Board Approves Title I Designations for 2013-14

Guilford County Schools (GCS) designated 61 schools as Title I schools for the 2013-14 school year during its board meeting on Tuesday. That's one more school than in the 2012-13 school year.

Title I schools receive federal funds based on the number of students living in low-income households. GCS uses the number of students who qualify to receive free and reduced-price lunch (FRL) as a standard for Title I status.

The board voted to lower the threshold for elementary schools to 56 percent free or reduced-price lunch, which allowed Madison Elementary and Monticello-Brown Summit Elementary to attain Title I status. A total of 44 elementary schools in GCS will be designated as Title I next year.

The board maintained its criteria for middle schools (66 percent FRL) and high schools (75 percent FRL) to receive Title I status. Under those guidelines, 10 schools will remain as Title I middle schools. Seven high schools or alternative schools are on the list for 2013-14, down from eight in 2012-13. Pruette SCALE will not receive Title I funds next year.

District wide, more students qualified for free and reduced-price lunch this year, reaching a total of 57.5 percent of the district's 72,000 students. That's an increase from 56.6 percent this school year.

Title I schools receive a dollar amount per pupil for every student who qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The funds are used for all students in the school, not just those who qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch. Some schools have more than 97 percent of their student population who qualify. The dollar amount per student hasn't been determined yet for 2013-14.

Title I funds can be used to pay for additional positions at the school, for extra materials, for greater professional development for teachers or to help students pay for enrichment activities such as field trips.