Title I & School Improvement

This page contains information related to our designation as a Title I school.

Family Compact 2025-2026

Family Compact 2025-26

What is Title I?

What is Title I?

Title I is a federally funded program through the Elementary & Secondary Act (ESEA) designed to provide support to students who are performing below grade level in reading and/or math. The goal is to emphasize high academic standards in an effort to help students succeed in the regular classroom and reach grade level performance.

What are some typical Title I services?

At Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), we offer Title I programs to meet the needs of students at individual schools. At some buildings, this may mean a ‘targeted’ program where selected students receive additional academic instruction or other types of assistance to support them in school. The majority of schools in MPS have a ‘school-wide’ Tile I program which means additional services are available to address the needs of all the students at that school. Typically services focus on providing additional help in reading and/or math instruction, but services could include social skills instruction, attendance support, health services, etc.

Do all MPS schools have a Title I program?

No. The Federal law requires that Title I programs are available in schools with the greatest concentration of low-income families. Once a school qualifies, academic need – not economic status – determines the school programming and whether students receive extra instruction. Contact your child’s school for more information about its Title I program and ask when the school’s annual Title I meeting for families will be held.

Who are Title I students?

Typically students identified as needing Title I services are those who are having academic difficulties or other concerns that are affecting their academic achievement in school. Usually students’ needs are identified by their classroom teachers based on their test scores and other measures of academic performance. Those who show the greatest educational need and are not already receiving special education services are served first.

How are parents/guardians involved?

In ‘school-wide’ and ‘targeted’ programs, parents are invited to attend the school’s annual Title I Meeting
In ‘targeted’ school programs, parents are notified of their child’s eligibility for and participation in Title I
Parents, staff and students may participate in the development and carrying out of a compact that spells out the goals and shared responsibilities of the child, school and parents for student success
Parents are encouraged to participate in Title I meetings and learning opportunities

As a parent/guardian, you have the right...

to know the qualifications of your child’s teacher
to know when your child has a substitute teacher for more than four weeks and the qualifications of the substitute teacher
to know how your child’s school is rated on its state test scores
to expect regular communication with your school in a language that you can understand
to work with other parents and staff to develop a school-level parent compact between the school and its families
to help plan how money for family involvement should be spent
to work with teachers, parents and the school principal to develop your school’s family involvement plan
to ask for a meeting with your school principal or your child’s teacher at any time

School Improvement Plan (SIP)

Mission & Vision

Introduction

School Mission Statement

At Sullivan STEAM Magnet, every child has a place and a voice. Every member of the learning community creates knowledge and applies practices of STEAM to solve relevant problems with project based learning in culturally sustaining ways. This is possible through the cultivation of strong relationships and collaboration with students, staff, families, and the greater community.

School Vision Statement

Programs & Community Partners

School Improvement Plan Goals

Strategic Plan Goal 1: Academic Achievement

Every student achieves their full potential through equal access to programming that is academically rigorous and connects learning with student experiences.

Strategies

Implementation of strong Tier 1 instructional materials including evidence-based foundational literacy curriculum called Functional Phonics & Morphology (K-5 in literacy), Number Corner & Bridges (K-5 in mathematics), and iReady curriculum (6-8 in mathematics).

Strategic Plan Goal 2: Student Well-being

Every student’s physical and mental well-being is addressed as an integral part of their education.

25-26 School Year SMART Goal

100% of elementary classrooms will implement a take a break space and diversify options within this practice to meet student needs.
100% of middle school classrooms will incorporate procedural interactive modeling.

Strategies

Developmental Designs components that include whole class norms co-creation (collective agreements), in-class regulation routines (take a break), Interactive modeling, advisory/morning meeting (message, greeting, game, and share).

Strategic Plan Goal 3: Effective Staff

School and district staff approach all work centered on students and equity.

25-26 School Year SMART Goal

100% of teams will use collaborative team planning time to internalize and implement high quality instructional practices, including those from LETRS.

Strategies

PLC Collaborative Team Time and PD that focuses on implementation of high quality Tier 1 instructional materials and evidence-based instructional practices.

Strategic Plan Goal 4: School and District Climate

MPS is known by our community as welcoming, responsive, and connected.

25-26 School Year SMART Goal

100% of classrooms will incorporate parent/caregiver celebrations at end of PBL units/elective courses.

Strategies

Student engagement that includes creating opportunities for students to provide feedback and participate in decision making.

