Mitchell designated as Title 1 school

Mitchell Elementary School will be a Title 1 school for the 2017-2018 school year, as more than 40 percent of its students now qualify for free and reduced-price lunch.

This new designation will bring more money and opportunities to the students.

A Title 1 school is an elementary, middle or high school that has a high number or percentage of low-income families. It is given additional federal money to help ensure that all children meet state academic standards. These provisions are part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

“A school receives a Title I designation when 40 percent or more of the student population qualifies for free or reduced lunch, and 41 percent of our students now qualify, which means we become a Title I school,” said Mitchell Principal Benjamin Day. “Truly, this has been coming for a few years, as our percentage has been steadily climbing up into the mid- to-high 30 percent range for the last several years, and I guess this is the year that the number went over 40 percent.”

The qualifications for low-income families and free and reduced-price lunch are determined by a sliding scale, based on family size and income.

As a Title 1 school, Mitchell will receive approximately $20,000 of federal money in addition to its state money. The Title 1 funds can be used to upgrade the instructional program for the whole school.

“We’re going to get about as little as you can for a Title 1 school, but it’s more than we got before,” Day said.

The money will be used to get iPads for the kindergarten classes and smart projectors. The projectors make a normal classroom whiteboard interactive.

“We will be able to get some technology we wouldn’t have been able to get otherwise,” he added.

Day said the school chose to buy that technology after the Title 1 office suggested it use the money for something tangible. The school’s organizational team agreed with the decision.

The new technology is the only day-to-day change students at Mitchell Elementary will experience with this change.

“Otherwise, it’s business as usual,” Day said.

The Title 1 designation is made each year, and Mitchell Elementary will be reassessed in it for the 2018-2019 school year.

Contact reporter Celia Shortt Goodyear at cgoodyear@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow her on Twitter @csgoodyear.