Private & Parochial Schools

Madison School & Community Recreation (MSCR), a department of Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD), currently manages and operates fifteen 21st Century Community Learning Center (CLC) Grants awarded from the U.S. Department of Education through Wisconsin DPI.

These grant programs target low-income, low achieving students. Our programs strive to improve academic achievement, especially in literacy and math, through tutoring/ homework assistance and hands-on academic enrichment during after school hours.

MMSD consults with the private schools during the fall Consultation Meeting about the 21st Century Community Learning Center (CLC) grant. At this time, the private school officials will be informed of the schools participating in the CLC grants, what services will be offered, and request feedback. Private school officials will be asked to sign the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Private School Affirmation each fall.

Title I, Part A funds are targeted to high-poverty school districts and provide supplementary education to students who are educationally disadvantaged or at risk of failing to meet the state standards. Private and Parochial schools receive an equitable share of Title I funding which is in the form of instructional services to eligible students. The instruction students will receive supplements the primary classroom core curriculum. To be eligible, students must reside in Madison within a Title I school attendance area (see list below) and be demonstrating academic need in order to receive these services. Use the Find your School link and the list of schools below to help determine if students reside in the boundaries of a Title I receiving school.

Please contact Stephanie Dankert, Private and Parochial Coordinator at sadankert@madison.k12.wi.us for more information.

If you have students who do not live in the MMSD attendance area, please contact the home school district to help determine if these students are eligible to receive Title I services.

The purpose of Title II, Part A grant funds is to increase student academic achievement through strategies such as improving teacher and principal quality, increasing the number of highly qualified teachers in the classroom and highly qualified principals and assistant principals in schools, and holding local educational agencies and schools accountable for improvements in student academic achievement.

Each private or parochial school participating in TII services must complete and return a needs assessment document describing student need in the core academic areas based on multiple measures of data. In alignment with these needs, teachers and administrators have the opportunity to attend MMSD courses, request specific professional development from MMSD, attend high quality professional development activities, or enroll in coursework. Participating staff or contracted consultants are reimbursed for expenses they incur through the MMSD Title II approval and reimbursement process. MMSD cannot reimburse the private or parochial school directly. Title II private or parochial school level allocations are calculated through the Department of Public Instruction's ESSA online grant application and is based on total school enrollment in January of the previous year.

The purpose of Title III, Part A is to increase the English proficiency of Limited English Proficient (LEP) children. English Learners that attend a private or parochial school within the Madison Metropolitan School District are first identified by taking the WIDA Screener Online or WIDA Remote Screener.  Students that qualify for Title III, Part A services through this assessment then participate in the ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 assessment which annually measures English Proficiency Levels.  MMSD provides a highly qualified instructor to administer the ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 at each qualifying private or parochial school.  Teachers and schools that participate in Title III can also participate in professional learning and student consultation throughout the year to learn best practices for instructing English Learners.  

Title IIIA ensures that children attain English language proficiency, develop high levels of academic attainment in English and meet the same challenging academic standards that all children are expected to meet. (Taken from https://dpi.wi.gov/english-learners/title-iii)

The Madison Metropolitan School District provides Title IIIA services to private schools in the form of: 1) professional development and coaching for private school staff regarding instructional best practices for teaching ELs and 2) monitoring/assessing of student English language development and proficiency. The first step is for the potential English Learner to be screened using the WIDA Screener Online or WIDA Remote Screener. The screener results will indicate if the student is an English learner and qualifies for services. Parents/guardians then accept or refuse permission for the student to receive services.  The student will continue to be assessed annually to monitor English Language Development. The annual assessment (ACCESS for ELLs 2.0) is administered in the winter with results being shared in late spring.  Teachers will use the ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 results to plan instruction to meet the individual academic needs of ELs. Please contact your student's school if you have any questions.