Dist. 204 schools get federal designation

Because about half the students at Longwood and Georgetown elementary schools qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, both Indian Prairie Unit District 204 schools have received a federal Title I classification.

While the designation doesn’t mean any more money for the schools, it does change the way it can be used. Before, services and materials had to be targeted for low-income students, but now those services and materials can be used throughout the school. “Every student in the school will be able to benefit from the services that those funds provide,” said Jay Strang, assistant superintendent, instructional services. “It makes it easier for us because we can implement those changes systemically.”

For instance, now any special materials or books purchased with the Title 1 federal money must be put on a separate bookshelf and labeled so that they are only used for low income students. With the new designation, the materials can become part of the overall classroom curriculum. Also, students won’t have to be pulled out of class as often to receive separate services. “It makes it much more fluid,” Strang said.

The Title 1 funds pay for reading and math support along with summer school and early preschool interventions. It also provides parental support programs enabling parents to become more familiar with curriculum to better work with their children at home.

The number of students at Longwood in Naperville and Georgetown in Aurora qualifying for free or reduced price lunches has doubled in the past five years. District officials spent a year filling out paperwork and forms to receive the classification for the two schools. There will be annual reviews of the program and the school board will be required to give its support to the program each year.

In District 204, eight schools receive a total of about $500,000 in Title 1 funding that is provided as a part of the No Child Left Behind federal education program. From 10 to 50 percent of students at those schools receive free or reduced-price lunches.