Federal Programs

SANDRA M. PLANTZ - Director-Federal Programs/Homeless Liaison/Gifted

Email: gl_splantz@gallialocal.org Phone: 1-470-379-9085, extension 10024

Federal Programs- Gallia County Local Schools

Title I Grant- (Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged) School-wide Programs: Serving all Elementary and Middle Schools

Title I, Part A (Title I) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), provides financial assistance to local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools with high numbers or high percentages of children from low-income families to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards. Title I funds for schoolwide programs serve all children in that school.

LEAs target the Title I funds they receive to public schools with the highest percentages of children from low-income families. Unless a participating school is operating a schoolwide program, the school must focus Title I services on children who are failing, or most at risk of failing, to meet State academic standards. Schools enrolling at least 40 percent of children from low-income families are eligible to use Title I funds for schoolwide programs designed to upgrade their entire educational programs to improve achievement for all students, particularly the lowest-achieving students.
Title I is designed to help students served by the program to achieve proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards. Title I schools with percentages of students from low-income families of at least 40 percent may use Title I funds, along with other Federal, State, and local funds, to operate a

Types of Programs Title I supports in our district:

Elementary & Middle School’s School Budgets, Title One Teacher & Family Liaison Salary & Benefits, software to support Reading & Math achievement, parent involvement activities & newsletters.

Title II-Part A- Supporting Effective Instruction

In general, Title II funds can be used to provide supplemental activities that strengthen the quality and effectiveness of teachers, principals and other school leaders. The purpose of Title II is to:

Increase student achievement consistent with state standards;
Improve the quality and effectiveness of teachers, principals and other school leaders;
Increase the number of teachers, principals and other school leaders who are effective in improving student academic achievement in schools; and
Provide low-income and minority students greater access to effective teachers, principals and other school leaders.

What is meant by “high-quality professional development”?

The term “high-quality professional development” means professional development that meets the criteria contained in the definition of professional development in Title IX, Section 9101(34) of ESEA. Professional development includes, but is not limited to, activities that:

Improve and increase teachers’ knowledge of academic subjects and enable teachers to become highly qualified;
Are an integral part of broad schoolwide and district wide educational improvement plans;
Give teachers and principals the knowledge and skills to help students meet challenging State academic standards;
Improve classroom management skills;
Are sustained, intensive, and classroom-focused and are not one-day or short-term workshops;
Advance teacher understanding of effective instruction strategies that are based on scientifically based research; and
Are developed with extensive participation of teachers, principals, parents, and administrators.

Title IV, Part A-Student Support and Academic enrichment Grant

Title IV-A is called Student Support and Academic Enrichment. The U.S. Department of Education awards Title IV-A funds to state educational agencies (SEAs), which then subgrant funds to Local Education Agencies (LEAs).

Purpose:

The purpose of the Title IV-A grant program is to improve students’ academic achievement by increasing the capacity of states, LEAs, schools and local communities to:
1. Provide all students with access to a well-rounded education;
2. Improve school conditions for student learning; and
3. Improve the use of technology in order to improve the academic achievement and digital literacy of all students.

Stronger Connections Grant- supplement to Title IV, A

The Stronger Connections Grant was authorized under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. Ohio received $35 million to award to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to provide students with safe and healthier learning environments that prepare them for success. Safe, inclusive and supportive learning environments are associated with improved academic achievement and emotional well-being of students, as well as with reductions in disciplinary actions, as described in this letter from the United States Department of Education. The SCG is a supplement to the Title IV, Part A, Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) program. The grant will be awarded competitively to LEAs that meet selected criteria indicating they are “High-Needs” for school health and safety.

Title VI-B- Rural and Low-Income Schools Grant

Title V Part B (REAP) provides supplemental funding to support eligible rural districts that do not have the capacity to compete for federal competitive grants and receive smaller allocations in Federal entitlement funds. The REAP funds are used to implement effective Federal programs to improve student academic performance.

School districts under this program must use funds to supplement authorized** activities under federal funds listed below:

Title I Part A
Title II Part A
Title III (LEP and Immigrant)
Title IV Part A or B

The U.S. Department of Education administers and awards this grant.

21st Century Community Learning Centers Grant

Nita M. Lowery 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants provides opportunities for children who come from economically disadvantaged families and attend low-performing schools to receive academic supports. School districts, schools, community-based organizations, including faith-based organizations, institutions of higher education, city or county government agencies, for-profit corporations and other public or private entities are eligible for the 21^st CCLC grant.

The Ohio Department of Education's Office of Future Forward Ohio administers the 21^st CCLC grant. This federally funded grant program supports high-quality, out-of-school time learning opportunities and related activities for students who attend eligible schools. Recent flexibility from the U.S. Department of Education allows 21^st CCLC funds to be used for expanded learning time programming during the school day, week or year in addition to out-of-school time.

Funding for this grant is contingent upon the Department’s receipt of federal funding.

*Gallia County Local- has been awarded 21st Learning Centers Grants for all of our schools and is operated through the Gallia-Jackson-Vinton Education Service Center.

Expanding Opportunities for Each Child Grant

The Expanding Opportunities for Each Child grant program is meant to expand access to and enrollment in school improvement activities for low-achieving students and students from low-income families.

This grant's four focus areas of advanced coursework, career pathways, personalized learning, and credit recovery and academic acceleration services provide a unique opportunity for districts and community schools to create and expand programming that aligns with Ohio’s strategic plan for education.

If you have any questions regarding grant funding or the programs it operates, please do not hesitate to contact me,.

Thank You, Sandra Plantz

Homeless Info & Resources

INTRODUCTION

Children and youth experiencing homelessness face unique challenges in accessing and succeeding in school. Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, reauthorized in 2015 by Title IX, Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act (42 U.S.C. § 11431 et seq.; hereafter the McKinney-Vento Act), establishes the definition of homeless used by U.S. public schools, and the educational rights to which children and youth experiencing homelessness are entitled. For schools to be able to provide services to students in homeless situations, they first must be able to identify these students. To this end, an effective understanding of the McKinney-Vento definition of homeless is a key first step to ensuring the delivery of needed supports to some of our nation’s most vulnerable students.

MCKINNEY-VENTO DEFINITION OF HOMELESS 42 U.S.C. § 11434a(2)

The term “homeless children and youth”— A. means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence....and includes...

children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;
are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
are living in emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals;
children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings…;
children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings;
and migratory children…who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described in clauses (i) through (iii).
as well as Unaccompanied Youth- The McKinney-Vento Act defines unaccompanied youth as “a homeless child or youth not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian” [42 USC § 11434a(6)]. Taking a closer look at the definition, two conditions must be present for a child or youth to be considered an unaccompanied youth under the McKinney-Vento Act.
- 1. The child’s or youth’s living arrangement meets the Act’s definition of homeless, and
- 2. The child or youth is not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian.

To this end, McKinney-Vento students, including unaccompanied youth, have the right to

• receive a free, appropriate public education;

• enroll in school immediately, even if lacking documents normally required for enrollment, or having missed application or enrollment deadlines during any period of homelessness;

• enroll in school and attend classes while the school gathers needed documents;

• continue attending the school of origin1 , or enroll in the local attendance area school if attending the school of origin is not in the best interest of the student or is contrary to the request of the parent, guardian, or unaccompanied youth2 ;

• receive transportation to and from the school of origin, if requested by the parent or guardian, or by

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