Project SPARK Criteria

At-Risk Criteria 

1. Poverty – Qualifies for free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Program on September 20, 2024 (family income is less than 185% of the Federal Poverty Level). 
2. Single Parent families – Custodial parent is unmarried on the first day of school. 
3. Children in foster care, custodial grandparents/kinship care, or out of home placement, or children who have been referred by the Department for Children and Families – Child is in foster care, custodial grandparents/kinship care, or out of home placement at the time of enrollment. For children referred by DCF, the reason for referral must describe the need for the child to attend the Pre-K program or receive the early childhood service and be documented and signed by the DCF agent. 
4. Teen parents – At least one parent was a teenager (19 or younger) when the child was born. 
5. Either parent is lacking a high school diploma or GED – At least one parent is lacking a high school diploma or GED on the first day of school. 
6. Limited English Proficiency – Documentation that the student qualifies for bilingual weighting and ESOL services must be provided. Forms must be in the child’s file. See process and criteria in the Program Guidance Document for ESOL/Bilingual Education. NOTE: ESOL services must be provided by qualified teachers. 
7. Lower than expected developmental progress in at least one of the following areas: cognitive development; physical development; communication/literacy; social emotional/behavior; adaptive behavior/self-help skills – Based on appropriate and valid assessment results, the developmental progress of the child has been determined by a trained professional to be lower than typically expected for his/her chronological age, yet above what would be considered eligible for special education services (based on the procedural manual and guidance materials of specific assessment instruments). Scores that fall at or below the 40th percentile indicate ‘at-risk’. 
8. Child qualifying for migrant status – Copy of Certificate of Eligibility must be on file. 
9. Children who experience chronic or episodic homelessness – Residence of homeless student while homeless must be completed in the KIDS Collection System as determined by local educational liaison. 
10. Children lacking health insurance – At the time of enrollment, the child has no health insurance coverage.