Dawn F. Barnes Elementary recognized for recent academic success

  CASWELL, Maine — State Representatives Bernard L.A. Ayotte (R-Caswell) and Tyler Clark (R-Easton) welcomed students and chaperones from Caswell’s Dawn F. Barnes Elementary School to the State House on Friday, April 11, where they were able to enjoy a day learning about the legislature and governing involved in our state’s political system.
During their time in Augusta, the young people had the opportunity to observe the day’s legislative session and learn more about state government. A select number of students including Marissa Emery, Alec Comeau, and Joshua Dufour were even chosen to serve as honorary pages in the House of Representatives, delivering messages and documents to lawmakers. The invitation could be viewed as a reward for the progress the elementary school has recently made during their time as a Title 1 school.
“We were one of the 19 schools in Maine to be named a High Progress Reward School under Maine’s new Elementary Secondary Education Accountability System,” said Caswell Principal Krystina Davenport. “This means that we have consistently demonstrated high progress toward meeting state and federal accountability standards for English language, arts and mathematics.”
Davenport explained that students and faculty from Dawn F. Barnes Elementary have not only met the expected requirements for High Progress Schools, but they have been able to exceed these expectations in more areas than one.
“We were also in the top 15 percent of Title I schools who are demonstrating the greatest level of improvement on the School Achievement and Progress list over a three-year period,” said Davenport. “The school is demonstrating the highest three-year averages among those with high progress.”
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was passed as a part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty” and has been the most far-reaching federal legislation affecting education ever passed by Congress. The act is an extensive statute that funds primary and secondary education, while explicitly forbidding the establishment of a national curriculum. It also emphasizes equal access to education and establishes high standards and accountability. In addition, the bill aims to shorten the achievement gaps between students by providing each child with fair and equal opportunities to achieve an exceptional education.
As mandated in the act, the funds are authorized for professional development, instructional materials, for resources to support educational programs, and for parental involvement promotion. The act was originally authorized through 1965; however, the government has reauthorized the act every five years since its enactment. The current reauthorization of ESEA is the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, named and proposed by President George W. Bush.
Title I (“Title One”), a provision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act passed in 1965, is a program created by the U.S. Department of Education to distribute funding to schools and school districts with a high percentage of students from low-income families.    Title I funding is received by more than 50 percent of all public schools. NCLB also requires that for funding to be received, all districts and schools must meet adequate yearly progress goals for their student populations and specific demographic subgroups. Although school districts have some freedom in how Title I funding is distributed among schools within a district, Title I requires them to prioritize the highest-poverty schools.
Title I also helps children from families that have migrated to the United States and youth from intervention programs who are neglected or at risk of abuse. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, to be an eligible Title I school, at least 40 percent of a school’s students must be from low-income families who qualify under the United States Census’s definition of low-income.
Title I states that it gives priority to schools that are in obvious need of funds, low-achieving schools, and schools that demonstrate a commitment to improving their education standards and test scores. In addition, Title I appropriates money to the education system for prevention of dropouts and the improvement of schools. These appropriations are carried out for five fiscal years until reauthorization.
“We are also meeting or exceeding annual measurable objectives in math and reading for the whole school or super-subgroup, and we’re making sufficient progress on other annual measurable objectives in the same category,” said Davenport. “Also, the school is meeting or exceeding the average daily attendance targets for grades 3-8.”
Davenport wanted to make a point of mentioning a number of teachers and staff members included in making these improvements possible; teachers Brandy Brissette, Debbie Blanchette, Roberta Fitzgerald-Hathaway, Ryan O’Neal, Alexis Gereben and ed-techs Nancy Martin and Melanie Hancock have all played an important role in the school’s progress. Teaching-Principal Davenport is also one of those who undoubtedly plays a vital role in the school’s success, but she is quick to pass the credit to the students who have done much of the work, while achieving this level of academic success.