– W. Edwards Deming

The start of the spring season is an important time for gathering meaningful data, reflecting on progress and looking ahead to a new school year with purpose. This month’s newsletter focuses on steps for planning next year’s application, including some necessary data collection.

Data is more than numbers. Data is a story – a story about your students, your schools and their needs. By approaching data collection with intent and focus, you ensure that every decision made is rooted in understanding those needs.

Gather your data now and put the story to work for you as you plan powerful action for the year ahead.

Two Schools Named 2025 National ESEA Distinguished Schools

The National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators (NAESPA) named two Kentucky schools as National ESEA Distinguished Schools during its national conference on Feb. 10-12. The two are among 63 schools nationwide to receive the honor.

South Christian Elementary School (Christian County) was recognized for closing the achievement gap between student groups. Crofton Elementary School (Christian County) was recognized for excellence in serving special populations of students.

Principal Tiffany Gray (fourth from the left) and staff from South Christian Elementary School. Photo by Tara Rodriguez

Principal Chris Guier (far right) and staff from Crofton Elementary School. Photo by Tara Rodriguez

NAESPA has annually acknowledged the success of schools in one of three categories:

• Category 1: Exceptional student performance for two or more consecutive years;
• Category 2: Closing the achievement gap between student groups for two or more consecutive years; and
• Category 3: Excellence in serving special populations of students, such as homeless, migrant or English learners.

More information about all National ESEA Distinguished Schools is available on the NAESPA website. The list of 2025 schools can be downloaded. States not listed did not participate in 2025.

The principals and staff from each school attended the conference. Events were held throughout the conference to honor the Distinguished Schools, including:

• A special ceremony and breakfast, with a presentation by Robert Jackson;
• A networking session; and
• Distinguished School videos preceding the conference sessions in which the schools told their stories. You can view any of the 2025 Distinguished Schools videos on NAESPA’s Stories of Success webpage.

Staff from Kentucky’s 2024 Distinguished Schools, Glasscock Elementary (Marion County) and Hopkins Elementary (Somerset Independent) returned to the conference this year, with each school leading hybrid sessions during the conference.

The application process for the 2026 Distinguished Schools program will begin in the summer and announcements will be shared during newsletters and webinars, as well as emails from KDE. Next year’s conference will be held in Louisville, and we want to have strong Kentucky representation, so encourage your schools to apply for a chance to be recognized at the 2027 NAESPA conference!

Data Standard for Enrollment and Low-Income Reporting in GMAP

One of the recommended tasks for Title I coordinators in March is to determine eligible schools for Title I services using available data (e.g., economically disadvantaged, other low-income data or a combination of poverty indicators). This data is the foundation of your planning for the fiscal year (FY) 2027 application.

School enrollment and low-income data is used in GMAP to determine poverty percentages for the purpose of determining which schools will be served by Title I. The data should be collected from Infinite Campus by running an eligibility report, sometimes called the Free/Reduced Application Management (FRAM) report.

An individual FRAM report should be generated for each A1 school in the district, as well as any non-A1 schools that the district intends to serve with Title I funds. Each report must be run for the same date. Although any day from the previous school year may be used, many districts begin checking data at this time of year for planning purposes.

KDE recommends selecting a date after Oct. 1 as all eligibility forms will have been submitted and entered into Infinite Campus by this date. For example, when completing the FY2027 application, consider selecting a date between Oct. 1, 2025, and the last day of the 2025-2026 school year.

Note: Preschool grades and calendars should not be included in the reporting.

Data needed from each report includes:

• Total enrollment for each location for the date selected;
• Total number of students eligible for free and reduced price lunch (FRPL); AND/OR
• Number of students eligible for free lunch by direct means (such as Medicaid, SNAP or TANF).

Enrollment: Total enrollment for each A1 school – whether being served by Title I or not – must be entered in the “enrollment” column of the School Eligibility screen of GMAP. Total enrollment for non-A1 schools the district intends to serve with Title I must also be entered. Otherwise, the enrollment data for those locations must be reflected as “0.”

Public number: The public number column on the School Eligibility screen must reflect either the total FRPL data for each location or the number of students eligible for free lunch by direct means, otherwise known as the Direct Certification (DC) number. Either FRPL or DC numbers should be recorded in the public number column of the School Eligibility screen in GMAP for all A1 schools, regardless of Title I service. This data should also be recorded for all non-A1 schools the district intends to serve with Title I. Otherwise, the public number for those locations must be reflected as “0”.

