What is Title I?

  As part of the US No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Title I is designed to provide supplemental assistance to the basic school program through additional financial support for the development of student skills in reading, math, and language arts. To enhance the programs that develop these skills, Title I also provides funds for student counseling and student health services.

  While Title I  funds may not be used to replace any existing regular school program, the monies may be used n the implementation of may innovative and exciting school projects. Title I focuses on one concern: improving student achievement in reading, math, and language arts. But there are many exciting ways to approach this challenge, and the Choctaw Tribal School System is proud of the diverse services that Title I offers to assist student learning.

  Since all schools in the Choctaw Tribal School System are school wide projects, every student enrolled is eligible for all services provided by Title I. Together the Title I coordinator and School principals work to ensure that the program goals and objectives are achieved at the local level and also to ensure that all children have access to Title Ti services.

  If you have any questions about the Choctaw Title I program, or would like more information about services for students, please call the Title I office at 601-663-7660.

What services are offered by Title I?

• Counseling Services - School counselors provide individual and group counseling to all students. They also serve as consultants who offer particular knowledge or expertise to help solve problems and make decisions. As resource persons, counselors can provide a wealth of information to help parents, students, and teachers prevent or work through academic or behavioral problems, social problems at schools, and individual student needs. Counselors are always ready to assist in the development of sound study skills and academic practices. Parents may meet with the school counselor by calling the school or sending a note to the school.

• Teacher Assistants - Teacher assistants aid with daily instruction in the classroom in several ways. Because of their bilingual capabilities, they are able to bridge any language gaps that may exist, and they are important sources of cultural information. In addition, teacher assistants provide small group and individual instruction for students with special needs.

• School Nurses - Title I provides health services in the Choctaw Tribal Schools through school nurses. These professional, registered nurses offer student health workshops, provide a variety of preventative treatment measures, and administer emergency health care as necessary to students. The nurses work in cooperation with the Choctaw Health Center to provide high quality basic health services for all students in the Tribal Schools.

• Parent Involvement - Located in the Pearl River Community, the Title I Community/school education center serves as the focal point for parent involvement. This center offers a wide array of services to assist parents in understanding and helping their children in home educational activities. Tutorial services, materials for check-out, and frequent workshops on a variety of topics make the center an effective component of the Title I program.

• In-School Suspension - As a means of reducing student out-of-school suspension, Title I provides a program of in-school study, counseling, and academic work for student discipline needs. Including a strong work component of dropout prevention and attendance counseling, in-school suspension helps students face the consequences of disruptive behavior and still remain within the care of the educational environment.

• Curriculum Innovations - In order to help students increase their skills in reading, math, and language arts, Title I provides the resources for regular and special curriculum projects in the Choctaw Tribal Schools. Among these are Sing, Spell, Read, and Write, a program that uses song and games to build reading skills, Learning for Life, and the Accelerated Reading and Accelerated Math programs. Title I has assisted in establishing the Curriculum Designer program for the district as well.

What is Title IV?

The Safe and Drug Free Schools (Title IV, Part A) program is designed to support programs that prevent violence in and around schools; that prevent the illegal use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs; that involve parents and communities; and that are coordinated with related federal, state, school and community efforts and resources to foster a safe and drug-free learning environment that supports student academic achievement.

            While Title IV funds may not be used for drug treatment or medical services, the monies may be used in many fashions to promote drug prevention, violence prevention, comprehensive health education and security measures within the school environment.  Since our grant covers PreK-12^th grade, all students in the Choctaw Tribal Schools benefit from the services of Title IV.

            A scientifically research-based prevention curriculum is a requirement of Title IV and one area that Choctaw Tribal Schools has implemented at all schools.  In addition, student, parent and staff survey information is utilized to assist the program in the understanding of the current needs in our community in order to sustain our Title IV program to be the best that it can be; we utilize highly-trained and educated staff to assist in the implementation of the program at each local school.

            If you have any questions about the Choctaw Title IV program, or would like more information about services for students, please call the Title IV office at 601-663-7729.

What services are offered by Title IV?

• Prevention classes – Students in PreK-8^th grade receive weekly instruction by a certified teacher in drug prevention and education, violence prevention, health education, conflict resolution, character education, life skills and/or safety.
• Health classes – Students at Choctaw Central High School receive prevention and health education through their comprehensive health classes as well as opportunities to participate in drug-free campaigns throughout the school year.
• Home School Liaison - To build a strong home-school connection, the home school liaison works to keep parents informed of student attendance issues.
• Professional Development- Tribal staff members, parents and community members are given opportunities to learn more about safety, drug prevention, alcohol abuse prevention and violence prevention through yearly training sessions.
• Security Measures- Funds are provided to help make school zones as safe as possible, as well as to provide resources and emergency equipment for Emergency Teams and their identified training needs.
• Needs assessment- Students, parents and staff participate in yearly assessments to identify program goals as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.
• Parent Involvement- Annually, Title IV helps sponsor the Elementary Academic Awards Banquet to reward academic success and the benefits of a drug-free life.  Students and family members are treated to entertainment, a meal and an awards program.

What is Title VII?

  The purpose of the Title VII Indian Education Grant Program is to assist the Choctaw Tribal School District to meet the special educational needs of American Indian students so that these students can achieve the same challenging state performance standards that are expected of all students.

What services are offered by the Title VII program?

• Extended School Day Tutoring

  Tutoring is provided by certified teachers in math, reading, and language arts after the regular schools hours.

• School Day Tutors

  Certified teachers work with teacher recommended students in small groups on specific skills.

• Professional Development

  Staff attends conferences and workshops to help improve student achievement and performance.

• Choctaw Language Class

  The class enables new personnel to become familiar with the Choctaw language.

• Traditional Choctaw Celebrations

  Title VII supports the schools by promoting traditional Choctaw celebrations which include American Indian Day and Spring Festival.

• Summer School Cultural Program

  Specialists in traditional Choctaw crafts, dances, languages, and other activities teach students about Indian heritage and customs.

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