ISD Title 1 Program

BY SUSAN HARPER

Title 1 Teacher at Apollo Elementary

Title I programs and services provide supplemental education assistance that helps students meet our state’s challenging academic standards and assessments while also taking an active, engaged interest in what they learn and can do.

The Issaquah School District's Title I, Part A program mission is to provide intensive intervention for students not meeting standard in literacy and, in some schools, math. The goal of the program is to accelerate learning for these students and bring them quickly to standard.

Those elementary schools whose free and reduced lunch rate is higher than the district average receive Title I, Part A dollars to support identified students. Students within these buildings are targeted for assistance based on multiple measures. Test scores from Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA), district assessments, grades, Fountas and Pinnell reading assessments, and teacher observation are combined to create a rankordered list of students. Students are invited into Title I, Part A programs, beginning with those most in need of service. As students exit the program, their place is taken by the next student with the greatest need. Students identified for Title I services are taught by highly qualified, certificated teachers in a small group setting.

Many parents are concerned about whether the pull-out during the school day will interfere with students’ regular learning time. They are afraid that there will be a regular curriculum learning loss during Title 1 time. How do the classroom and Title 1 teachers cooperate to make sure there won’t be any regular class learning loss?

In the Issaquah School District, we do our best to offer a full continuum of support in literacy and math. Title I services are considered Intensive Interventions, which are evidence-based programs provided to supplement core instruction in ways that targeted classroom supports may not be able to accomplish effectively.

Title teachers always attempt to minimize the impact of students missing classroom instruction, adhering to guidelines to ensure that core instruction is not missed during intervention services. Title teachers also work to collaborate and partner with classroom teachers to promote the transfer of skills and to enhance student learning.

At Apollo Elementary, we have three Title 1/LAP intervention specialists: Susan Harper (myself), Jody Chandonnet, and Andrea Bahr. Jody and I work full-time, and Andrea is part-time. Collectively, we have been working at Apollo for nearly 50 years! We say we have the best teaching job at school- targeted small group instruction. Most of our time is spent teaching reading. This year we also started teaching a few math groups for fourth and fifth graders.

We are dedicated to staying current with the best practices in reading instruction. Currently, we are participating in a two-year LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) training provided by the school district. Our coursework has positively and directly impacted our teaching and student learning.

We have seen great success in student learning due to the collaboration with MLL (Multi Language Learner) teachers, classroom teachers, and parents. Often parents ask us for ways to work with their children at home. Here are our best ideas: read, read, read to your children at home in any language, play board and cards games that foster communication, turn on the closed captioning feature on the television, check your child’s Clever page for reading activities supported by the teacher, and remember to ask the teacher for any needed support.