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Show children get. The Educational agency (schoolboard) to establish a systemwide council of parents of Title 1 children to help, plan, develop and operate the local program. (The law will not be effective until June but the Title 1 Offices are aware that they should be setting up their councils now.) These councils could be very useful and important... They are a way of seeing how the school how the school system board works and does not always act on the children’s interest. Hopefully the council will have enough power in the local school system. These are two problems: 1 Despite the new regulations school boards may decide not to set up the councils or they may not let them be very effective, and 2. People may start thinking that just being on the councilis all that is needed. It is important for all parents, not just those on the council, to pressure the school system for their rights and the rights of their children. Program The program began on March 2, 1971 with the initial emphasis on candle making. Ten to fifteen local teenagers demonstrated an interest in the program and were enthusiastic about the possibilities of selling their products. These youth made candles and taking advantage of a rummage sale at the center on March 5 and 6, opened a booth and sold about 85% of the items with a substantial profit. Realizing that they have a marketable products, the youth are ‘anxious to expand into leather craft, jewelry, and other items. Thank you for your assistance in helping us get this project started. The only major problem now is finding suitable outlets for the youth’s wares. Any ideas? Please call 322-4588 a elected) and a lot of press to give the program publicity and to get the issues out to the general public. There are many community groups that will support your right as parents to have something to say about the education of your used to going to the Welfare Department whenever they have a need and demanding money to meet that need NOW. The way welfare works there is usually a pot of money somewhere that can be used to meet WRO’s demands. Welfare recipients are also used to being the group on whom that welfare money is to be spent, they don’t have to compete for it. Title 1 doesn’t work that way. During the spring ot summer a very specific program is drawn up and all. the Title 1 funds are committed to meet the salaries, equipment, supply and other expenses demanded by ee ee tie re Wennesland, ee et ee et | ) Our | Advertisers SR ee children. Timing and Strategy: WRO’s are i Kim aes their Office of Education has written a new law requiring every local Training | TASTE A NEW TASTE! at MR. CHIPS NEW ENGLISH FISH & CHIPS 53 East 3rd South Across From Aurbachs on BROADWAY BRING THIS COUPON FOR 50% OFF 1MEAL | at eae programs Artisan ee THEM OUT BUT INSTEAD THEY WRETFE°A:PROTECTIVE PROGRAM THAT GIVES MONEY TO THE ADMINISTRATORS AND RESTRICTS THE ELIGIBILITY OF THE POOR. We've always known that that’s what welfare does. This year we found out even though Title 1 was originally intended to help poor children, the law that Congress passed has a lot of restrictions in that it keeps poor children out and lets middle class children in, and that lets schoolboards use the money to meet their own needs. We need to look at Title 1 again to see if we can find new ways to get that money spent where it should be, in our schools for our children. The Issues Parent Participation: This year Title 1 parents may have the chance to have more to say about the Welfare Rights Org.) et Now it is time before next years’ Title 1 project applications get written, to look at Title 1 again to see what it means in terms of the rights of poor people. Title 1 is a federal educational program of financial aid for educationally-disadvantaged children in low-income school attendance areas. Its full name is Title 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. It was supposed to meet the needs of poor children in school. One thing has been learned from Title 1: THE SAME THING HAPPENS TO THE POOR CHILDREN IN SCHOOL THAT HAPPENS TO THE POOR PEOPLE IN SOCIETY...THE GOVERNMENT SAYS THEY ARE GOING TO WRITE THEM A PROGRAM THAT WILL HELP that program. Teachers unions, educational suppliers, principals, service agencies, many many groups are interested in getting part of the Title 1 pot. To have any meaningful contro! over how the Title 1 funds are spent you have to be ready and present when the plans are being made. Title 1 gives us a start in fighting for our children’s educational rights. But we have to remember that as it is written now Title 1 doesn’t go to alli our children, only those chosen to be in a Title 1 program because they are behind in school. So if you chose to organize around Title 1 you will be fighting more for an idea than for things---for your right to set priorities in your children’s education. (Supplied at the courtesy of National er A Closer Look at Title | in our Schools was the first thing that came to mind when they thought what their children needed to do better in school...clothes to get there. School administrators didn’t like the idea. They said that clothing was a welfare not an educational need. It took a lot of pressure to get the Office of Education to admit that for poor children clothing could be an educational need. There are still other service needs that Title 1 can be used to meet; some of them, like health, may be more acceptable to school boards than clothing is. Health can include medical and dental services, free inoculations, eyeglasses and hearing aids. Title 1 can provide food and _ nutrional services. But, noe that the school lunch program is supposed to reach every poor child in school there is no need for Title 1 money to be spent on lunches. There is money available for school breakfast programs too. (National NWRO Office can supply informationo both these programs if you are interested in having a co-ordinated drive.) Many schools demand that children pay for their own gym suits, graduation gowns, workbooks, trips, tec. This is unfair to poor children. We should work to get these compulsory expenses out of all school systems, but as long as they exist we can ask that Title 1 money be