Federal Programs
ARP
American Rescue Plan Act
ARP is a part of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. This act provides federal funds through the Georgia Department of Education to local educational agencies and public schools to provide the financial resources to appropriately respond to the global coronavirus pandemic. The funds are used to support COVID-19 prevention and mitigation strategies, to improve the learning and academic success of students and to provide interventions for the academic, social, emotional, and mental health of students.
Under ARP, local educational agencies (LEAs) are required to provide at least 20 percent of funds toward evidence-based activities to address learning loss as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Dalton Public Schools plan allocates most of its federal ARP funds toward instructional personnel and activities to improve student success. These efforts that address the academic needs of at-risk students are implemented throughout the school day, in after school tutoring programs and summer school activities. The school district also uses a substantial amount of its ARP federal funds for educational technology which includes student devices, instructional software, and connectivity.
Dalton Public Schools’ ARP plan includes the addition of social workers, counselor, and psychologists to address the social, emotional, and mental health of students. The school district is using ARP funds for the continuity of services to maintain existing staffing levels at the schools and central office. The federal funds will cover the cost of retention supplements for educators.
Dalton Public Schools has developed its ARP plan in conjunction with previous ESSER allocations known as the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The school district is using CARES funds for periodic microbial disinfecting throughout school buildings, student and adult masks, hand sanitizer, supplemental pay for nurses, and employing contact tracers. The local ARP fund plan is in alignment with the school district’s comprehensive needs assessment as well as the board of education’s strategic plan initiatives.
These services and use of the ARP federal funds must be developed with public input. The school district has public hearings on the annual budget every year in May and June. Additionally, the Board of Education invites public comment during their monthly meetings. Members of the public who are interested in gaining greater understanding of the details of the ARP funds, are invited to contact the administrators listed below.
For more information about ESSER funding, please visit the Georgia Department of Education Insights website here.
DPS contacts:
Laura Orr
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Theresa Perry
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Title I-A
Improving Academic Achievement of Disadvantaged Children
Title I Part A is a part of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). This act provides federal funds through the Georgia Department of Education to local educational agencies and public schools with high numbers or percentages of economically disadvantaged children. The funds are used to support the learning and academic success of at-risk students in core content areas (language arts, math, science and social studies) and to develop and implement strategies to promote parent involvement. All schools in Dalton Public Schools are eligible to benefit from these federal funds.
Under Title I, local educational agencies (LEAs) are required to provide services for eligible private school students, as well as eligible public school students. These services must be developed in consultation with officials of the private schools. The Title I services provided by the LEA for private school participants are designed to meet their educational needs and supplement the educational services provided by the private school.
As a part of Title I, the Parent Engagement Program at the Georgia Department of Education is focused on working with our partners in local school districts and the community to provide parents with the best opportunity and resources to help their child succeed in school. The goal of the Parent Engagement Program is to increase student achievement by engaging and empowering parents, and other stakeholders, to become actively involved in their children’s education across all grade levels.
Dalton Public Schools Parent Involvement Policy Information can be found to the right.
To download this information in Spanish click here: Dalton Public Schools Parent Involvement Policy Spanish
For more information about Title I, please visit the Georgia Department of Education website here.
For more information about the Parent Engagement Program, please visit here.
DPS contact:
Laura Orr
101 N. Thornton Ave
Dalton, GA
(706) 876-4026
DPS Family Engagement Plan
2022-2023
Revised 2022
Revised 2022
- What Is Family Engagement?
- About the Policy
- Jointly Developed
- Technical Assistance
- Reservation of Funds
- Coordination of Services
- Building Capacity
- Evaluation
- Accessibility
- Adoption
What Is Family Engagement?
About the Policy
Jointly Developed
Technical Assistance
Reservation of Funds
Coordination of Services
Building Capacity
Evaluation
Accessibility
Adoption
21st Century Community Learning Centers
The purpose of Georgia’s Title IV, Part B, 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program is to provide federal funds for communities to establish or expand activities in community learning centers that operate during out-of-school hours and serve three specific purposes:
- To provide opportunities for academic enrichment and tutorial services to help students
- To offer students a broad array of additional services, programs, and activities that are designed to reinforce and complement the regular academic program; and
- To offer families of 21st CCLC students opportunities for active and meaningful engagement in their children's education.
If you have any questions, please contact Caroline Woodason.
Title I-C
Migrant Education Program (MEP)
The Migrant Education Program (MEP) is authorized by Part C of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA). The MEP provides formula grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) to establish and improve education programs for migratory children. These grants assist States in improving educational opportunities for migratory children to help them succeed in the regular school program, meet the same State academic content and student academic achievement standards that all children are expected to meet, and graduate from high school.
