What is Title I?

Title I is additional money from the federal government provided to schools, which have a high percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. 

More information about Title I can be accessed on our district Title I department webpage or our State of Alaska Title I webpage. 

What is the Purpose of Title I?

Provide additional support to students in need, to ensure they are successful in school.

What is a School-Wide Plan?

A Title I schoolwide program is a comprehensive reform strategy designed to upgrade the entire education program in a Title I school in order to improve the achievement of the lowest-achieving students (ESEA section 1114(a)(1)). Under ESEA, a school may initially operate a schoolwide program if it meets any of the following conditions: 

• A Title I school with 40% or more of its students living in poverty, regardless of the grades it serves.
• A Title I school receives a waiver from the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development to operate a schoolwide program without meeting the 40% poverty threshold.

A copy of Baxter's Plan can be accessed under this link

Why does Baxter Qualify to be a Title I School?

According to our State of Alaska Department of Education:

"Upon implementation of the schoolwide plan, the Title I school served a student population in which at least 40% of the students are from low-income families, or the school received a waiver from the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development to operate a schoolwide program without meeting the 40% poverty threshold.  The school has completed the schoolwide planning process and has met the requirements of the Title I legislation relating to schoolwide planning, implementation, and evaluation criteria as outlined in section 1114 of the ESEA. The district has worked in consultation with the school as the school developed the schoolwide plan and will continue to assist the school in implementing, evaluating, and revising the plan annually."

Updated information about our school enrollment data can be accessed at our school district's data dashboard. By clicking on detailed enrollment and selecting Baxter.  Families can find information about our school enrollment.  Baxter students who are classified as Economically Disadvantaged typically range from 80% to 85% of our school population depending on the school year.   

How are goals in the plan identified?

According to our State of Alaska Department of Education:

• Conducting a comprehensive needs assessment. To ensure that a school’s comprehensive plan best serves the needs of those children who are failing, or are at-risk of failing, to meet the challenging State academic standards, the school must conduct a comprehensive needs assessment. (ESEA section 1114(b)(6)). Through the needs assessment, a school must examine relevant academic achievement data and other data to understand students’ most pressing needs and their root causes. The needs assessment should include consultation with a broad range of stakeholders (described above). Where necessary, a school should attempt to engage in interviews, focus groups, or surveys, as well as review data on students, educators, and schools to gain a better understanding of the root causes of the identified needs.

Our school uses information from:

ASD's Data Dashboard

School Climate and Connectedness Survey Data

State of Alaska: Baxter Elementary Profile

This data as well as data conducted internally allows our school to identify goals and set priorities.

Who completes the school-wide plan and the comprehensive needs assessment?

Our school-wide Title I committee will begin working on a comprehensive needs assessment and the school-wide plan beginning in January until it is completed in the spring. 

Who is a part of the school-wide Title I committee?

Baxter's Team is made up of staff, teachers, parents, and the school principal.  Parental involvement is always encouraged.  Any parent willing to attend our meeting is always welcome.  

When does the Title I committee meet?

How can the school and parents partner in supporting each other?

Each year our Title I committee meets and develops a Family Engagement Plan.  Our plan outlines ways our school creates strong connections with our student families.  A copy of Baxter's Family Engagement Plan can be accessed under this link.

Parents' Right to Know

Under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the parents of students attending Title I schools have the right to request the professional qualifications of their children’s teachers.  I can assure you that all teachers in the Anchorage School District meet strict state standards and are indeed qualified to teach, but you have the right also to ask for the following information about each of your child’s classroom teachers:

• Whether the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development has issued an Alaska teacher’s certificate for the grade(s) and subject(s) he or she teaches.

• Whether the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development has decided that your child’s teacher can teach without being certified under state regulations because of special circumstances.

• Whether the teacher is teaching in the field of discipline of the certification of the teacher.

• Whether any classroom aides or other paraprofessionals provide services to your child and, if they do, their qualifications.

If you would like specific information about your child’s teacher or paraprofessional, please contact our school principal.  

Public inquiries on teacher certification are available from the Alaska Department of Education website at: https://education.alaska.gov/teachercertification/inquiry/PublicLookup/.