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School is one of 63 nationwide to receive designation

Project Chrysalis Middle School has been recognized as a National Title I Distinguished School, an award that honors schools for their positive educational advances. The school is one of two in the state of Texas and one of only 63 nationwide to receive the designation.

The Project Chrysalis was selected by the Texas Education Agency to represent Texas as one of the highest-rated Title I Distinguished Schools based on its success in closing the achievement gap between student groups. Located near the city’s East End, the school serves nearly 300 students.

“We are so proud to be honored as a National Distinguished Title I School,” Project Chrysalis Principal Jose Covarrubia said. “This honor is only given to two schools from each state, and achieving this honor for continuous improvement and closing the achievement gap is an even greater distinction. This is a tribute to an entire community — parents, teachers, staff, administrators — working together to achieve academic success for all children.”

Title I is the largest federally funded pre-college education program in the United States, providing funding to school districts to increase academic achievement at schools serving high concentrations of students from low-income homes. Project Chrysalis is a schoolwide Title 1, Part A school, which means 40 to 100 percent of its students are enrolled in the free or reduced lunch program.

“We use our Title I funds to support the instructional program,” Covarrubia said. “The funds pay for the extra instructional support that the teachers give the students before school, after school and on Saturdays. If students were not given the extra support and teachers were not given the extra pay, the learning gaps would not narrow, and students would be at an academic disadvantage when entering high school.”

The National Title I Distinguished Schools Program is administered by the National Title I Association. The award publicly recognizes qualifying Title I schools for the outstanding educational achievements of their students. It highlights the efforts of schools across the country that have successfully used their Title I federal funds to improve the education for economically disadvantaged students. It has been in place since 1996, showcasing the success of hundreds of schools in one of three categories:

• Category 1: Exceptional student performance for two consecutive years
• Category 2: Closing the achievement gap between student groups
• Category 3: Excellence in serving special populations of students.

More information about Project Chrysalis Middle School is available on their award website: http://www.eseanetwork.org/ds/schools/project-chrysalis-middle-school

More information about all National Title I Distinguished Schools is available on the National Title I Association website: www.titlei.org.