Northwest Helps Plan National

Title I Conference

For the first time, the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory will play a role in planning the National Title I Conference, slated for January 28–31, 2006, in Dallas, Texas.

Bob Harmon, Assistant Superintendent of Special Programs at the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, asked for NWREL's help in facilitating planning meetings of Title I directors and specialists from Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. Harmon is the incoming president of the National Association of State Title I Directors (NASTID) and chairs the 2006 national conference.

Following an introductory meeting in 2004, NWREL's Region X Comprehensive Center hosted the conference planning committee at NWREL on April 6–7, 2005, to share their states' Title I experiences—both challenges and successes—which they will use to shape content for the 2006 national conference.

"It's exciting to be in on the brainstorming that occurs when individuals, committed to serving high-need students, pool their knowledge and resources," says committee facilitator and NWREL Comprehensive Center Region X advisor, Marcia Bragg. "Having leaders from each state come together to collaborate on ways to improve Title I services is very encouraging, and facilitating these meetings is extremely important for NWREL." Encouraging and important indeed, considering how many students receive assistance through Title I funding nationwide—roughly 12.5 million children.

Title I, the largest federal K–12 education program, supplements state and local efforts to boost achievement levels for students from low-income families. Harmon considers each one of these 12.5 million students a unique "star," and subsequently came up with the theme for the 2006 conference—A Galaxy of Stars. "The theme emphasizes the millions of students throughout the U.S. whose education is improved by Title I and gives attention to the individual kids we serve."

Bragg says the group's biggest concerns involve meeting the adequate yearly progress requirement of the No Child Left Behind Act. "Parent involvement, public school choice, and supplemental services are other issues right now for high-poverty schools." Additional topics discussed at the April meeting were each state's accountability structure, as well as fiduciary responsibility.

Committee members are realizing more immediate benefits to their work in planning the conference. B.J. Granbery, Title I director from Montana remarked, "The recent meeting for regional Title I directors was an extremely helpful venue for exchanging ideas, challenges, and best practices in state administration of the Title I [Part A] program. Learning from our colleagues who deal with the thorny issues on a day-to-day basis is the best professional development for state directors that I can think of!"

The committee will meet several more times this year before winding up their work at the Galaxy of Stars in Dallas next January.