Joplin, Webb City, Carl Junction, Neosho, Diamond, Lamar, McDonald County, Springfield, Aurora, Monett, Mount Vernon, Nevada, Purdy, Sarcoxie, Seneca, Stockton, Republic, Willard...you get the point. I don't know the reason for these school districts making the list; the federal government has set up the system so that if a district fails in any one category, it is not making adequate yearly progress.
A total of 167 school districts are on the list, which was released today by the state.
Adding to the confusion, despite this long laundry list of schools, only a handful of individual schools from this area is on the list, which would indicate that test scores, which supposedly are the most important part of No Child Left Behind.
Southwest Missouri schools on the so-called improvement list are: Carl Junction Intermediate, Columbian Elementary School in Carthage, Monett Intermediate, Bissett Elementary and McGregor Elementary in Springfield...that's it.
This is the news release issued by the state department:
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has notified more than 250 public schools and school districts that they are unlikely to meet "adequate yearly progress" goals and will be classified by state education officials as "needing improvement" during 2007-08.
Under the provisions of federal law (No Child Left Behind), these schools and districts will be in the category of needing improvement for the first time. They are required to notify parents about the designation as soon as possible. The school districts will be required to prepare a new school-improvement plan.
"We are making a preliminary identification of new schools and districts that need improvement, as required by the law and based on 2006 MAP scores, attendance rates and graduation rates. In previous years, we made this determination after all schools had received their new test results. Federal officials have told us we must accelerate our timetable," said Stan Johnson, assistant commissioner of the department of education.
Results from the 2007 MAP tests will be released Friday (August 17).
DESE staff have officially notified local school officials that 102 additional buildings and 167 districts will be in the "needs improvement" category for the coming year. In all, the state now has about 200 school buildings that are designated for improvement.
Students in some of the newly designated schools may be entitled to transfer to other schools within their districts, and district officials are required to notify parents as soon as possible about options they may have.
6 comments:
Destruction of the public school system, our children's self confidence, and our children's future is a very real goal for them. I believe the term "anarchist" fits them quite nicely.
It's about time DESE started doing their job and identify the fact that our schools ARE NOT doing the job they should be doing. The public needs to know that the "great" public schools are not providing a quality education to our children and refuse to be upfront about that fact.
The image of the "great" public schools is a facade. Public schools are living on past glory while failing current students and thereby our future.
Quit bitching and get down to the work of educating our children instead of protecting your jobs. Stop using children as pawns!
Responsible parents supervise their children's homework, follow up with the teachers periodically, make sure your child understands that you respect the teacher and try to instill a love of learning in their children. As long as you do your part public schools work very well.
If, on the other hand, you expect the teacher and the school to do all the educating while you recline in your lazyboy, tv clicker in hand, telling your child that the teachers don't know anything and encouraging them to have no respect for the teacher... well, you really shouldn't be surprised at the end result, Carol.
Just the kind of response I would expect from a lazy educrat.
Go ahead, ignore the fact the the education bureacracy is more concerned about their backsides than the children AND the majority of teachers who are hardworking.
It won't come soon enough but your time will come to an end.
We won't know the complete details until the test scores are released Friday, but it is telling that nearly every school district in this area (and all of the larger ones) have been cited as schools needing improvement, but only three or four specific buildings have been cited. This means that test scores have nothing whatsoever to do with many of the 167 school districts that were cited, most likely, for most of them the cause is the high school dropout race, something that schools play a role in, but also something that is affected just as much by outside factors. The federal Department of Education is looking for reasons to label schools as failing, and since schools have increased test scores, other reasons have to be used. Public schools are getting the job done in Missouri, and they have been all along. And while it is true that I am a public school employee (and proud of it), those who remember my days at The Carthage Press and the Lamar Democrat will recall that I have always been a supporter of public education.
I agree, Randy and I'm not a public school employee. I'm just the parent of two public educated students who hold bachelor degrees, one of whom is making plans to return for his masters.
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