Federal Programs

Title I, Part A provides supplemental resources to the district to ensure all children, particularly low-achieving children in the highest-poverty schools, have a fair, equal and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging state academic achievement standards and state academic assessments.

This purpose is accomplished by such efforts as:  

• Providing an enriched educational program;
• Promoting schoolwide reform through programs or additional services that increase the amount and quality of instructional time;
• Upgrading the quality of instruction by providing staff opportunities for professional development; and giving families meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children at home and at school.

Title I Part A funds are granted to the South Carolina Department of Education and then sub granted to districts using a formula based on the US Census Bureau’s count of school-age children from low-income families residing in each district’ attendance zone, and total enrollment. All districts are required to reserve a portion of their Title I Part A funds to serve students experiencing homelessness. 

Two models are used in Title I schools to provide these services. Schoolwide reform plans are based on a comprehensive needs assessment and provide all students with access to services. Targeted assistance plans provide services only to identified eligible students in Title I schools. All Lexington One Title I schools use the schoolwide model.

While not an exhaustive list, Title IA funds may be used for:

• Support services for the elementary schools listed below
• Supplemental reading and math intervention (including materials, resources, and staff)
• Data driven decision making
• Progress monitoring to determine if interventions are effective
• Summer enrichment and preschool programs
• Extended day and after school services
• Extended and enhanced Kindergarten services
• Professional development for teachers and principals
• Parent engagement and partnership support
• Homeless services to support families in need and with school attendance

For more information, please contact Karen Cook at kcook@lexington1.net. 

2025–2026 Title I Schools

Carolina Springs Elementary
Centerville Elementary
Deerfield Elementary
Forts Pond Elementary
Gilbert Elementary
Lexington Elementary
Oak Grove Elementary
Pelion Elementary
Pelion High
Pelion Middle
Red Bank Elementary
Saxe Gotha Elementary
South Lake Elementary
White Knoll Elementary

Lexington One believes that parents are vital to the success of their students. We have a commitment to on-going communication with and engagement of Title I parents about student academic progress and achievement as well as other school/district activities. Our goal is to build parents' understanding of academic content standards, assessments, Title I requirements, and how to monitor their child's progress while also ensuring families receive services and assistance that will lead to improved academic achievement.

For more information, please refer to:

Parent and Family Engagement Policy
Lexington One Title I staff develop and revise the Parent and Family Engagement Policy (Spanish) annually using feedback from district and school teams (including families, school staff, and community members). Updates are made and approved during the summer before each new school year. 

The Parent and Family Engagement Policy outlines how the schools will carry out family engagement activities as noted in the policy. Additionally, each school is responsible for collaboratively developing a family engagement plan with specific activities linked to their school goals and Title I schoolwide plan. 

To enhance accessibility, the district also provides a concise “Highlights” document (Spanish)  as a quick reference for families. Each bullet point from the policy is summarized in a text box within this document.

Family-School Compact
A Family-School Compact is an agreement that explains how parents, teachers, administrators, and students work together to make sure all students get the individual support they need to reach and exceed grade-level standards. To maximize academic growth and support school goals, the compact provides expectations for families, students, teachers, and schools. 

The compact is referred to at different intervals throughout the school year including parent-teacher/student-led conferences. 

The compact is evaluated during the spring planning team meetings and via feedback collected throughout the school year. It is revised annually during the summer by the Title I Staff. Families are provided with the updated version at the beginning of each new school year. 

Parent Notifications and Other Languages
Lexington One will ensure that Title I information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to parents in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request; and to the extent practical, in a language parents understand.

Parents Right to Know
At the beginning of each school year, the district must inform parents of each student attending a Title I school of their right to request information about the professional qualifications of both the teachers and the paraprofessionals who teach and work with their children. This notification is included in the district’s annual registration document and is also available on the school’s Family Hub. 

All schools are required to discuss Parents Right to Know at the Annual Title I Meeting. Parents may request and receive information regarding: 

• Whether a teacher has met state qualification and licensing criteria for the grade level(s) and subject area(s) in which the teacher provides instruction; 
• Whether the teacher is teaching under an emergency or other provisional status through which state qualifications or licensing criteria have been waived; and
• The baccalaureate degree and major of a teacher and any other graduate certification or degree held by the teacher, and the field of discipline of the certification or degree.

Parents also have the right to know whether their student is provided services by paraprofessionals, and if so, their qualifications.

Lexington One's Board of Trustees places top priority on hiring teachers and paraprofessionals for all our classrooms who meet applicable state certification and licensure requirements. As part of our continued commitment to excellence, the district asks each teacher to make information about his/her qualifications available on his/her teacher webpage, Schoology page, etc. Parents can access this information by going to your child’s school website.

