If you are a parent whose child attends the Alden Central School District and are interested in learning about Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), there are informational meetings being held on Thursday, May 9^th, or Tuesday, May 21^st.

The meeting on May 9^th, 2019, will take place in the Alden High School Library beginning at 5:15 pm and should end roughly around 6 pm. The meeting on May 21^st is in Room 208 of the Alden Intermediate School beginning at 9:15 am and wrapping up around 10 am.

The federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or ESEA, was enacted in 1965. Now known as Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA, it has replaced the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act that was enacted in 2002. The ESSA has been fully operational since the 2017-2018 school year after President Obama reauthorized the act in December of 2015. According to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s website, Title I, Part A of the act pertains to programs and services for struggling learners.

Title I, Part A is the oldest and largest federal education program. The program’s mission is “…to provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps”. There are many key components of this federal program detailed on the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s website. To keep things simple, the district has bullet points on their website pertaining to what will be discussed at the meetings including but not limited to, “how children are identified for Title I services”, “what types of activities can be done at home to help your child succeed”, and “how you can be involved in the Title I program at school”.

Also, for your convenience, Mrs. Sharon Hance, the Director of Student and Staff Learning in the Alden Central School District, answers a few general inquiries about the Title I, Part A meetings that any parents or the public may have.

She states that parents can expect to “…hear about Academic Intervention Services provided through Federal Title 1 ESSA funding.  These services are provided at Alden Primary, Alden Intermediate, and Alden Middle School.  They will also have an opportunity to offer input related to improving supports for students”.

In regard to how the program benefits students and parents alike, they “…are given an opportunity to learn about success measures such as classroom assessments, AIMS web benchmark assessments, as well as overall performance on standards-based assessments such as the Grades 3-8 English Language Arts and Mathematics examinations.  Parents and family members are also asked for their perceptions of supports for students. All of this information is used to improve our programs”. By attending one of the meetings, parents can share their voice on this program.

Mrs. Hance shares that Alden parents and families have been supportive of the Academic Intervention and Support Services and encourages the public to attend not only to become further educated about the ESSA, but to provide their standpoints and suggest improvements for the program. In her words, “parents and families are valuable partners”.

To sum up, if you are a parent whose child is in the Alden Central School District or you are a part of the Alden community and genuinely interested in learning more about Title I, Part A of the ESSA, remember to attend one of the two offered meetings in the evening of May 9^th or the morning of May 21^st.

      I’m Carolyn Freeman reporting for WACS News.