Two More Tulsa Schools Qualify For Grant Money

Two more Tulsa schools now qualify for federal grants, because so man of the students in the schools are living in poverty.

The change has been gradual, but a trend toward higher levels of poverty, among students at Tulsa Public Schools, means Eliot and Carnegie soon will be Title 1 schools for the first time.

Letter Sent To Carnegie Parents

In a kindergarten class at Remington Elementary, teacher Linne Waters pulls out small groups of students for extra help in math.

Normally, she would teach a larger class, but because of Title 1, there's time and money for tutoring that helps students catch up.

Title 1 money paid for a puzzle set that helps children learn numbers.

It helps schools buy extra books and sometimes hire a helper for the classroom.

Schools are required to use the money to help children who need it the most, with instruction suited just for them.

"So you teach them where they're at," Waters said.

The extra help through Title 1 is common throughout Tulsa, where almost every school qualifies based on poverty levels.

Two elementary schools didn't qualify until now - but Eliot Elementary and Carnegie Elementary will soon be part of Title 1.

The reason -- poverty is on the increase -- and not just at those two schools.

"More and more students and families are qualifying for free and reduced lunch across our city,” Kayla Robinson said.

The threshold is 35 percent of students on free or reduced lunch.

The shift at Eliot and Carnegie means extra money is coming to those schools, this fall.

"To be really specific, this is money to provide instruction on top of what we're already doing to help students who might not be on grade level when they need to be,” Robinson said.

It's uncertain how much the two new Title 1 schools will get, but it won't be as much as schools with higher levels of poverty.

At Remington, the Title 1 grant is about $70,000 a year, and at Eliot it won't be nearly as much.

The only TPS school left that doesn't qualify now is Eisenhower, the language immersion magnet school.