All 500 pre-K to grade 6 children in the school benefit from Title I funds. Computers are in every classroom and the technology lab boasts 25 learning stations. The school technology specialist and a lab assistant make the complicated software and hardware pay off in learning gains for kids and better teaching among teachers. Their salaries are paid with Title I funds. Without the necessary support, change is very, very slow.
Children move on once they master beginning reading skills.
Sanchez Elementary is open year-round. The extra time in school translates to 15 additional school days, and teachers who work the special sessions are paid with Title I funds. Workshops for parents and Family Math Night help Mom or Dad learn how to be their child's most important teacher, and they take home family-made learning games and ideas about other ways to reinforce learning at home. Title I makes Maldonado's presence a possibility. Continuing resolutions undermine that mechanism, damage trust and leave schools guessing about the coming year's funding.