Review the “Pulling Data for Title I Poverty Determination from Infinite Campus” on the Help for Current Page of the School Eligibility screen in GMAP for step-by-step directions and additional considerations for using low-income data appropriately.

Each report should be saved the day it is run to document the accuracy of the numbers reported in GMAP. You do not have to submit the reports to KDE; however, you should file them away in the event that your district is selected for monitoring.

Principal's Perspective: Document What Counts for Parent and Family Engagement

Submitted by Denise Harover, Title I, Part A Consultant

We all know that research has proven the importance of schools partnering with parents and families to work together toward achieving student success. These partnerships improve academic performance and inspire parents to support academic goals at home. When we provide parents with the learning and the tools they need to communicate the importance of education, we can work together as a team to create positive learning experiences.

Sometimes putting these ideas into practice can raise questions, such as, what counts as parent and family engagement? How do we become intentional about engaging parents in a way that will benefit our students?

The intent of the Title I parent and family engagement program is to engage parents in their student’s academic achievement by fostering meaningful two-way communication between the school and home, eliminating barriers to parent participation and building parent capacity for involvement. Knowing this, we need to plan activities and communication with parents in a way that puts the focus on the school, with the parents/families and the students working together as partners who all play a role in the child’s education. Our parent and family engagement activities should encourage parents to continue learning at home by sharing learning standards and strategies, becoming decision makers by serving on school committees and coming to school to learn more about their child’s daily routine.

Principals want quality parent and family engagement activities that succeed in supporting this partnership. To achieve this, effectively documenting your events is crucial. Good documentation should include feedback from parents that can be reviewed and used to build on what you have already done and ensure you provide what the parents feel they need. Be mindful and differentiate between social events that are solely for entertainment and events that are designed to make a meaningful connection to student achievement and provide parents with useful tools (not just snacks or arts and crafts) for increasing their capacity to participate in their child’s learning. When hosting these events that are intended to meet Title I parent and family engagement requirements, principals should maintain strong documentation.

Keep detailed records that describe the event, including what was shared with the parents and what they were able to take home from the experience. Be sure to include the date, agendas, flyers or advertisement for the event and sign-in sheets.

At the end of each event, consider providing a quick survey or QR code for parents to link to and provide feedback about the event. Ask them how this event could have been better. This allows you to assess how effective each event was and how you can improve it. Keep this feedback as part of your documentation that keeps you in compliance with all ESSA requirements.

You should also keep track of all financial records and expenditures associated with each event. This would include a list of Title I purchases that supported it, and a rationale for how those items are reasonable, necessary and meet the intent of Title I parent and family engagement programming to improve parent capacity. Of course, you can always consult with your Title I coordinator to make sure all spending is allowable and reasonable, or reference the Title I Part A Parent and Family Engagement Program and Allowable Uses of Funds One Pager document. KDE’s new PFE Event Summary document includes space for you to summarize the proposed event and related expenditures to help ensure alignment with program intent.

Don’t be afraid to try new and innovative ideas in your parent and family engagement activities. Include your parents in the planning of these activities to make sure you are meeting their needs and providing what they want to see at school. Be certain to include all families and accommodate all potential needs that may produce barriers to participation. Communicate with your families and community in a variety of ways and, to the extent practicable, in language they can understand, to make sure they know about parent and family engagement activities that are happening at your school.

Additional information on building parent capacity is available in Section E of the U.S. Department of Education’s Parent and Family Engagement Non-Regulatory Guidance.

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

• Two Kentucky Schools Named 2025 National ESEA Distinguished Schools
• Title I Data Collection and Reporting for 2025-2026
• Data Standard for Enrollment and Low-Income Reporting in GMAP
• Host a Principals Meeting to Prepare for FY27
• Principal’s Perspective: Document What “Counts” for Parent and Family Engagement
• District and School Title I Training Courses in the Kentucky Learning Hub
• GMAP Clean Up
• Coordinator’s Year at a Glance
• Open Title I, Part A Projects and Associated Deadlines

Title I Data Collection and Reporting for 2025-2026

Title I status in Infinite Campus must be updated to match the Title I status submitted on the district Consolidated Application in the Grant Management Application and Planning (GMAP) system. Reference the Title I Data Standards, Section A for guidance to verify and update school Title I status in Infinite Campus.

