DUNMORE — Every Dunmore School District student will now have an opportunity to benefit from federal funding after a change in the district’s Title I program.
The school board unanimously voted Wednesday to convert Dunmore to a Title I District. Director John Summa was absent.
“It upgrades the entire educational program, K through 12,” said district Title I Coordinator Michele Kokindo.
Title I funding provides financial assistance to districts “with high numbers or high percentages of children from low-income families to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards,” according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Beginning in the 2019-20 school year, Dunmore will be able to use more than $500,000 in Title I funding to improve all programs across the district. Title I funding for districts nationwide is determined by poverty level.
Dunmore Elementary Center, at a 45.5 percent poverty level, is currently a Title I school under the Targeted Assistance Program, Kokindo said. Students who qualify as Title I benefit from teachers, programs and resources paid for by the federal funds.
With the poverty rate slowly rising districtwide, the high school’s poverty level is now at 38 percent. After receiving a waiver, Dunmore now qualifies for the federal Title I Schoolwide Program, which is typically for schools at a 40 percent poverty level and above.
“This will allow every student in both of our schools to receive services ... and to have access to any resource that comes from Title money,” said Superintendent John Marichak.
With assistance from the school’s staff, Kokindo is working on a needs assessment using district data to determine where to best apply the funding and hopes to provide assistance in reading and math across the district, among other initiatives.
Kokindo submitted a Schoolwide Title I Program plan to the district’s federal programs contact. She was given informal verbal and email confirmation that Dunmore was approved.
Dunmore typically receives around $470,000 annually in Title I funding, said Kokindo. Under the schoolwide program, they can also roll Dunmore’s $70,000 in Title II funding — used for professional development and to reduce class sizes — and Title IV funds, which were used for security upgrades, into Title I, she said.
“It’s going to bring our Title I allocation up over $500,000,” Kokindo said.
Families and the public will be notified of the change in the district’s program, she added.
Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the board approved advertising a request for proposals for a districtwide energy savings project.
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