Due to MCPS changing the way they determine whether a school qualifies for Title 1 status from being based on the number of students eligible for free and reduced-price meals to being based on the number of students receiving federal aid, four elementary schools will no longer be designated as Title 1 schools for the 2024-2025 school year, meaning they will lose out on substantial federal aid and assistance.
Title 1 was established under the Every Student Succeeds Act passed by former President Barack Obama in 2o15. The program provides federal funds to help students in schools with high poverty levels achieve academic success and receive a quality education. According to the MCPS website, schools designated Title 1 become eligible for “technical assistance from an instructional specialist on a consistent basis, additional teaching professionals and/or paraeducators, extended learning opportunities summer adventures in learning, family engagement funds and supplemental funds which may be used for instructional materials, extended day programs, professional development, and schoolwide initiatives.”
There are 40 elementary schools and five middle schools designated Title 1 in MCPS for the 2023-2024 school year. To support these schools, MCPS received over $51 million in federal Title 1 financial aid this school year alone. English teacher Daniel Pecoraro, who has a daughter attending Brookhaven Elementary, a current Title 1 school, has seen the benefits of this increased financial aid. “Brookhaven offers a lot of enrichment activities for children and families…they also do a lot of STEM activities after school free of charge for students as well as a jump start summer program,” Pecoraro said.
Eligibility for the program is currently determined by the number of students qualifying for free and reduced-price meals (FARMS). However, MCPS began participating in a federal free meals program this school year, where, under the Community Eligibility Provision, all students at the participating 58 schools receive breakfast and lunch at no cost. As a result, many families are not filling out the FARMS application since their children automatically receive free meals in school. So, starting in the 2024-2025 school year, a school’s poverty rate and Title 1 eligibility will be determined based on the number of students receiving direct financial aid from the federal government such as those participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Medicaid.
While it is common for Title 1 status to change from year to year due to fluctuating school poverty levels, Strathmore, Brookhaven, Viers Mill and Oakview Elementary schools only lost their Title 1 status for the 2024-2025 school year after the new criteria were announced. This is largely because undocumented students and families reluctant to fill out federal forms are not included in the new eligibility criteria. According to Strathmore PTA president Danielle Ring, at least 2% of Strathmore students are undocumented; even though they do not receive financial aid from the government, they still need extra support in the form of increased staff and paraeducators to achieve academic success. “Without special attention, these students will suffer setbacks,” Strathmore teacher Stephanie Hammel said.
Oakview Elementary’s poverty status is calculated including their gifted and talented program for fourth and fifth-grade students, which has students from surrounding neighborhoods that may have higher income levels. If this data was not included, the school’s poverty rate would increase to 88.7%, making them eligible for Title 1 status. Thus, Oakview’s jump from the middle to number 51 and out of consideration on the MCPS Title 1 ranking list does not reflect the community’s true poverty status.
The local community is demanding change from MCPS to make the way they calculate school poverty levels more equitable and accurate. Oakview Elementary’s PTA, for instance, is conducting a letter-writing campaign imploring MCPS to exclude gifted and talented data when determining a school’s poverty rate. “[These students] magically haven’t been lifted out of poverty overnight,” PTA member Annie Tulkin said.