If parents neither own a computer nor have access to the internet, they can use a laptop in the Family Resource Center at any of our Title I schools, or go to the Gilbert, Lexington, or Pelion branches of the Lexington County Public Library System. If parents still cannot get this information and would like to receive it, they may submit a letter to the school Principal. In that letter, they must provide their child's name, the name of the teacher or paraprofessional, and the grade or subject that person teaches. The Principal is responsible for gathering the information and providing it to the parent in a timely manner.

To learn more, please contact Melissa Martin at mlmartin@lexington1.net.

The purpose of Title II, Part A is to improve the quality and effectiveness of teachers, principals, and other school leaders, and provide low-income and minority students greater access to effective teachers, principals, and other school leaders.

While not an exhaustive list, Title IIA funds may be used for:

● Professional development centered around content knowledge or instructional practices 

● Supplies to conduct professional development 

● Instructional coaching 

● Stipends to lead/participate in trainings 

● Stipends for teacher mentors 

● Teacher recruitment

For more information, please contact Dr. Richelle Battles at rbattles@lexington1.net.

The purpose of the Title III, Part A program is to help multilingual learners (MLs) achieve English language proficiency, help MLs meet state academic standards, provide effective professional development, and engage parents, families, and communities through various strategies. 

Allowable uses include: 

• Improvement of instructional programs
• Instructional materials
• Beyond school day academic support
• Professional development
• Parent and family engagement events

To learn more, please contact Laurie Smith at lrsmith@lexington1.net. 

The purpose of the Title IV-A grant program is to improve students’ academic achievement by increasing the capacity of states, districts, schools, and local communities to:

• Provide all students with access to a well-rounded education
• Improve school conditions for student learning
• Improve the use of technology in order to improve academic achievement

While not an exhaustive list, allowable uses include:

• Improve access to foreign language instruction, arts, and music education 
• Support college and career counseling 
• Provide programming to improve STEM instruction 
• Promote access to accelerated learning opportunities (ie, AP, IB, DE) 
• Provide school based mental health counseling 
• Improve dropout prevention 
• Implement programs to support a healthy lifestyle 
• Implement systems to prevent bullying and harassment 
• Professional development on how to effectively use technology in the classroom

For more information, please contact Karen Cook at kcook@lexington1.net.

The purpose of the 21st CCLC program is to provide opportunities for communities to establish or expand activities in community learning centers that:

1. Provide opportunities for academic enrichment, including providing tutorial services, to help students meet the challenging state academic standards;
2. Offer students a broad array of additional services, programs, and activities, such as youth development activities; service learning; nutrition and health education; drug and violence prevention programs; arts, music, physical fitness, and wellness programs; technology education; financial literacy programs; environmental literacy programs; and mathematics, science, career, and technical programs that are designed to reinforce and complement the regular academic program of participating students, and
3. Offer families of students served by community learning centers opportunities for active and meaningful engagement in their children's education, including opportunities for literacy and related educational development.

Lexington One schools that currently participate in the 21st CCLC program include Centerville Elementary, Forts Pond Elementary, Gilbert Elementary, Pelion Elementary, and Saxe Gotha Elementary.

For more information, please contact Dr. Tracy Goodwin at tgoodwin@lexington1.net. 

The purpose of Title IXA is to ensure that students who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence due to loss of housing due to economic hardship or a similar reason are provided a free, public education. The McKinney-Vento Act ensures the educational rights and protection for children and youth experiencing homelessness and includes:

• The right to immediate enrollment in school even without giving a permanent address

• The right to attend school and fully participate in school activities in the school of origin, or in the school in the attendance area where the family or youth is currently residing  

• The right to receive transportation to and from the school of origin

• The right to services comparable to those received by housed schoolmates

• The right to attend school along with children not experiencing homelessness

While not an exhaustive list, allowable uses of funds include:

• Tutoring, homework assistance, and mentoring

• Expedited evaluations to measure strengths and needs

• Specialized support

• Education and training for parents to increase meaningful involvement

• School supplies

• Other extraordinary or emergency assistance needed to enable homeless students to attend school and fully participate in school activities.

More information can be found here or by contacting the Lexington One McKinney-Vento program contact, Alma Puente Ruiz, at 803-821-1138 or apuenteruiz@lexington1.net.

Each spring Lexington One invites private schools within our attendance zone to participate in federally funded education programs for the upcoming school year. The following Title Programs in which a private school may be eligible to participate are:

• Title I, Part A
• Title II, Part A
• Title III, Part A
• Title IV, Part A
• Title IV, Part B

If a private school is interested in learning more, they are invited to a consultation and planning meeting. A private school that does not respond by the given deadlines will be considered non-participating and invited to participate again in the following school year.

To learn more, please contact Karen Cook at kcook@lexington1.net.