TITLE I

Director of Title I Services

Mrs. Heather Cox

Title I began in 1965 as a part of The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Title I funds provide additional educational opportunities for students needing extra academic support in order to succeed. In 2001, Congress amended ESEA and reauthorized it as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of which Title I remained a part. The No Child Left Behind Act ( NCLB 2001) continued funding academic support opportunities for students and established school and district-level sub-group reading and math academic “targets.” Beginning in 2011, states could apply for NCLB flexibility waivers by creating state-developed plans to prepare all students forcollege and career, to focus aid on the neediest students, and to support effective teaching and leadership. On May 30, 2012, North Carolina’s flexibility request was approved. The approved flexibility request, allows schools in North Carolina to be measured against annual measurable objectives (AMOs) rather than the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) targets established under No Child Left Behind.

Under the approved flexibility request, Title I School Designations are Focus Schools (an elementary or middle school that is contributing to the achievement gap in the state), Priority Schools (a school that has been identified as among the lowest-performing schools in the state), or Reward School (high-performing school without significant achievement gaps across subgroups; or a high progress school). Based on test data from the 11 – 12 school year, East Yancey Middle School, Cane River Middle School, and Micaville Elementary Schoolachieved Reward School – Highest Performing designation. In addition, East Yancey Middle School achieved honors among the top ten percent of all Reward Schools in the state. At the present time, Yancey County Schools does not have any schools designated as Priority (low-performing) or Focus (contributing to state’s achievement gap) Schools.

Yancey County has seven Title I Schoolwide Schools – Bald Creek Elementary, Burnsville Elementary, Clearmont Elementary, Micaville Elementary, South Toe Elementary, Cane River Middle School, and East Yancey Middle Schools. A Title I Schoolwide school is a school where at least forty percent of students receive free or reduced price lunch. For additional Title I information, see the NC Department of Public Instruction's Federal Programs site

Notification to Parents of Teacher Qualifications

The federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) requires school districts to notify parents/legal guardians of children attending Title I schools of their right to know the professional qualifications of the classroom teachers and paraprofessionals who instruct their child. All K – 8 schools in Yancey County are Title I schools.

Yancey County Schools will provide you with this information in a timely manner if you request it. Specifically, you have the right to request the following information about each of your child’s core academic-subject teachers/paraprofessionals:

· Whether the teacher meets the state qualifications and licensing criteria for the grades and core academic subjects he/she teaches.

· Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency status because of special circumstances.

· The teacher’s college major, whether the teacher has any advanced degrees and the field of discipline of the certification or degree.

· Whether paraprofessionals/teacher assistants provide services to your child and, if so, their qualifications.

In addition, the law requires that all schools that receive Title I funds provide notification to every parent in the school whose child is being taught for four or more weeks by a teacher who is not “Highly Qualified”. Yancey County Schools is committed to providing quality instruction for all students.

If you would like to receive any of the information listed above for your child’s teacher/paraprofessional, please contact your child’s school to request forms. Please return completed forms to your child’s school. Carla McMahan, Yancey County Schools Human Resources Director, maintains these records for Yancey County Schools and responds to parent requests received from schools.

YANCEY COUNTY SCHOOLS' ANNUAL FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are "eligible students."

Parents or eligible students have the right to inspect and review the student's education records maintained by the school. Schools are not required to provide copies of records unless, for reasons such as great distance, it is impossible for parents or eligible students to review the records. Schools may charge a fee for copies.

Parents or eligible students have the right to request that a school correct records which they believe to be inaccurate or misleading. If the school decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student then has the right to a formal hearing. After the hearing, if the school still decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student has the right to place a statement with the record setting forth his or her view about the contested information.

Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31):

- School officials with legitimate educational interest;

- Other schools to which a student is transferring;

- Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes;

- Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student;

- Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school;

- Accrediting organizations;

- To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena;

- Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and

- State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law.

Schools may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. However, schools must tell parents and eligible students about directory information and allow parents and eligible students a reasonable amount of time to request that the school not disclose directory information about them. Schools must notify parents and eligible students annually of their rights under FERPA. The actual means of notification (special letter, inclusion in a PTA bulletin, student handbook, or newspaper article) is left to the discretion of each school.