At the end of school year, 2025-2026 Title I data will be extracted from the Infinite Campus reporting warehouse for state and federal reporting and funding purposes. Each school’s Title I status is published on the Kentucky School Report Card in the school overview section.

In addition, schools designated as a Title I Targeted Assistance School (TAS) must complete a record on the student Title I Services tab for each student receiving Title I services during the current school year. Very few districts in the state have a Title I TAS designation. Reference the Title I Data Standards, Section B for guidance to complete student records for Title I services.

For additional information or questions, email Margalee Conlee.

Host a Principals Meeting for FY2027

As you prepare for planning your fiscal year (FY) 2027 Title I, Part A application, consider hosting a meeting to get all principals of Title I schools on the same page. Some topics to include:

– Hold Harmless explanation: Principals may benefit from understanding that the district gets an initial allocation and a final allocation, and that the difference between those two could result in budget cuts mid-year. Explain how the district determines its hold harmless amount and consult on your contingency plan in the event that changes to the spending plan are necessary.

– School level allocations: Discuss how school allocations and ranking are determined within GMAP. Discuss staffing needs and associated costs, helping principals to understand how much of their allocation goes toward human resources, and how much is left for supplemental supports, supplies, professional learning, etc.

– Spending in line with the approved application: Be sure that principals understand that following the approved application is a requirement. Work together to develop a process to make application revisions in the event that needs and plans change during the school year.

– Parent and family engagement (PFE) allocations: Explain how PFE dollars are distributed to each served location, and review expectations for spending down those dollars timely, meaning in the school year for which they are appropriated. Encourage each school to spend time now developing a plan for Title PFE events and guide them through ensuring that those plans meet the intent of Title I parent and family engagement to build parent capacity, and to offer effective two-way communication. Use the Title I, Part A PFE Program and Allowable Uses of Funds One Pager for pointed guidance on planning PFE expenses with intentionality.

– Allowability: Talk through other allowability standards of the Title I, Part A program and the expectation that all expenses are reasonable, allocable, necessary and documented (RAND). Use the Allowability Cost Checklist and Procedures for Title I, Part A Funds to guide your conversations.

– Review planning documents: Taking time to review each school’s needs assessment and comprehensive school improvement plan together can help principals ensure that budgeted items in the Title I application are tied to needs that are clearly documented.

District and School Title I Training Courses in the Kentucky Learning Hub

"Title I, Part A for Districts" is available as a free, self-paced online course through KDE’s professional learning platform, the KY Learning Hub.

The course is designed for the Title I coordinator and other district-level staff who work directly with the Title I, Part A program. It is recommended that staff working with Title I take the course. Six hours of Effective Instructional Leadership Act (EILA) credit will be awarded upon course completion.

Additionally, the "Title I, Part A for Schools" course is also available in the Learning Hub for school-level staff working with the Title I program. It is recommended that principals at Title I schools complete the course to help ensure a strong understanding of program requirements. Three hours of EILA credit will be awarded upon completion of the school course.

GMAP Clean Up

As a reminder, there are currently three open Title I, Part A projects: FY2024, FY2025 and FY2026. The goal is for all applications to be marked as KDE Consolidated Consultant Approved.

Please review all open projects in GMAP and verify the application status. Ensure all KDE feedback noted in the Consolidated Checklist has been addressed and that the application has been resubmitted to KDE as necessary.

The approval of the GMAP application is an approval to use federal funds on the items outlined in the budget section of the Title I, Part A application. Revising the application when the district makes significant changes allows KDE to review the proposed expenditures and amounts to ensure they are reasonable, necessary and allocable. Application revisions may be made at any point during the year through the GMAP system.

Ensure that application-to-spending alignment activities are completed and then submit all revised applications to KDE for review. Be sure to also address any necessary changes to your district’s FY2026 application following the final allocation release.

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

• Prepare the notification for participation letter for private/home schools to be sent out in the spring.
• Meet with principals of Title I schools to collect information on use of funds to support Title I programs for the next funding application.
• Use available data (e.g., economically disadvantaged, other low-income data or a combination of poverty indicators) to determine eligible schools for Title I services for next school year.

Monthly Title I Webinar

The February webinar and accompanying PowerPoint are available on the Title I, Part A Documents and Resources webpage. During the webinar, information centered around parent and family engagement events.

The March webinar will be held at 10 a.m. ET March 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