Commissioner's Newsletter
February 4, 2005
| Moving Forward with Student I.D. System | Update on High School Task Force |
| "Top 10 Lists" | Reauthorization of IDEA |
Dear School Administrator:
The General Assembly is back at work in Jefferson City, and the pace of activity in our offices has picked up substantially in recent days. Members of our staff are attending legislative hearings, meeting with legislators on various topics, and preparing for our Department’s first budget hearings. While the process is familiar, there is much that is new this year because of the election of a new governor and new leadership in both the House and the Senate. My early contacts with Governor Blunt and his staff have been cordial and constructive.
Following are several important items for your information and use.
MOVING FORWARD WITH A STUDENT I.D. SYSTEM
Last year a group of Missouri educators and DESE personnel explored ways of reducing the recordkeeping load for school districts, especially in response to the increasing data demands imposed by NCLB. Among the ideas considered was the adoption of a statewide student identification system. You may recall that we conducted a survey of school districts to determine what systems were already in place and how districts were using such programs to manage student data.
The Department recently signed a contract to begin development of a statewide student identification/locator system. The state education agencies in Kansas and Nebraska also are beginning projects with the same company, which recently implemented a system in Iowa.
We will provide more information about this important project soon. We are excited about this initiative and believe it will help us help you be more efficient in recordkeeping and more effective in making information available at the classroom level. We will be asking you and your staff to work with us this spring as we move ahead with an ambitious timeline to implement the project. If you have questions about this project, you may contact Leigh Ann Grant-Engle or Tom Ogle.
IMPORTANT: UPDATE ON HIGH SCHOOL TASK FORCE
The State Board of Education met in Jefferson City on January 20. The board received a status report on the work of the High School Task Force, the group I appointed last year to recommend possible changes in Missouri’s high schools. You have probably read news reports about this meeting. The 25-member panel has met several times since last spring and has been engaged in vigorous discussion of many topics. At my request, Professor Jerry Valentine, from the University of Missouri-Columbia, is serving as the group’s facilitator. Dr. Valentine presented the report to the State Board of Education and answered questions about the deliberations of the task force.
The task force appears to have reached consensus on the need to raise the current minimum high school graduation requirements. I think it is likely the group will be recommending that we raise the minimum requirement to 24 units of credit, from the current 22-unit requirement. In addition, I think it is likely the task force will recommend raising the "core curriculum" requirements to consist of four units of English credit and three units each in math, science and social studies.
I also expect to receive a recommendation from the task force regarding a requirement in the area of "personal finance and management." This may or may not take the form of a specific course requirement, but the task force believes this topic needs to be addressed in the state’s minimum graduation standards. I agree.
The task force also has been discussing the pros and cons of "exit tests" (in various forms), but there is no consensus yet about this complex issue. The task force continues to grapple with this issue, however, and may come forward with recommendations.
It is my hope that the State Board of Education will adopt proposed regulations regarding the minimum graduation requirements by early this summer so that we can begin the public-comment process. Ideally, we will adopt any policy changes by early in the next school year so that you and your staff can start preparing for the impact of new standards. Any changes in minimum graduation requirements approved this year would apply to the Class of 2010 (students who will be eighth graders in 2005-06).
"TOP 10 LISTS" ARE NOW AVAILABLE
We have recently completed the "Top 10" lists that the Department has published for several years to recognize schools with strong MAP scores. The new lists, based on 2004 MAP results in communication arts and math, are now available on our Web site.
You must review these lists to see if you have any buildings that achieved Top 10 status, either in the "Highest Performing" or "Most-Improved" categories.
The Department does not intend to publicize the release of these new lists, but I hope they may be useful to you and members of your staff. For schools that have been working hard to improve their MAP performance, and for those that have maintained consistently high scores, these lists provide important recognition and validation.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE REAUTHORIZATION OF "IDEA"
On December 3, President Bush signed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004. This reauthorized version of the law becomes effective July 1, 2005. It includes several critical changes affecting local education agencies. The Division of Special Education is planning a series of technical assistance activities during the coming spring and summer to help local school officials plan for implementation of the new law.
The first planned activity is a video Webcast that is available on the internet. This program will make district personnel aware of the changes in IDEA that have a direct impact on the provision of services for students with disabilities. Districts have already been notified about the logistics of this Webcast through our Special Education Listserv (SELS). All future technical assistance activities related to IDEA 2004 will be announced via the listserv (see following item).
USING THE SPECIAL EDUCATION LISTSERV
Our Division of Special Education uses the Special Education Listserv (SELS) as its primary means of communicating with school districts about special education issues. Messages distributed through the SELS include important information for school officials and other stakeholders about funding, compliance issues, data collection, etc. The SELS is a "closed" listserv. It is available only to special education contacts in public schools and a limited number of professional and parent organizations.
Each school district and organization may enroll one contact person to receive SELS messages, but we encourage you to establish your own network for sharing messages with other staff. SELS messages may be posted only by Lina Browner, the DESE employee who manages this listserv. Members of the listserv group may not post their own messages or respond directly to messages on the SELS system.
To update or change your district’s SELS contact person, or if you have questions about the operation of this listserv, please contact Ms. Browner, executive assistant for the Division of Special Education, at 573-751-5739.
"PUBLIC SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT"
Enclosed is a copy of the latest Missouri Public School Accountability Report for the 2003-04 school year. This includes much of the same data that you are required to report at the local level, as well as state-level indicators that we are required to publish under No Child Left Behind.
For the first time, we are reporting statewide enrollment figures for preschool (see first item). About 22,500 children were served in district-operated programs last year, and we want to start tracking this statistic.
Most of the statistics were quite stable between 2003 and 2004. You should note, however, that the overall dropout rate increased by half-a-point last year, ending the downward trend of recent years. We think this upturn may be attributable, at least in part, to cutbacks in spending for alternative and dropout-prevention programs at the district level.
This "state report card" provides a great deal of useful information in an easy-to-read format. I hope you find it useful.
PRESIDENTIAL AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING
Each year the White House, in cooperation with the National Science Foundation, recognizes outstanding mathematics and science teachers throughout the country. In the DESE "Mailbag" of January 5, we sent you a brochure about the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. We encourage you and others in your district to consider participating in this prestigious program by nominating exemplary secondary math and science teachers (grades 7-12). We encourage you to make nominations as quickly as possible so that nominees will have time to complete the application process by the May 2, 2005, deadline.
More information and nomination forms for this program are available online. You also may contact Linda Lacy, our science consultant , or Wesley Bird, our math consultant, for more information.
Last fall, I notified you about a project, Coins for the Corps, a fund-raising effort for interested schools and students, that is collecting money for a commemorative monument depicting the Lewis & Clark Expedition. The monument will consist of larger-than-life bronze statues of several members of the Corps of Discovery. It will be located in Jefferson City, between the Capitol and the Governor’s Mansion. Schools still have an opportunity to participate.
Details about this project are available on the Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Department’s Web site. You also may contact the project chair, Sally Sprague, at 573-893-3189.
It is truly a busy and an exciting time in Missouri education. I mentioned that the Task Force on the High School will soon be making recommendations for improving the high school experience. There is a major legislative focus on revising the state’s school funding formula. Missouri educators are helping to finalize model curricula for language arts and mathematics. New grade-level tests are being developed and will be field-tested this spring.
There are lots of issues, but none is as important as what goes on in the classrooms of your community every day. Your continued attention to helping teachers do the work of instructing students is paramount. Please continue those efforts.
Sincerely,
D. Kent King