Title I schools in the St. Vrain Valley School District have been outpacing non-Title I schools in math growth this school year, according to a new report presented at the district’s latest study session.
The district assessed iReady scores for the third and fifth grades in the Title I schools, which receive federal grants based on poverty rates.
“If 75% of a population meet the guidelines for free lunch, then the federal government recommends that we designate that school a Title school, and we provide them the additional funds,” said Dr. Ann Reed, executive director of assessment for the district, during the study session April 19. “In our school district, on average, 80% of our students that attend Title schools qualify for free or reduced lunch.”
In the fall and winter of this school year, the progress toward the annual typical growth rate in math scores at local Title I schools was 72%, compared to 56% for non-Title I schools, according to the report.
The district’s Title I schools include Columbine, Indian Peaks, Mountain View, Northridge and Rocky Mountain elementary schools; Longs Peak Middle School and Timberline PK-8. Out of 32,000 students in the school district, 2,457 attend Title I schools.
“The last six years I have been privileged to work very closely with our Title schools — they are amazing,” Reed told the Board of Education during the study session. “When you think about our Title schools, they have higher preponderance of mobility, housing insecurity, food insecurity — they have impacts. And we greatly value those funds that we have from the federal government to support them.”
The St. Vrain Valley School District provides instructional coordinators, coaches, the Dyslexia Task Force, the Project Launch summer literacy program, English Language Development and other initiatives to help students in Title I schools exceed academically.
“We systematically go above and beyond what is provided by the federal government to ensure that these children have access to a plethora of supports,” Reed explained.
Around 57% of students who attend Title I schools in the district are English language learners, while only 14% of students in non-Title I schools are English language learners, district data shows.
Students in Title I schools were heavily impacted by the pandemic, Reed said.
“If you’re an English language learner and you’re trying to navigate the hybrid environment — the fragmented ‘we’re in school, we’re not in school’ quarantine — it’s very challenging if you’re learning English simultaneously while you’re learning rigorous academic content,” she told the board.
Any students who fell behind have been given extra support to help them catch up, Reed explained.
“That’s how we’re going to continue to accelerate,” she said. “Because one thing we know here in St. Vrain: The longer you’re in our school, the longer you’re in our system — those interventions, those supports add up.”
