Commissioner's Newsletter
September 16, 2004
| Release of MAP and AYP Data | Certificates Mandatory for All Teachers |
| Background Checks Soon Mandatory for Most Employees | Questions About Residency |
| Commentary | |
Dear School Administrator:
I hope the start of school has gone smoothly for your students and staff. This letter covers several important topics that require your attention.
FOLLOW-UP ON RELEASE OF “MAP” AND “AYP” DATA
As you know, we officially released all of this year’s MAP results and preliminary AYP findings to the public on August 19. We made all of this information available to school districts on our secure Web site on Monday, August 16. We held our breath when the new Web-based system was activated, wondering if it would really work. It did work, although slowly at times, because of the huge numbers of school personnel who logged on simultaneously to access their data. For example, at 10:00 a.m., on August 16, more than 2,000 users were logged on to the system, and we know that local school personnel were running reports literally around the clock.
Our staff figured out some ways to make the system operate more smoothly after the first few hours, so we think operations improved as the week went on. In any case, we appreciate your patience with us and with the new technology. Nearly everyone seems to agree that the new “Crystal Reports” online system is a faster and easier way to make essential information available to more people quickly.
Overall, the release of this year’s data went very smoothly (at least from our perspective). In a few cases, however, we incorrectly identified schools as “needing improvement” this year. There were only a few of these cases, but I regret the mistakes nonetheless. We have met and analyzed the procedures we used this year, and I think we have learned ways to assure that this process goes more smoothly next year. Of course, the stakes will be higher for everyone again next year, so we may be facing a whole new set of issues!
Superintendents recently received a memo from Assistant Commissioner Stan Johnson (dated September 8) that provides instructions on how districts may submit corrected MAP student demographic data. Make sure you read that memo. If your district needs to submit corrected information, that information could affect a school’s final AYP status. As the memo explains, corrections may be submitted ONLY during the September 15 through October 15 window.
Please note the following important dates regarding Annual Performance Reports (APRs) and other data-related matters:
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September 16. This week, we posted preliminary Annual Performance Reports (APRs) for buildings and districts on the Department’s Web site. These documents are available through a secure log-in procedure using the Core Data collection system. It is very important that you review these preliminary APRs to verify your data and, if necessary, submit corrections by October 15.
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October 15. This is the last day to submit corrections to MAP demographic data and the Annual Performance Reports (APRs).
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October 22. We will officially notify superintendents by this date about which schools are “in school improvement” for 2004-05. Schools’ final status will be determined after all corrections to MAP demographic data have been verified. We know there will be a number of changes in the final list, so you may need to remind people that the AYP status of schools remains “preliminary” until we make the final notifications.
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November 1. Final APRs will be made available to the public on our Web site.
We also expect to make all of the “school report card” data available to the public on the DESE Web site on November 1. School districts are not required to make their own public reports available until December 1, and December 1 will remain the official “deadline” for publication. For all practical purposes, though, the report card data will be ready for publication in our online format on November 1. Therefore, we intend to publish this information in preliminary form on or about November 1.
CERTIFICATES ARE MANDATORY FOR ALL TEACHERS
According to state law, all school district personnel who are responsible for working with students in an instructional or supervisory capacity during the school day must have a valid Missouri teaching certificate. This requirement applies to those who supervise study hall, in-school suspension programs and any other activities in which students’ attendance would be included in the average daily attendance calculation for state aid.
The time for processing applications for substitute certificates is less than two weeks, and the process for renewing expired certificates has been simplified during the past year. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that every employee with teaching or supervisory responsibilities should have a valid Missouri teaching certificate the day he/she begins work. Districts are creating undue liability if they permit someone to work with an expired certificate or assign non-certificated individuals for any sort of duty that includes responsibility for supervising students. Therefore, adults who are supervising students in any capacity must possess, at least, a substitute teacher’s certificate.
In addition to the liability issue, there is the matter of state aid. Students under the supervision of an individual who does not hold a valid certificate are not eligible to be counted for state aid purposes. Beginning with the current school year (2004-05), failure to comply with these minimum certification requirements will result in an adjustment in a district’s state aid. The Department will inform the school district that it must exclude the hours of attendance of all students who were under the supervision of a non-certificated employee for the year. This could mean a significant adjustment, but we hope such action will not be necessary.
Administrators must ensure that the certification status of professional employees is monitored. Tools in the Core Data system allow district staff to know whether an employee has a certificate and whether a certificate is valid for the courses taught by a particular employee. Your Core Data Coordinator has been informed of these tools during the recently completed Core Data workshops that were held across the state.
Staff in the School Improvement and Accreditation Section will be communicating with districts that had employees without certificates during 2003-04 to confirm that the data on file with DESE are correct. The state supervisors will be contacting districts about these cases. Corrections in some data or in the certification status of some individuals may be necessary. However, we will not require that student attendance hours be deducted from the district’s 2003-04 attendance report. Exclusion of attendance hours will begin at the end of this school year, based on the 2004-05 attendance.
If you have questions about this issue, you may contact the School Finance or School Improvement and Accreditation Sections.
BACKGROUND CHECKS SOON MANDATORY FOR MOST EMPLOYEES
According to House Bill 1453 (enacted by the Missouri Legislature earlier this year), school districts must ensure that a FBI fingerprint background check is conducted on every person employed after January 1, 2005, whose job involves contact with students. The Department believes this means that every employee who has contact with students (not just certificated personnel) and who is employed after January 1, 2005, must have a comprehensive background check prior to employment. School districts may choose to require a full background check for all of their student-contact employees, not just those newly hired after January 1, 2005.