Family engagement that includes consistent communication, and end of unit PBL celebrations.

Family Engagement Plan (FEP)

Family & Community Voice & Engagement

How family and community voices are gathered at our school

The primary challenges/areas of need identified by families and community members at our school

The primary hopes and aspirations identified by families and community members at our school

Family Engagement Goals & Strategies

Goal: All families feel welcome in our school and have equal access to opportunities to be involved in their students' education.

Strategies

We will host the following community-based and cultural events this year:

Open House at beginning of year
Two family STEAM nights (fall and spring)
Monthly family meetings
Monthly site council meetings
Curriculum Night
21st century skills STEAM activities integrated with monthly family meeting
Some classrooms have end-of-unit family events

We will notify families of how to get involved in the events listed on our FEP, how to access school staff, and how to volunteer through the following methods:

Sullivan Facebook page
Robocalls
Teachers communicate via email, texting and phone calls
Newsletters including classroom or grade level team newsletters
Sullivan website
Talking Points
Google Classroom and SeeSaw pages

We will ensure all families can participate by providing the following:

Transportation
Translated documents and robocalls
Interpreters
Use of student devices to connect virtually

Goal: All families are informed of the steps our school is taking to improve student outcomes and achieve equity.

Strategies

We will host our annual State of the School (Title I) meeting and posted our State of the School Title 1 presentation on the Sullivan website and discussed the slides at a parent meeting in the fall.

We will inform families of the steps our school is taking to improve student outcomes and achieve equity through...

Monthly parent meetings
Monthly site council meetings
Parent/teacher conferences in October and February
Communication between teachers and families through phone calls, emails, text messages, Talking Points app

Goal: Families will play an important role in developing our School Improvement and Family Engagement plans, and will provide valued input on how we spend our resources.

Strategies

We will get family input on our School Improvement Plan for next year in meetings with families where family surveys were administered. Feedback on budget /programming/school improvement goals/family engagement plan was gathered from Site Council members.
We will get family input on our Family Engagement Plan for next year at a parent meeting in the spring. We also have site council the first Wednesday each month.
We will get family input on how we'll use our resources next year to support student achievement and engage families at our Site Council to discuss next year's budget decisions.
We will host regular Site Council meetings the first Wednesday of the month.

Goal: All school staff members, family members, and students understand the important role they each play in making sure students achieve success at our school.

Goal: All families understand how to support their students’ academic achievement.

Strategies

At the following events, we will help families understand our school curriculum, state standards, assessments their students take, and how we measure student achievement and success:

October Site Council and Parent/Caregiver meeting where we will talk about curriculum, state standards and assessments
Ongoing discussions regarding data with our Site Council team

In addition to the events above, we will also help families understand our school curriculum, state standards, assessments their students will take, and how we will measure student achievement and success in the following ways:

We will share our School-Family Compact with families on our website, in our handbook, at our first Parent Meeting and at Parent-Teacher Conferences.

We will host the following academically-focused family events:

Open House: Aug. 28, 2025
Fall Family STEAM Night: Nov. 20, 2025
Spring Family STEAM Night: May 14, 2025

Goal: All staff will be trained on how to effectively partner with families.

Strategies

We will provide professional development on family engagement to our staff on the following topics this year:

We will continue to review the methods of communication with families. We want to ensure we are communicating with all stakeholders as well as getting feedback.
We meet monthly with parents and there is always a section with STEAM updates.
Site Council provides a structure where parents can ask specific questions and help us problem think through processes and procedures to get more parent/caregiver feedback
Surveys, Talking Points App, and website links

25-26 School Year SMART Goal

2nd-5th Grade:

By spring 2025, the percentage of 2nd-5th grade students making typical or aggressive growth in reading will increase from 44% to 50% on FAST aReading.
By spring 2025, the percentage of 2nd-5th grade students making typical or aggressive growth in math will increase from 53% to 59% on FAST aMath.

6th-8th Grade:

By spring 2025, the percentage of 6th-8th grade students making typical or aggressive growth in reading will increase from 35% to 41% on FAST aReading.
By spring 2025, the percentage of 6th-8th grade students making typical or aggressive growth in math will increase from 45% to 51% on FAST aMath.

English Language Learners:

By spring 2025, the percentage of students who are identified as English Language Learners reaching or surpassing their growth targets on WIDA will increase from 50.6% to 55%.