Title I Reading Programs are funded by the Federal Government. The North Ridgeville City School District has implemented this program in grades K-2 to facilitate student progress in reading and writing. Research suggests that targeted instruction in literacy skills can support the development of successful readers and writers.

Students in the Title I program will receive additional literacy instruction in a small group setting. This type of specialized instruction serves as a support in reinforcing the skills that are being taught in the classroom. Students that qualify for the Title I program will receive additional instruction in reading and writing. The students will meet with the building’s Title I teacher regularly.

To qualify for Title I services the students go through a three tier process. The first step is taking the STAR test at the initial screening. (STAR, as an acronym, used to mean "Standardized Test for the Assessment of Reading." This meaning is no longer maintained, as the company has created STAR assessments for skills in domains other than reading.) The students scores fall into one of four categories listed below on the chart (At/ Above Benchmark, On Watch, Intervention, Urgent Intervention). Students who score in the intervention and urgent intervention categories are then retested on the STAR to rule out false positives due to lack of exposure to the ipad/headphones, nerves, etc. All students who still fall into those two categories are then screened by one of the title I teachers using the Fountas and Pinnell Program. Students are assessed on their knowledge of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and their ability to match and produce 8 selected sounds. This difference from what the homeroom teachers assess as well as being in a different format then they use. From there the Title I teachers look at the results and either place the student in full day title I, traditional Title I, or decide no further intervention is needed.

In Kindergarten students may receive Title I intervention in any or a combination of ways. All Title I students will be seen in a small group setting either in their classroom our outside their classroom. The setting is determined by a few factors and may change day to day depending upon the needs of the students. The push in model is when the Title I teacher goes into the student’s homeroom and works with the Title I students in there. In some cases the Title I teacher might run a center in the classroom focusing on using guided reading or other reading strategies. The other model is the pull out model, this model can be used to limit distractions or focus more on specific reading skills. Both models are very effective ways to instruct students and certain situations may lend themselves to either model. Lastly for students who have exhibited a need for a more supported approach, those students will be placed in a title I classroom which focuses solely on the literacy instruction using Fountas and Pinnell literacy instruction and then in the afternoon those students will go back to a regular homeroom teacher using a traditional half day program.