The current fee for this background check is $38. Districts may elect to pay this fee or require applicants to pay for it. The process requires that the school district or applicant submit two sets of fingerprint cards to the Educator Certification/Conduct and Investigations Section along with the necessary fee. Our Department forwards the fingerprint cards to the Highway Patrol and FBI for processing.
As you probably know, the Highway Patrol has been inundated by new requirements for background checks in recent months. This has caused serious delays in the processing of background clearances. To deal with this problem, the Highway Patrol has recently started around-the-clock operations to process fingerprint cards. The Highway Patrol also is developing plans to contract with a private vendor to electronically submit fingerprints to the Highway Patrol and FBI.
Even with these actions by the Highway Patrol, we expect there will continue to be significant delays for school districts in receiving the results of background checks on prospective employees. Here are a couple of things school districts can do to facilitate the process in the future:
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Be sure that fingerprint cards are completely filled out.
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Ensure that prints are taken by someone who is well-trained, such as a local law enforcement official or an individual trained by the Highway Patrol.
If you choose to employ and assign an individual before receiving the final results of a background check, the employment should be contingent on the receipt of a favorable background clearance. In addition, if you elect to assign an employee before the background check is completed, it is more important than ever that your staff check references of prospective employees.
In the near future, the Education Certification Section will send every school district sets of fingerprint cards and other information for applicants. As new information regarding this process becomes available, we will pass it on to you.
I encourage you to share this information with other members of your staff so that everyone will understand the new legal requirement regarding background checks. You may also need to review your current employment procedures to make sure you are collecting the information you need from applicants and allowing adequate time for background checks.
Missouri Revised Statute Section 167.020 – part of the Safe Schools Act – defines residency requirements for students attending public schools. Residency is an important issue for students, their parents and school staff because it determines the ability of students to enroll and receive educational services. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education receives many questions about residency issues, particularly at this time of year.
Subsection 2 of section 167.020, RSMo., states that a child is entitled to attend school where the child resides and that “the domicile of the minor child shall be the domicile of the parent or court-appointed legal guardian . . . .” However, Subsection 6 of Section 167.020 also states that the residency requirement does not apply to all children. A common complaint we hear is that school districts will allow students to enroll only if they are living with a parent or legal guardian. This is not a correct application of the law. For example, the basic residency requirements do not apply to students who are homeless; students who are wards of the state and have been placed in residential care facilities; students placed in residential facilities by juvenile courts; or non-resident students attending school pursuant to sections 167.121 and 167.151, RSMo. Finally, Subsection 3 of Section 167.020 allows students living with someone other than a parent or court-appointed guardian to request a proof of residency waiver from the local board of education on the basis of hardship or good cause.
We believe that, in general, federal and state law should be interpreted to permit the enrollment of children living within the school district, regardless of the circumstances in which they may be living. Detailed information about residency issues, including answers to many frequently asked questions, is available on our Web site.
We urge you to review this information and share it with your principals, counselors and other staff who are involved in registering new students. If you need a clarification of these provisions or have other questions regarding residency, please contact Tom Quinn, Director of School Governance, at 573-526-6949.
The Department’s Early Childhood Education Section has developed a brochure that provides information on the importance of successful transitions of children from early childhood settings to school. School districts can play a vital role in helping facilitate successful transitions for children and their families as they come into the public school system.
Enclosed is a copy of this brochure, Preparing Kids for School – Missouri’s plan for helping children transition from early care and education programs to school. The brochure is intended to serve as a resource for communities as they design their own transition plans and activities. It includes suggested transition activities for school districts; suggestions for creating a transition committee in the community; the benefits of implementing a transition plan; and what early childhood programs (public and private) can do to help families and children prepare for starting school successfully.
CONFERENCE ON HIGH SCHOOL REFORM
Superintendents recently received an invitation to send a team to a special, one-day conference on November 17 that will focus on high school reform issues. The conference is titled “Breaking Ranks II: Strategies for Leading High School Reform.” The Missouri Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP) is the primary sponsor. Our Department is one of the co-sponsors, along with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education.
The announcement of this meeting was included in the September 1 “Mailbag” from our Department. I encourage you to think about sending a team to this program. Participation is limited to 125 four-member teams. For more information, please contact MASSP at 573-445-5071.
I recently spent five days on the road, visiting schools in several parts of the state and holding informal meetings with teachers and schools officials. The purpose of this low-key “back-to-school tour” was to commend schools that showed positive results in this year’s MAP scores, but more generally, to enable me to share the excitement of back-to-school time and talk directly with teachers about the importance of their work.
The week before I started these visits, we released this year’s MAP and AYP data. There was much “hoopla” in the media about the latest test scores and the growing impact of No Child Left Behind on our educational system. I know that many school districts were having the first day of classes on the day we announced MAP and AYP results. As we prepared for that announcement, it struck me that the “most important story” of the day for thousands of Missouri students and teachers – by far – was the process of getting back to school again, not the complex array of data connected with the AYP issue.
During my recent school visits, I met briefly and informally with teachers and other school personnel. I requested short sessions with teachers before school, at lunch time, and after school, so that my visits would not disrupt classes. This was a good way for me to commend teachers for their work, to answer some questions and to recognize them for the accomplishments of their students. After interacting with teachers, I enjoyed touring the schools at several locations.
It was gratifying for me to visit these schools and re-experience the excitement of starting another school year. It was even more gratifying and encouraging for me to see and feel the upbeat mood in these schools. After the financial difficulties of the past couple of years, one might expect that the attitudes among school employees would be less cheerful. But this certainly was not the case in the schools I visited. I hope the same is true for every school in Missouri.
Sincerely,
D. Kent King