The general purpose of the MEP is to ensure that migratory children fully benefit from the same free public education provided to other children. To achieve this purpose, the MEP helps SEAs and local operating agencies address the special educational needs of migratory children to better enable migratory children to succeed academically. More specifically, the purposes of the MEP are to:
- Support high-quality and comprehensive educational programs for migratory children in order to reduce the educational disruption and other problems that result from repeated moves;
- Ensure that migratory children who move among the States are not penalized in any manner by disparities among the States in curriculum, graduation requirements, and State academic content and student academic achievement standards;
- Ensure that migratory children are provided with appropriate educational services (including supportive services) that address their special needs in a coordinated and efficient manner;
- Ensure that migratory children receive full and appropriate opportunities to meet the same challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards that all children are expected to meet;
- Design programs to help migratory children overcome educational disruption, cultural and language barriers, social isolation, various health-related problems, and other factors that inhibit their ability to do well in school, and to prepare them to make a successful transition to post-secondary education or employment; and
- Ensure that migratory children benefit from State and local systemic reforms.
For more information about Title I-C, please visit the Georgia Department of Education website here.
DPS contact:
Caroline Woodason
Director of School Support
101 North Thornton Avenue
Dalton, GA 30720
706.876.4018
Title IIA Program Information
Title IIA falls under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, which re-authorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA).
The purpose of the Title II, Part A grant is:
- to increase student achievement consistent with challenging State academic standards,
- to improve the quality and effectiveness of teachers, principals and other school leaders,
- to increase the number of teachers, principals and other school leaders who are effective in improving student academic achievement in schools, and
- to provide low-income and monitory student greater access to effective of teachers, principals and other school leaders.
Federal guidelines and restrictions require that Title IIA funds may only be spent for qualifying reasons according to the purpose of the grant. Dalton Public Schools received $188,101 in FY17 and will receive $176,320 in FY18.
All 8,000 students enrolled in Dalton Public Schools receive benefit through Title IIA dollars because these funds support recruitment and professional development for teachers, paraprofessionals and school administrators.
The funding priorities for FY18 are professional development for teachers and district staff, retention of highly qualified teachers, support for teachers to add certification endorsement fields in ELL and Gifted through coursework, assistance to paraprofessionals to meet professional learning requirements, and support for teachers to add certification fields in areas of interest to increase staffing flexibility.
See the district's Equity Action Implementation Priorities here.
For more information about Title II, Part A, you may review program information on the Georgia Department of Education Title II, Part A resource page.
DPS contact:
Caroline Woodason
Director of School Support
101 North Thornton Avenue
Dalton, GA 30720
706.876.4018
ESOL, Title III
English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) is a state-funded instructional program for eligible English Learners (ELs) in grades K-12 (Georgia School Law Code 1981, § 20-2-156, enacted in 1985). The ESOL program is a standards-based curriculum emphasizing academic and social language proficiency. ESOL coursework is based upon the WIDA Consortium English Language Proficiency (ELP) standards. Classroom teachers integrate these ELD standards with the Georgia Performance Standards to enable ELs to both communicate in English and demonstrate their academic, social, and cultural proficiency. Instructional approaches, both in ESOL and general education classes, ensure that the needs of Georgia’s ELs are accommodated. To the extent practicable, it is appropriate to use the EL’s home language as a means of facilitating instruction and providing parents with school-related information.
Title III is a federally-funded program that provides eligible Local Education Agencies with funding to supplement those ESOL services already in place. School districts with large EL populations receive direct Title III allocations, while school districts with lower incidence populations are grouped into the “Georgia Title III Consortium”. The Title III Consortium allows these “low-incidence” districts to access Title III funds typically available only to districts with greater numbers of ELs. Both ESOL and Title III hold students accountable for progress in, and attainment of, English language proficiency. Upon attainment of English language proficiency, students exit from supplemental language services.
For more information about ESOL/Title III, please visit the Georgia Department of Education website here.
DPS contact:
Director of School Support
101 North Thornton Avenue
Dalton, GA 30720
706.876.4018
Title X, Part C
McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth
The McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth program is designed to address the problems that homeless children and youth have faced in enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school. Under this program, State educational agencies must ensure that each homeless child and youth has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including a public preschool education, as other children and youth.
Homeless children and youth must have access to the educational and other services that they need to enable them to meet the same challenging state student academic achievement standards to which all students are held. In addition, homeless students may not be separated from the mainstream school environment.
States and districts are required to review and undertake steps to revise laws, regulations, practices, or policies that may act as a barrier to the enrollment, attendance, or success in school of homeless children and youth.
For more information about Title X, Part C, please visit the Georgia Department of Education website here.
DPS contact:
Jackie Taylor
Social Worker
(706) 876-4506