Odyssey has been designated a Schoolwide Title I School. Below you will find some basic information about this very complex federal program and how it benefits Odyssey and our students.
What is TITLE I?
Title I, Part A is a federally funded program under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. The purpose of Title I under the ESEA is to ensure that all children have a fair, equitable, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging state academic achievement standards and state academic assessments.
How does being a Title I school benefit Odyssey students?
Because Odyssey has been given a Schoolwide designation, all students benefit from the Title I program. As a Schoolwide Title I school, every year we must develop a School Improvement Plan that includes, among other things, a comprehensive needs assessment, strategies for schoolwide reform, plans for increasing parental involvement, and provisions for assisting struggling students.
Title I funds are used to implement that plan and improve the academic program of our entire school, particularly in the core subjects of English/Language Arts, Reading, Math, Science and Social Studies. Those funds allow us to do things like hire additional teachers and support staff, provide tutoring programs, purchase additional curriculum and materials, provide opportunities for professional development for our staff members, provide family involvement events, and much more, all of which benefits every Odyssey student. Title I funds must be used to strengthen the core academic program of the school.
How can Title I money be used?
Title I funds are federal funds and must be used to increase student achievement in the core subjects of English/Language Arts, Reading, Math, Science and Social Studies. In general, they cannot be used to replace funds the school spends anyway nor can they be used for operational or capital expenses. For example, we cannot use Title I money to buy a new building. Title funds are a separate budget and families will be invited yearly to collaborate on ideas for programs they would like to see implemented with Title funding. At the bottom of this page you can find out more about the programs funded by Title I.
What are some ways Odyssey has used previous allotments of Title I money?
Odyssey has used Title I funds in a number of ways, all to enhance our academic program, particularly in the core subjects of Math, English/Language Arts, Reading, Science and Social Studies. We have purchased curriculum, hired additional staff members and we have purchased supplies and materials for our Math and Science departments. Title I funds were also used to upgrade classroom technology and to purchase Chromebooks for every student in grades K-8. We are now a fully functioning 1:1 school, with document cameras, audio enhancement systems and interactive response systems in each academic classroom. Additionally, Title funds help us achieve an 11:1 student/teacher ratio in our 1st-5th grade classrooms. At the bottom of this page you can find out more about the programs funded by Title I.
Title I Funded Programs
– Parent and Family Engagement
Significant family involvement is vital to the success of any Title I program. Odyssey is committed to the partnership between the school, families, and the community. Through that partnership, we are also committed to improve student achievement. We will help build the capacity of our families by providing training workshops and informational materials so that we can all share the responsibility for student academic achievement.
Workshop subjects include:
- Georgia Milestones Assessment: Session covers what the assessment is, what it covers, how it is taken, and tips for parents on how to help their students be successful during testing.
Families are also invited throughout the year to participate in Academic Parent-Teacher Teams (APTT) and Student Led Conferences to share data, learn skills, and receive materials to use at home to build their student’s academic achievement.
Parent Involvement also means Parent Input! Families are able to offer suggestions and participate in decisions relating to the education of their children through surveys, input meetings, and focus groups. Families must be involved in the development of the School Improvement Plan, Parent Involvement Policy, Title I Consolidated Application, Parental Involvement Budget, and School-Parent Compact.
Visit the Title I Resources and Documents page for our schoolwide/school improvement plan, School-Parent Compacts, Parent and Family Engagement Plans, and Community Resources.
Visit the Title I Meetings and Worskhops page for powerpoints, agendas, and resources on all meetings Odyssey conducts, and a few community meetings as well.
Visit the Title I Transition page for information about the transition to Kindergarten, to 4th and 5th grade, to 6th grade, and from 8th grade into high school.
For more information about Title I, please view A Family’s Guide to Title I — Guia de la familia sobre Title I
For more information regarding parental involvement, please contact our Title I Parental Involvement Coordinator, L’Anne Waldroup, at PIC@odysseycharterschool.net or lwadroup@odysseycharterschool.net.
– Title I Tutoring
Odyssey is fortunate to qualify as a Title I school. This schoolwide program grants us additional federal money to ensure that all children meet the Georgia Standards of Excellence. This additional funding allows us the opportunity to offer free math and reading tutoring to our students during the school year. All eligible students will be invited to receive this extra help. Invitations will be sent out to children who are struggling in the classroom to meet state standards, as identified by their math and/or reading teachers. Once all of the priority students are assigned, we will assign available slots to other scholars who are meeting standards but would like the additional learning opportunity. Students will be invited to attend tutoring two days per week from 3:30-4:30 beginning in October and ending in late February.
– Title I Supplemental Programs
– Responsibility-Centered Discipline
Odyssey Charter School has adopted the Responsibility-Centered Discipline program to totally transform how we deal with student discipline issues and, more importantly, how we help each student graduate as a responsible, self-disciplined adult.
This program teaches practical techniques to help teachers deescalate confrontations with students, while also enabling teachers to successfully redirect students who need correction. Since we began implementing this program we have seen significant improvements in school climate and teacher-student relationships.
Responsibility-Centered Discipline uses a “Give ‘em Five” guided conversation to train educators and parents incorporate five important themes into their corrective conversations.
The five themes are:
- Support – Use supportive statements that connect to your relationship with the child or teen to identify a strength that she possesses.
- Expectation – Let the child or teen know the expectation you have for him.
- Breakdown – Communicate where you see the expectation breaking down or failing to be met.
- Benefit – Tell the child or teen how meeting the expectation benefits her.
- Closure – Determine whether the situation has been resolved or whether the conversation is at a place where you can feel comfortable moving on.