provide to meet them. Counseling is another service that can be paid for with Title 1 money. This is a touchy issue because it really depends on the people involved. Some counseling services are really helpful, especially for older children, some just add another counselor or social worker to the rolls. There may still be other services that children in your community need to improve their education. The important fight is to convince the Board of Education that whatever services you see your childrenneeding to improve their education really do meet an educational need and really can not be paid for by any other source. Complaints: There has been a satisfactory official system of handling complaints from parents in Title 1. However, there is still the unofficial method of using political pressure (if your school board is er regulation going into the books deals with ‘‘comparability”’. The idea of comparability is a very important one even outside of Title 1 because it deals very directly with one of the major problems poor children face in school...they are not getting equal ment in the school system. They have fewer books, more broken windows, less heat, more children in each class, fewer fultime certified teachers, more substitutes and If your school is not NOW temporary teachers than the working on informing the Title 1 middle-class children on the other community of the information of side of town. If you use Title 1 to the parent advisory council then you help fight this fight you will be are probably already faced with helping every child in your school problem 1, because if the coucils are district. The school board knows to have any effective part in the that too, so it could be the hardest planning of next years’ programs fight of all. It will be hard for them they will have to set up soon, and to redistribute the local and State they can’t set up until the school money in their school system board has made some decisions as to without creating a lot of trouble what the composition of the council with their middle-class constituency, will be, who will decide who its on it, so they will probably find ways to when it will be selected or elected, get out of doing it or look like they and what its fuctions will be. have done it when they actually There is another aspect to haven't. They will probably try to parent participation...ALL parents put you off by saying that are supposed to be informed about comparibility isn’t enforceable for the Tile 1 program in the school another year anyway. It will be up to district, ALL parents have aright to you to force the issue this year. Why express their views on Title 1, and all should any child have to wait Title 1 parents are supposed to be another year for equal education? involved in ‘the actual Title 1 Educational Direction: This program. This can provide the issue is not specific but it is ‘necessary alternative to the parent important when you think about council if it comes up; it is another what your children get in school. It legal way to have some say in their deals with questions like how children’s education. important or effective are the Public Information: There is courses the children are taking? Does another regulation being put into the teachers attitude destroy the law this month which says the Title 1 children’s incentive to learn? Many office has to let anyone that asks see schools in low-income areas expect and copy all pertinent documents the children to grow up to be broom they have on past and current and pushers anyway so they really don’t future Title 1 programs, at a care what the children learn or if “‘reasonable’’ cost. This means you they learn. Should we worry about can get copies of all the important elementary children just starting regulations and guidelines. It means out, or high school children who you can see and copy the application need a last chance to catch up? Is the for next year and the budget for this remedial reading or special year and the list of who is on the education really helpful or does it parent council. It does not mean you separate the child too much? Is ther have the right to see the records of a tutoring program? Is there children in the program, but you can adequate consideration of nonfind out how many children in which: English speaking children? Do the schools are in Title 1 programs and children need more field trips or what those programs are supposed to more books or more of both and less do. It does not give you the right to counseling? All these kinds of see the records of teachers being paid questions are important in Title 1 by Title 1, but you can find how too. They are all concerned with many teachers, what programs they getting the money spent in ways that teach, where and when. The point is will really deal with the problems of that you better know the law, the the children concerned and not the better you can protect your rights. interests of teachers or the board of The more you know about a specific education or the company that sells program the more you can take learning t.v.’s. advantage of it or see what things Supportive Services: For need to be changed for the benefit of children of low-income families, your children. supportive services are an important The problem is that even though part of education. Even if they get to there is a good public information school they come poorly equipped. regulation many school Because they have an inadequate administrators will make it hard for income they have inadequate you to get the information you clothing, inadequate health and want. They will say they don’t have inadequate supplies. We know that it. And, it can be very complicated education means more than books and time consuming research for you to get involved in. (One way to and teachers, it means the whole handle this is to find a lives of our children. The probelm is community-minded group to help that the people that run our children’s education are not often you, such as the League of Women ready for that idea. Most of the Voters. They have written some local reports on Title 1 in a few Welfare Rights Organizations Title 1 Campaigns last year tried to get cities.) Comparability: Another new school clothing for their children. It, aa Page6 |