Title I Newsletter – February 2015
BOLD Elementary
110 South 9th Street
Bird Island, MN 55310
Website: bold.k12.mn.us
Phone: (320) 365-3551
What’s Happening in the Title I Department?
The Title program at BOLD Elementary currently provides reading
and/or math Title services to over 120 students in grades
kindergarten through 5th grade.
Progress reports were recently sent home with students, and
attached to your child’s progress report was a parent survey.
Thank you to those that took the time to fill out that survey. Your
input is important, and your suggestions will be taken into
consideration. I would like take this opportunity to address some
of your comments and concerns:
*Unsure who to contact if you have questions or concerns about
your child’s Title I services? Please contact Brenda Prokosch at
320-365-3551 ext. 4111 or [email protected] with
those questions and concerns. Your call or email will be returned
the same day it is received.
Upcoming Events:
February 16
President’s Day – No school
February 26
Conferences 4-8 PM
February 27
Conferences 8AM-12PM
No school
March 20
End of 3rd quarter
March 23
STAR/FAST testing window opens
April 1-6
Spring break – No school
Contact Information:
Brenda Prokosch,
Title I Teacher/Coordinator
(320) 365-3551, ext. 4111
[email protected]
*Progress Reports: following the next round of testing (which will
take place at the end of March) you will receive another
progress report, and attached to that report you will find the
actual STAR and/or FAST test report(s) that generated your child’s
percentile score. These reports will provide more specific
information as to your child’s progress.
Please contact me if you are willing
to serve on a Parent Advisory
Board. This Board of parents will help
review the current programming
and provide input into future
programming for Title I students at
BOLD Elementary.
*Are you feeling that you are not kept adequately informed as to
your child’s progress in Title I? During this school year, we will
have 5 rounds of STAR/FAST testing. After each of these rounds of testing, you will receive a progress
report. That progress report includes a comparison of your child’s test scores (from fall testing
through current round of testing); it also identifies what Title services your child was receiving, and
what services your child will receive as a result of the most recent round of testing. Remember,
inclusion in Title is determined by performance on these standardized testing measures, so progress
in Title I is monitored by these same test measures. After each round of testing, students may exit
Title I Newsletter – February 2015
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Title, while others may be included in Title. If you feel that you need more frequent reports as to your
child’s classroom progress, you will need to contact your child’s classroom teacher.
*A clarification about what qualifies students for Title I services: Students scoring below the 40th
percentile on any of these standardized testing measures qualify for Title services. Qualifying for Title
does not mean automatic inclusion in Title. Certainly some students do fine in the classroom, but
are just poor testers (for a variety of reasons). If your child is testing below the 40th percentile, but
his/her classroom teacher has no concerns about his/her performance, your child will not be
included in Title. Your child’s classroom teacher is always consulted about inclusion in or exit from
Title I services.
*A note about WIN time… many of our Title students leave their classrooms during WIN time to
receive their Title services in reading, math, or both. Classroom teachers use WIN time in different
ways; the only stipulation is that there may be NO NEW instruction in the classroom during WIN time.
In many classrooms, WIN time is used for silent reading time, and it is unfortunate that kids who leave
the room for Title services miss out on that silent reading time. If you feel this is impacting your child’s
ability to meet his/her AR goal, please contact your child’s classroom teacher about modifying the
AR goal. Unfortunately, the Title I department is only staffed with 4 paraprofessionals (in grades K-3),
and that leaves 4th and 5th grades with no paraprofessional Title support. For that reason, all 4th and
5th graders must receive their Title support by attending WIN groups.
*How can you support your child at home? I ask that you contact
your child’s classroom teacher, Brenda Prokosch
([email protected]) regarding math, or Carrie
Freiborg ([email protected]) regarding reading. Here
are a few suggestions that would benefit ALL students:
Reading
*All K-3 students would benefit from regular sight-word review at
home. If you do not have a set of sight word cards to use at home,
please contact Carrie Freiborg.
*Oral reading at home with a parent, sibling, etc.
*A wonderful resource for practicing reading skills at home is
www.readworks.org. You just need to register by creating a FREE
account, and your child can practice grade-level reading
comprehension skills.
Math
*IXL is a great tool for reinforcing math skills and all students at
BOLD Elementary have their own accounts. Students can practice
grade-level math skills at home or anywhere they have an internet
connection… just go to www.ixl.com, log in, and start practicing!
Please contact your child’s classroom teacher or Mrs. Prokosch if
you do not know your child’s IXL username and password or for
more information. Please encourage your child to use IXL at home!
*Review of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts.
There are many free apps to help your child practice math facts at
home.
Title I Newsletter – February 2015
What’s Next?
We have completed 3 rounds of
STAR and FAST reading and math
benchmark testing (September,
November, and January), and
have 2 rounds to go (March and
May).
In the meantime, many of our Title
students are busy during WIN time
attending reading and/or math
small groups, while others are
receiving their Title services in the
form of classroom assistance from
a paraprofessional.
If you have any questions or
concerns regarding your child’s
specific Title services, please
contact me at:
[email protected]
Brenda Prokosch,
Title I Coordinator/Lead Teacher
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