Berkeley Lake Elementary Becomes Title I School

leaders just recently learned the school was eligible as a Title 1 school and joins Gwinnett County Public Schools' 54 other schools with that designation.

That status is based on the number of students in a school who are receiving free or reduced lunches; 59 percent of Berkeley Lake ES students qualify and are receiving free or reduced lunches.

"Berkeley Lake is a high performing school," said Carol Grady, the director of Federal and Special Programs for GCPS. "But Berkeley Lake's [elementary school] student population poverty level has risen."

Title 1 is a federally funded program to assist failing or at risk of failing students in meeting state standards. Typically increased poverty often relates to lower performing students, said Grady.

Berkeley Lake has a student population of 1,176, some 694 are receiving free or reduced meals. The school's principal, Dr. F.A. McLeod, is delighted to have the extra funds to support her students.

"Our students have made great strides in recent years as evidenced by being named a Distinguished School by the Governor's Office of Student Achievement as well as being awarded Platinum Status for Improvement," said Dr. F.A. McLeod, the school's principal. "In addition, we were the top performing elementary school on the fourth grade English/Language Arts CRCT last year.

"Now we'll be able to support our students even more with additional resources. Our parents and community members have been very involved and supportive as we make plans on how to best support all of our students and see them succeed."

The Title I funds may be used in a variety of ways, explained Grady.

"The determination on use of funds is made by the school's Title I Committee," said Grady. "This committee is made up of various stakeholder groups such as administrators, faculty, staff, parents and community members.

"Berkley Lake has a Title I Committee that has been working for several
weeks to develop the school's Title I Plan....Great work is already happening at
BLES and with additional funding during these challenging economic times
they are going to be able to stay on course and continue their success."

Examples of Title I resources for students:

Extended Learning Programs such as Before/After/Saturday/Summer
     School. Transportation can be provided for some of these programs.
     Stipends can be paid to highly qualified teachers.

Additional supplies and materials can be purchased.  These would
     include instructional materials for daily classroom use and extended
     learning programs.

Classroom sets of books, leveled books for a book room and books for
     the Media Center can be purchased.

Math materials can also be purchased for classrooms and for a Math
     Lab.

Additional teachers may be hired to lower class sizes.

Additional technology may be purchased.  Increased technology allows
     teachers the opportunity to be more interactive with their students
     and saves time.

Funding for a full time Title I Administrator impacts student
     achievement by working closely with teachers to monitor student
     performance through data collection.  This additional administrator
     works with teachers to identify student strengths and weaknesses and
     make necessary adjustments in student instruction.

Examples of resources for teachers include:

Staff development opportunities are available. Schools can send
     teachers to conferences, bring in consultants, pay stipends to their
     staff members to participate in or present on site workshops, or pay
     for substitute teachers for collaborative planning days.

Supplies and materials can be purchased for staff development
     meetings.  This includes supplies such as binders, posters as well as
     videos, training kits, and book study materials.

Instructional coaches can be hired to support teacher needs and
     improve student performance.

And examples of resources for parents:

Parents have multiple opportunities to participate in regularly
     scheduled workshops/trainings, designed to meet their specific needs.

Parents have the opportunity to be involved in the joint development,
     evaluation, and revision of the school’s Title 1 Program, in addition
     to that of the district wide Title I program.

Schools operating "SchoolWide" Title 1 Programs receive funding with
     which a Parent Instructional Support Coordinator is hired to
     facilitate an on-site Parent Center.  These highly qualified,
     certified teachers are available to assist parents and link them with
     community resources.

Title 1 funding can be used to purchase resources such as:
     educational games, books, videos/DVDs, on-line academic programs,
     materials that address social and parenting issues, and other
     resources that support student learning.

English classes may be offered to Non-English speaking parents.

Communication to parents is provided in a format and language that is
     easy to understand.

Childcare and transportation services can be offered to increase
     parent involvement.

According to its website, there are 133 schools in the GCPS system; of the 54 Title 1 schools, 36 are elementary schools, 10 are middle schools, and eight are high schools. With the addition of Berkleley Lake, it brings the total number of Title 1 schools to 55.

Berkeley Lake Elementary is part of the Duluth Cluster.