Title I

Federal Programs, Literacy, and Title I

Welcome to the Williamsport Area School District's Federal Program website. WASD receives funds annually in three Department of Education Federal Program Areas.

Below, you will find full descriptions on these programs and services and how they benefit our students.
If you have questions, please contact Director of Federal Programs, Patti Wylie (570) 327-5500, ext. 40610.

Title I, Title II and Title IV

Title I Program Description 
Title I is a 100% federally funded supplemental education program that provides financial assistance to local educational agencies to improve educational opportunities for educationally deprived children. Title I programs are designed to help children meet the state content and performance standards in reading, language arts, and mathematics. In buildings with 40% or more poverty, districts may use the funds to upgrade the entire curriculum of the school and are School-wide Programs. In buildings with less than 40% poverty, programs are designed to help specific children and are targeted assisted programs.

Title I Services 
Title I supports the development of Foundational Reading Skills throughout all primary and intermediate schools. Title I services include six school-wide projects (K-6) and an instructional coaching model offering support to classroom teachers, Title I teachers, and specialists. Reading specialists use a 100%  in-class instructional model, servicing students through small group teaching.   Research and/or evidence based instruction and programs are used and matched appropriately to students. Title I services are considered a Tier 2 intervention within the district's RtII model that compliments classroom Tier 1 core reading instructional practices. Title I services are aligned to the core reading program,  Wonders. Students receive instruction that supports their progress and achievement of the PA Core standards and within the core reading program, focusing on the areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.  Title I students in grades 3-6, receive additional instruction to support their achievement and progress on the PSSA.


Title II Program Description:

Title II, Part A, is a 100% Federally funded supplemental educational program that provides financial assistance to improve the skills of teachers and the quality of instruction in core academic subjects in public and private elementary and secondary schools. Title II funds in the district are used to support teachers through an instructional coaching model (K-6), which focuses on preparing and training, highly qualified teachers.

 Title IV Program Description:
Title IV funding provides financial support to districts to provide all students access to a well-rounded education, improve school conditions for student learning, and improve the use of technology to improve the academic achievement and digital literacy of all students.

Importance of Parental Engagement

A synthesis of the research concluded that “the evidence is consistent, positive, and convincing: families have a major influence on their child’s achievement in school and through life. When schools, families, and community groups work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school, stay in school longer, and like school more.” Studies have found that students with involved parents, no matter what their income or background, are more likely to

  • earn high grades and test scores, and enroll in higher–level programs;
  • pass their classes, earn credits, and be promoted;
  • attend school regularly; and
  • graduate and go on to post-secondary education.

Resources and links to parent engagement ideas and activities

 

 

Parent Engagement and Home to School Compacts

District Wide School Parent Compact

A written school parental engagement policy that describes how the school will carry out the parental engagement requirements.

Download District Wide School Parent Compact

WASD RtII--Response to Instruction and Intervention

Why RtII and Why Now?
The overarching goal of RtII is to improve student achievement using research based interventions matched to the instructional need and level of the student. RtII is a comprehensive, multi-tiered, standards-aligned strategy to enable early intervention for students at academic or behavioral risk. This strategy allows educators to identify and address academic and behavioral difficulties prior to student failure.

RtII Defined
RtII is a framework for providing comprehensive support to students and is not a single instructional practice. RtII is a prevention-oriented approach to linking assessment and instruction that can inform educators’ decisions about how best to teach their students. A goal of RtII is to minimize the risk for long-term negative learning labels and outcomes by responding quickly and efficiently to documented learning or behavioral concerns. RtII is not a single person but the responsibility of all teachers inclusive of classroom, title, special education, ESL, and para-educators as frontline interventionists, all of whom should be prepared to deliver all three levels of tiered interventions.

WASD District Beliefs:

  • For ALL students, RtII begins at the classroom level and with the classroom teacher
  • Teachers need to know, use, and understand the value of assessments data. Frequent and balanced use of multiple assessments provides important district level, building level, and classroom level data to make program and instructional decisions
  • All students deserve to receive supportive interventions with or without a learning label
  • Classroom teachers need to provide daily interventions to students that are at-risk of academic or behavioral failure
  • Any type of co-teaching support is “in addition to” classroom teacher support to students at the Tier 2 and Tier 3 level, but it does not “supplant” classroom teacher instruction and responsibility of providing tiered interventions
  • Interventions are delivered in the form of whole and small group and are planned for from a “data” informed teaching mindset
  • Constant and continuous data analysis and monitoring at all levels (district, building, classroom) will provide critical feedback on systemic, programmatic, and instructional changes

WASD RtII Guide

Read the district's full RtII implementation guide.

Download WASD RtII Guide