Federal Programs Title III

The National ESEA Conference took place in February in Portland, OR.  If you didn’t get a chance to attend,  I highly recommend attending the 2025 conference in Houston next year.  There is always something one can learn.  One of the more helpful things I learned applied to the Title III funding and the supplement not … Read more

Comprehensive Needs Assessment and Title IV

It’s that time of year for districts to begin the comprehensive needs assessment, starting with stakeholder surveys.  These surveys are often provided to parents, teachers, and students.  In addition to the surveys, an excellent comprehensive needs assessment includes data that enables an efficient review of the current year and prior years’ successes and challenges.   … Read more

Happy New Year to 2024

It is hard to believe it is already 2024, and the school year is halfway over!  I hope everyone had a safe, relaxing, and joyous holiday break and you could return to work refreshed and renewed. So, what’s next for us in 2024?  To name just a few upcoming requirements, we can anticipate the FY24 … Read more

2023 is Almost Over!

It’s hard to believe 2023 is almost over, and half of the school year is gone.  As the calendar year wraps up, what is happening in federal programs? For many of us, December has been filled with working with schools to finalize their schoolwide plans, completing the Consolidated State Performance Report (CSPR) surveys, and requesting … Read more

Schoolwide Plan Time Again

It is already November!  The year is going quickly. In Mississippi, due to several circumstances, districts did not complete our schoolwide plans for FY23 until the spring of 2023.  The State Department is trying to get back on schedule and has released the FY24 schoolwide plans for completion. The schoolwide plan (SWP) is the tool … Read more

Comparability

It’s that time of year to begin thinking about that federal program requirement of school comparability.  So, what is comparability in the federal program world?  The comparability requirement is intended to ensure that school districts spend as much, if not more, state and local resources on Title 1 funded schools as they do with non-Title … Read more

Back-to-School Already

Many school districts are already back in full swing of the new school year, while others are getting ready to kick off.  Whatever your district’s start time, it is a busy and exciting time.  As Federal Programs Director, I don’t want to overwhelm my principals with too much paperwork; however, I know there are required … Read more

Summer…No Holiday for Federal Programs

It’s July, and I imagine people have asked you, “How are you enjoying your summer?”  There appears to be the assumption that federal programs take a summer break like students take a summer break.  Not so!  Right?  For many of us, summer is when we can get things done.  So amidst the various conferences and … Read more

District Title Planning

It’s the time of year that districts are planning for the 2024 school year.  If a district receives federal funds, the district must have a planning process for spending the funds, including stakeholder input.  As I plan my spring planning meeting, I invite various stakeholders, including district representatives from departments such as the business office, … Read more

Monitoring Hints

Federal Program monitoring visits are in full swing around the state.  It may be your turn next year if you weren’t monitored this year.  Even if you aren’t one of the chosen lucky ones (touch of sarcasm there), maintaining documentation for each indicator is always a good practice.  This is an excellent self-assessment for risk … Read more

SCHOOLWIDE PLANS

The schoolwide plan (SWP) is the tool a Title I school uses to determine the school’s needs and develop a plan to improve the school’s academic achievement.   The schoolwide plan details the process used for planning, the data utilized to determine the school’s needs, the analysis of strengths and weaknesses, and the priorities established … Read more

Comprehensive Needs Assessment and Title IV

One of the federal programs’ mandatory requirements is conducting an annual comprehensive needs assessment (CNA).  Many districts annually offer a survey to faculty, students, and parents and consider this their comprehensive needs assessment.  In reality, the CNA is more than a survey.  A good comprehensive needs assessment includes data that enables an efficient review of the … Read more

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