Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Enclosed is a copy of the complete text of the final regulation concerning graduation requirements, as it was adopted by the State Board of Education. This policy must be published by the Secretary of State before it becomes "official," but you and your staff should use this as a guide for planning for next year and beyond. (Graduation requirements-.pdf file)

I would like to point out some important but not obvious features of this new policy. First, the regulation emphasizes the importance of the Show-Me Standards and grade-level expectations (GLEs). We are entering an era in which it is possible, for the first time, for us to talk realistically about the substance and the details of course content (grade-level expectations). Although we will not have GLEs written for all subjects and grades, I believe the concept of the GLEs will gain statewide support and that many school districts will welcome guidance on how to define and clarify expectations for students’ learning.

Please note the language in section 3 ("Course Requirements") of the final regulation. This section authorizes "alternative methods" of granting credit. This opens the door for school districts to think about competency testing as a means of evaluating students’ knowledge and skills and awarding credit. DESE does not yet have the means of evaluating and approving such "alternate methods," but we will be working to develop guidelines and rubrics that will enable us to assist those districts interested in exploring options in this area. We also think this is an area where school districts may be able to pool ideas and resources. I am not sure where this provision may lead in the years ahead, but we think it offers some incentive for creative thinking about how to motivate students, provide more flexibility for students, and move beyond "seat time" as the standard for learning.

We have received many questions in the past month about the details surrounding the new requirement for a half-unit course in personal finance. We are now preparing a "question and answer" document to address those questions. It will be available shortly. We also intend to develop and make available a "model curriculum." It will be a problem-based curriculum that high schools will be able to adopt and adapt. Many high schools already offer something in the area of personal finance, so they are not starting from scratch. However, we hope the model curriculum will be useful to all schools.

We believe this course should be offered in grades 10-12. This means your district would not have to offer a course until the 2007-08 school year (when this year’s eighth-graders will be sophomores).

A New High School Assessment?

As many of you know, the High School Task Force that recommended raising the minimum graduation standards also recommended that we explore the pros and cons of adopting a new high school assessment to replace the MAP exams used in grades 10 and 11. A special committee is looking at this idea in more detail now. The group is going to gather information this winter and bring another report to the State Board of Education next spring for possible action. Assistant Commissioner Stan Johnson is leading that group.

GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES "OUR STUDENTS FIRST" INITIATIVE

We have just learned that Governor Blunt is announcing (on November 3 and 4) an initiative called "Our Students First." This is a legislative proposal that would authorize a public vote on a constitutional amendment requiring school districts to spend "65 cents of every education tax dollar in the classroom." You have probably read about similar initiatives in some other states, and the idea is being pushed aggressively across the country.

We have posted the governor’s news release and some information about this proposal on our Web site. You are likely to get questions about this matter, so you need to become familiar with the subject. Based on our analysis – and using the definitions of the National Center for Education Statistics – in 2002-03 Missouri spent, on average, 61% of its education resources for instructional purposes. The figures for individual districts, however, vary widely.

This is likely to be an important issue during the upcoming legislative session.

REGIONAL MEETINGS ON EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Superintendents and other school officials have been invited to attend one of nine regional meetings that are being held throughout the state this month to talk about ways of expanding access to early childhood education (preschool) programs in Missouri. We have had a task force working on this topic for several months and talking with school and community leaders about expanding preschool options in our state.

More than half of the school districts in Missouri are already doing something in the area of pre-kindergarten programming, and something not limited to early services for children with disabilities. These programs take many different forms.

I hope you or members of your staff and board will take time to participate in one of these meetings. We want to build awareness and understanding of the many ways that schools may be able to lead or facilitate the development of high quality preschool programs. Such programs do not have to be school-sponsored or on school premises in order for children to be better prepared for success in school.

UPDATE ON "MOSIS"

Implementation of the Missouri Student Information Student (MOSIS), the statewide student-ID number system, is progressing extremely well. We are very pleased with the efforts of local school personnel to "get on board" with this initiative. There have been remarkably few bugs in this ambitious project, and I think many school officials have been pleasantly surprised at how easy the start-up process has been. We appreciate your cooperation in the implementation of this important project.

As I write this letter, ID numbers have been assigned to nearly 880,000 Missouri students (pre-K through grade 12). This number grows daily as more districts submit their files. Only a couple of districts have not made any effort to join the system. Our staff has already offered training to help districts with the process of "pre-coding" students’ demographic data for the MAP test administration next spring. I believe that the ability for districts to pre-code this student information alone should be enough incentive for every district to join MOSIS.

A reminder: Districts that have already submitted files and obtained ID numbers for their students should establish a regular procedure for updating student rosters and continue to submit information about new students so that ID numbers may be assigned.

LEADERSHIP MATTERS

The Department has expanded the leadership training options available to Missouri school leaders this year through a grant to the Missouri Council of School Administrators (MCSA). The MCSA programs capitalize on the "Balanced Leadership" research of Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), which proves that leadership has a direct impact on student achievement.

The grant brings this research-based information to Missouri leaders for the first time in two different formats. MCSA’s Administrative Leadership Forum’s program, "HELP IS" (Helping Educators Lead Purposefully to Improve Schools), is three-tiered training for leaders in the first 10 years of practice. "Leadership Legacy" is advance training for selected superintendents. Together, these programs provide a focus on the practical application of research that can improve student achievement.

For information on how you can take advantage of these opportunities, please contact Pam Conway at the MCSA Outreach Office, 573-638-2653.

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This school year got off to a most unusual start as a result of the destruction and dislocation caused by Hurricane Katrina. This will be remembered, for a lot of reasons, as an historic and pivotal event for our nation. I want to commend Missouri educators who responded so well and so quickly to the sudden influx of dislocated students and families. Schools and communities in every part of our state received students from the Gulf Coast area. According to the most recent count, we still have about 1,400 "Katrina kids" being served in Missouri public schools. We don’t know how many more may have enrolled in private and parochial schools. Many of these children will eventually go home, and some are likely to settle here permanently. It is also clear that it will be a long time before some displaced families will be able to return to their homes or schools.

I simply want to remind you and your colleagues about the critical role you play in the lives of every child and family whom you serve. We take this fact for granted until there is a crisis. One of the most urgent priorities for families displaced by the hurricane was to "get their kids back in school." Providing a safe, secure and welcoming school environment was acknowledged by all as one of the critical elements in helping displaced families regain their footing – and helping the children deal with this traumatic experience. The race, class, language or politics of the displaced families didn’t matter; schools across this nation simply embraced the task of welcoming and serving these children.

Missouri certainly has not experienced the massive influx of dislocated students that some states, such as Texas, have experienced. We got our share, however, and we got a surprisingly large number of displaced students early. I think we can all be proud of how well Missouri schools and communities rose to the challenge.