Saugus looks at Title 1 programs
District weighs options of changing status of two elementary schools: Skyblue Mesa and Highlands
Skyblue Mesa Elementary School and Highlands Elementary School could soon operate schoolwide Title I programs to help all students meet state academic standards.
Currently, schools in California qualify as Title 1 schools if 40 percent or more of their students are from low-income families.
In the Saugus Union School District, there are currently two Title 1 Schools: Cedarcreek Elementary School and Rio Vista Elementary School. At Cedarcreek, 78.5 percent of students are eligible for free and reduced-price lunch; at Rio Vista, 65.40 percent of students are eligible for free and reducedprice lunch.
Through this Title 1 status, Cedarcreek and Rio Vista receive additional funding to implement programs that focus on schoolwide achievement and on the success of the lowestachieving students.
However, other Saugus district schools who do not meet the 40 percent threshold for Title 1 status may
still implement a Title 1 Schoolwide Program through waivers under the Every Student Succeeds Act.
“It’s a complicated process to get schools authorized for a schoolwide Title 1 program. Highlands is not a Title 1 school yet, and Skyblue is what’s known as a Targeted Assistance school where the (Title 1) program identifies specific students for different programs,” Saugus district President Christopher Trunkey said. “We will be looking to establish Skyblue as a Schoolwide Program and establish Highlands as a Schoolwide Program for Title 1 to be able to use Title 1 funding for programs at those schools.”
To create these schoolwide programs and to gain Title 1 status, the schools must apply for a waiver through the California Department of Education.
Both Skyblue Mesa and Highlands qualify for the waiver, because more than 25 percent of their students are from low-income families. Based on 2018 percentages of free and reduced-price lunch applications, 35.2 percent of Skyblue Mesa students applied for free and reduced-price lunch and 35 percent of Highlands students applied for free and reduced-price lunch.
The schools are expected to present this request for the waiver and Schoolwide Program to the Saugus Governing Board Tuesday. Under California law, the Governing Board must authorize the waiver for the program to be implemented.
“What we’re doing Tuesday night is starting that process,” Trunkey said.
After the board approves the waiver request, schools must complete a Needs Assessment and develop a (Schoolwide Program) Plan that must then be approved by the Governing Board.
“The process begins with the schools creating a plan and doing the assessment,” Trunkey said. “Those should come back to the board for approval before the end of the school year. Then we apply for the waiver to CDE and then certify those schools as Title 1.”
Overall, these Schoolwide Programs are based on the idea that comprehensive reform strategies, rather than separate, add-on services, are most effective in raising academic achievement for the lowest achieving students in a school.
“Its primary goal is to ensure that all students, particularly those who are low-achieving, demonstrate proficient and advanced levels of achievement on State academic achievement standards,” the agenda item read. “SWP allows staff in schools with high concentrations of students from low-income families to redesign their entire educational program to serve all students.”
Through the Schoolwide Programs, Skyblue Mesa and Highlands will serve all students through improved structures and resources that support student learning and achievement.
“Adopting this strategy should result in an ongoing, comprehensive plan for school improvement that is owned by the entire school community and tailored to its unique needs,” the agenda item read.
This is not the first time schools in the Saugus district applied for Title 1 status through the waiver program. Both Cedarcreek and Rio Vista were classified as Targeted Assistance schools before becoming schoolwide Title 1 programs.
“The funding and differentiation of those programs resulted in those receiving recognition as National title I Achieving Schools at the same time 14 schools achieved the Gold Ribbon Status,” Trunkey said. “The programs led to year-over-year increases in test scores.”