Federal Programs
Title I
During the 2011-2012 school year, remedial reading services are being offered to students at Montgomery Elementary & and the Montgomery Middle School. These services, delivered by highly qualified teachers, are provided through the federally funded Title I program, which provides targeted assistance to schools with poverty levels above the school district average. All teachers instructing in the Title I serviced schools are highly qualified as defined by No Child Left Behind. The support services are delivered throuh a combination push-in and pull-out model to meet the student needs. Progress in the Title I program is measured by a variety of assessment methods including reading fluency, reading accuracy, writing skills, & comprehension. The success of the Title I students and all students is largely influenced by the support and involvement of parents supported by school board policy #918 on Title I Parent Involvment.
Title I Parent Resource Center
Parent resouces are available on request for topics such as safety; career awareness; Child Development; Middle School; Helping Your Child Learn; Personal Development; Life Skills; School Involovement; and Special Education. Parents can brouse through the list of topics and make a request to their chuld's teacher.
Title IIA
The Montgomery Area School District is utilizing its class size reduction grant (incorporated in Title IIA) to maintain small class sizes at the first grade level in the elementary schools during the 2011-2012 school year. The first grade class sizes remained relatively constant with fifteen students at the end of the school year. Due to the smaller class size, all students made progress over the course of the year in both language arts and mathematics. The teacher was able to give students more one-to-one instruction and meet their individual needs. .
It should be noted that the smaller class size is very beneficial for our current first grade curriculum. The smaller class size allowed effective utilization of balanced literacy activities to meet the individual needs of each individual student within the classroom. It also allowed the teacher to become better acquainted with the students’ skills and learning styles. Through this grant, students received more individualized instruction and thus achieved more academically.
IDEA Funds
Montgomery also utilizes the services of the BLAST Intermediate Unit #17 to meet the needs of our exceptional students requiring more support. These include life-skills, multi-disabilities, and part-time learning support. In addition, BLAST provides occupational therapy, physical therapy, vision therapy, and early intervention services to our students. During the 2009-2010 school year, IDEA funds are also being utilized to train our special education teachers in the research based strategies of the Learning Focused Schools model of instruction. By employing these research-based, best practices, our special education population will thrive in the least restrictive environment and all students within the Montgomery Area School District will have the opportunity to achieve their utmost potential.
