Commissioner's Newsletter
December 13, 2002 Dear School Administrator: Enclosed is a copy of Tom Davis’s letter summarizing the December meeting of the State Board of Education. Following are a few other items for your information and use. The release of building-level "report cards" appears to have occurred pretty smoothly this month. As you know, Governor Holden formally announced on December 10 that the "DESE version" of district- and building-level reports would be available to the general public on our Web site. I think these online reports will be very helpful to school personnel as well as parents and patrons. We have received many sample copies of districts’ printed reports. As always, they vary greatly in size and format, but most districts have responded positively to the new requirement for providing building-level data. Many districts are linking directly to our online pages, and I expect this practice to become much more common. Early next year, we need to consider revisions to the current regulation concerning school report cards. There are some areas where we can clarify the reporting requirements, and I hope we will be able to "dovetail" at least some of the state and federal requirements. By next year, I hope that we can further reduce the amount of work that you and your staff must do to produce these annual reports. If you have not looked at it yet, I encourage you to review the new Public School Accountability Report that we released on December 10. You may view this state-level "report card" online (www.dese.mo.gov/schooldata). I will send you a printed version of this report shortly. Essentially, it provides a state-level view of the data you are required to publish. It may be a useful reference for you. Enclosed is the recently revised edition of our annual "vital statistics" report, Facts about Public Schools in Missouri. This duplicates some of the data included in our new accountability report, but it continues to be a frequently requested publication. This fact sheet also is available now (in "pdf" format) on our Web site. GOOD NEWS FOR SOME FIRST-YEAR TEACHERS First-year teachers who are eligible for the GI Bill may now receive VA Education Benefits for On-the-Job Training (OJT) during their first contract year. They can be teaching with a regular professional certificate or a temporary authorization certificate. This has never been permitted before, and it could provide substantial benefits for some new teachers. Here are the requirements for participation:
Here are the potential benefits:
If you have questions or need more information, please contact our Veterans’ Education and Training Section at 573-751-3487. "RFPs" AVAILABLE FROM THE DIVISION OF VOCATIONAL AND ADULT EDUCATION The Division of Vocational and Adult Education recently issued requests for proposals (RFPs) for grant-funded projects to be conducted next year (Fiscal Year 2004). The availability of funds for these projects will be subject to appropriation by the General Assembly. These grant applications will be of interest to school districts, area vocational schools and community colleges that provide services in the area of vocational education. Again this year, we are making all of the instructions and application forms available ONLINE. We will NOT distribute these documents in printed form unless someone specifically requests the printed version. Please share this announcement with members of your staff who may have an interest in the following programs and funding opportunities:
Complete information about these grant programs may be downloaded at http://www.dese.mo.gov/divvoced. The actual applications must be submitted in printed form. Earlier in this letter, I referred you to our new state-level "report card." This is the first time we have published data in this format. A document similar to this is now mandatory under No Child Left Behind. I would like to call your attention to our latest dropout statistics. The annual rate for all high school students dropped to 3.8% last year, continuing the steady decline of recent years. I am confident that this is the lowest dropout rate ever in the state, and it is something to be proud of. The dropout rate among black and Hispanic students has been dropping even faster, so we are actually closing the gap on this important indicator. These statistics reflect the collective effort of all school districts and thousands of educators in recent years. While it may be difficult to get people excited over a change of one-half of a percentage point in the state dropout rate, I always try to remember that these statistics represent thousands of kids who have better prospects in life because they completed high school. These numbers really matter to those kids and their families. It is important for you and your staff to remember that all those statistics in your district report card also represent real kids, real teachers and real progress. Enclosed is my annual greeting card. We extend our thanks to Natalee Glastetter, a student at Oran Elementary School, and her teacher, Jeff Pind, for providing the original art for this year’s holiday card. Best wishes to you and your family for a happy holiday season. Sincerely, D. Kent King |