Lompoc High to expand federal anti-poverty program

from the Lompoc Record

By Amanda Brooks

Lompoc High has been approved by the Board of Education as a schoolwide Title I school, allowing the school's federally-funded anti-poverty program for 9th and 10th graders to be expanded to the 11th and 12th grades.

School officials are now developing a comprehensive plan that will address the educational needs of a larger number of at-risk students while using the same amount of money - about $200,000, according to district Director of Curriculum Diane Burton.

In a schoolwide Title I school, all students can use equipment or materials bought with Title I funds. In “targeted assisted schools,” which LHS is currently, only students identified as low-income and at risk of low achievement would be allowed to use them.

Though being in a schoolwide program does mean that all students can benefit from the Title I program, the law requires the school to specifically address the needs of low-income, low-performing students.

“All students may be served, but the idea would be to serve those most in need first,” Burton said.

LHS has been receiving Title I funds as a targeted assisted school, for several years. The new designation is the result of an increased number of students who qualify for reduced or free lunches, an indicator of a school's poverty level. The school board approved the new designation Tuesday.

LHS Principal Art Diaz said the school hasn't decided how the expanded program will look, but that options are being considered such as mandatory tutoring during lunch for students whose grades drop, particularly if the grades drop to Ds or Fs.

Another option is to provide intervention classes to support at-risk students' instruction in their regular math or English classes. They would get the information twice, giving them a better chance of comprehending the lessons.

Burton said, too, that the Title I funds could be used to hire teachers, certificated tutors and other support staff, to purchase materials and intervention programs or to help lower student-teacher ratios.

The purpose of Title I, ultimately, is to break the cycle of poverty. Title I programs seek to reduce dropout rates by helping students achieve greater academic success.

“The most common reason and powerful predictor for leaving school is poor academic performance,” Burton said. “If programs are not in place to reduce the risk, the students will be in jeopardy of not completing their education to their potential or of not completing it at all.”

To qualify for Title I, a school must show a poverty level at 35 percent or higher - the percent of students who qualify for free or reduced lunches. At 35 percent, a school apply to receive Title I funds as a targeted assisted school.

To become part of the schoolwide Title I program, a school must have at least a 40 percent poverty rate. Lompoc High School's rate is currently at just over 56 percent.

Districtwide the poverty rate is 55.2 percent, a figure that has increased nearly 20 percent in the last eight years. However, because of declining enrollment, the amount of Title I funds the district receives has gone down each year since 2003-2004.

The district receives the Title I money, then distributes it to qualifying schools based on their poverty level, down to a 35 percent poverty rate. Schools with less than 35 percent poverty do not receive Title I funds.

This year, LHS received $224,097 in Title I funds. Next year's number may change depending on district enrollment numbers. However, even if it is the same, the challenge LHS administrators and faculty now face is coming up with a plan that will help a larger number of students without losing sight of those who have been helped up to now.

Amanda Brooks can be reached at 737-1056 or abrooks@lompocrecord.com.