Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Commissioner's Newsletter

July 30, 2002

Dear School Administrator:

It is hard to believe August is almost here and another school year will be starting in about two weeks across most of Missouri. Although I will be seeing many of you in person next week (August 4-6) at our annual Cooperative Conference for School Administrators, I need to share the following items with you.

6 "PIONEERS IN EDUCATION" TO BE HONORED NEXT WEEK

We are looking forward to the 41st Conference for School Administrators that will be held next week at Tan-Tar-A. We are anticipating a large crowd. The conference agenda has been modified slightly from past years in an effort to make it easier for participants to attend all of the concurrent sessions that are of interest to them.

This year’s program includes important sessions for all school administrators concerning the new federal law ("No Child Left Behind"), curriculum and instruction issues, as well as finance and administration.

At the main luncheon on Monday (August 5), we will honor six veteran educators as Pioneers in Education. They are:

Robert Drummond, Pattonville
Earl Finley, Sedalia
Ilene Bangert Ford, Columbia
Lucy Papen, California
Robert Shaw, Columbia
Akehiko Takahashi, Wentzville

The conference will end promptly Tuesday morning; it is primary election day and many administrators will be anxious to get home.

DISTRICTS GIVE GREEN LIGHT FOR 2003 "MAP" TESTING

The positive response from school districts about voluntarily offering the MAP assessments next spring in science and social studies has been absolutely phenomenal! As of July 3 (when we asked districts to indicate their choice), we had already exceeded the number of students needed at each grade level to proceed with voluntary administration. Since that date, more districts have decided to participate and absorb the cost of giving the science and social studies assessments.

As of today, 457 school districts have told us they intend to give the science and/or social studies assessment. This represents about 87% of all school districts. Such broad participation guarantees that we will have valid statewide data next year, which is important for tracking state-level trends. We believe this is a significant vote of confidence for the MAP program, especially in a year when nearly all districts are facing significant financial issues. Thanks to all of you for helping us maintain Missouri’s commitment to accountability.

Although the MAP assessments in fine arts and health/PE will be suspended for 2003, we will continue to work for restoration of FULL state funding for the cost of the MAP assessments. I regret that districts must pick up the cost of the science and social studies assessment. However, I am hopeful that the overwhelming support for voluntary administration will convince lawmakers that funding for the MAP assessments is critically important in coming years.

If your district chose not to participate in the voluntary MAP testing next spring and would like to reconsider, it is NOT too late. We must determine a "final count" by September in order to prepare for next year’s assessments. If you would like to participate, please call the Assessment Section at 573-751-3545.

We have had many questions about "who’s in and who’s out" in various parts of the state. For your information, here is a breakdown, by state supervisory area, of the districts in each region and whether they intend to administer the two parts of the MAP on a voluntary basis:

             

RETIREMENT SYSTEM RULING ON CONTRACTORS

The Public School Retirement System of Missouri (PSRS) recently provided guidance on the issue of whether a person may be considered to be a consultant, a contractor, or an employee of a school district. This has implications for employers as well as for individuals and their eligibility for retirement benefits.

The PSRS and DESE position is that a corporation cannot be hired as a superintendent, principal or teacher, since a corporation does not have a teaching certificate. For a more detailed discussion of this issue, refer to the May 2002 edition of the PSRS publication Employer Reporting Quarterly.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR! RECEPTION FOR NEW LEGISLATORS

As you know, there will be enormous changes in the composition of the Missouri Legislature after the November election, as a result of term limits. On Monday evening, December 2, we have the privilege of hosting newly elected members of the General Assembly at a banquet and orientation in Jefferson City. The Missouri School Boards Association will join in hosting this event, which is held in conjunction with the tour and orientation that are traditionally provided for new legislators.

As in the past, we will invite the "home town" superintendent and school board president of each newly elected legislator to join us at this function on December 2. This is an important opportunity for school district officials to meet their new legislators.

Since we cannot send formal invitations until after the November 5 election, I suggest you mark your calendar for December 2, in case you want to attend this event with a new legislator from your community.

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There has been much discussion recently about the potential impact of the "new" federal education law. At the Administrators Conference next week, we will devote a substantial amount of time to answering your questions about No Child Left Behind and its potential impact on Missouri schools.

We don’t even know all the answers to all the questions yet, and this is frustrating to many of us. I know that it may be frustrating for you and your staff to begin the new school year with unresolved questions about some of the big issues associated with the new law.

Last week, we had an excellent and in-depth discussion of some of these issues with the State Board of Education. The State Board, I am happy to say, is firmly committed to staying "on track" with our own accountability policies and standards to the greatest extent possible. We want to keep our focus on MSIP and MAP as the backbone of our accountability system. We believe we can integrate the new federal policies and requirements into Missouri’s system in most cases.

We know there must be changes in Missouri’s testing program to meet the new federal requirements and that other changes will be required. But in almost all cases, we have time to make an orderly transition to new systems. We also will be working hard to keep you, your board and your staff informed. All of us will have to work at keeping the public informed as well.

Some are already wringing their hands about the possible consequences of the new law. At this point, however, my advice is, "Don’t get too excited." If your district is focused on MSIP performance standards and you are working on closing achievement gaps, then you are already moving in the right direction. There will be lots of political noise surrounding the new law, but you should not be distracted by it.

I hope you will reassure your staff that Missouri is, in fact, well ahead of many other states in dealing with the challenges that No Child Left Behind will present. As you begin this new school year, help them stay focused on the needs of YOUR students and the priorities of YOUR district. That is the real key if we hope for No Child Left Behind to be anything more than a slogan.

Sincerely,

D. Kent King