Title I is a federally funded program that provides financial assistance to school districts and schools with high numbers or high percentages of children from low-income families to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards and state academic assessments.

The purpose of Title I is to provide supplemental funding that may be used to provide additional instructional staff, professional development, extended learning programs, and other strategies for raising student achievement in high-poverty schools.

Critical program elements of Title I Schools: 

• Comprehensive needs assessment and schoolwide plan
• Support for Title I Focus and Priority schools
• Coordination of services for homeless students
• High-quality teachers and paraprofessionals
• Professional Development

Title I schools are determined by the percentage of students at each school who are eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch.

Title I funds promote:

• High academic achievement for all children
• A greater focus on teaching and learning
• Flexibility to foster local initiatives coupled with responsibility for student performance
• Improved connections among schools, parents, and communities

Parents may find one or more of the following in a Title I school:

• Intervention classes providing intensive assistance in reading, math, writing, and/or science.
• Additional resource teachers and paraprofessionals/assistants who are highly qualified
• Additional training for school staff
• A variety of teaching methods and materials
• Special learning events for parents and families
• Training for parents and families to help their child/children do better in school
• Extended Day and Year Programs such as Before and After School Tutoring and/or Summer Learning Programs

Title I schools will provide parents and families of participating children with:

• timely information about Title I programs;
• a description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school;
• academic assessments – such as the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) or The Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) and i-Ready - used to measure student progress and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet; and
• if requested by parents, opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children, and to respond to any such suggestions as soon as possible.