Commissioner's Newsletters
October 15, 2007
Dear School Administrator:
It has been quite a while since I have written to you. I want to bring you up to date on recent activities with the State Board of Education and provide information about some other timely topics.
APPOINTMENTS TO STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Last week, Governor Blunt re-appointed Peter Herschend, Branson, to a third term on the State Board of Education. He was originally appointed to the Board by Governor Ashcroft in 1991. Since the State Board of Education was created in its present form by the Missouri Constitution in 1945, only a couple of people have served as long as Mr. Herschend. We appreciate his dedicated service.
At this month’s meeting, Derio Gambaro, of St. Louis, was sworn in again as a member of the Board. Mr. Gambaro actually was appointed earlier this year, but the senate did not take up his confirmation. As a result, he was re-appointed by Gov. Blunt, and he was sworn in again. Mr. Gambaro is a former state representative from St. Louis, and he is very interested in the work of the State Board of Education.
The appointments of Mr. Herschend and Mr. Gambaro both are subject to confirmation by the Missouri Senate when it reconvenes in January.
GOV. BLUNT NAMES LEADER FOR “P-20” GROUP
On October 4, Gov. Blunt announced his appointment of Roderick Nunn to the new position of “Director of Education and Workforce Innovation” in the governor’s office. Mr. Nunn had been serving as director of the Division of Workforce Development in the Department of Economic Development. We have worked with him frequently because of his involvement with workforce and training issues.
One of Rod’s primary responsibilities will be to lead the “P-20 Council,” a group created by state law to foster collaboration among the state’s education and economic development agencies. The P-20 Council includes the Commissioner of Higher Education, Dr. Robert Stein; the director of the Department of Economic Development, Greg Steinhoff; the presidents of the State Board of Education and the Coordinating Board for Higher Education; and me. The intent of the P-20 Council is to improve communication among various agencies and to improve the alignment between our education and workforce training systems.
In addition, the governor wants to strengthen connections between P-20 initiatives and the work of the METS Coalition. This is a group of corporate, education and political leaders that is focused on positioning Missouri as a leader in the areas of math, engineering, technology and science (METS). The METS Coalition is seeking ways to strengthen METS-related education in our state and to promote METS-oriented business and industry.
The purpose of the P-20 Council is to focus on issues that span the full range of education – preschool through the graduate (“grade 20”) level. Several states have recently adopted the P-20 model as a way of promoting dialogue among education, business and political leaders. You can expect to hear more about the work and the priorities of the P-20 group in coming months.
JOINT MEETING OF STATE BOARDS OF EDUCATION
In September, there was a joint meeting of the State Board of Education and the Coordinating Board for Higher Education. We have had such meetings periodically in the past, but this one was more significant than usual. The meeting provided an important opportunity for the two policy-making boards to have substantive discussions about several key issues, including end-of-course tests, the P-20 Council, the METS Coalition, the percentage of high school graduates who require remedial courses in college, and the changing responsibilities of the Coordinating Board.
As a result of legislation enacted this year and signed by Gov. Blunt (Senate Bill 389), the Coordinating Board now has significant new powers and responsibilities. For example, public institutions must work with the Department of Higher Education to establish agreed-upon competencies for entry-level courses in key disciplines. The Coordinating Board also must adopt policies to ensure the transferability of core course credits among public institutions. These are major tasks for the Coordinating Board and its staff which must be completed by 2008-09.
During this meeting, for example, we had an extended discussion about our efforts to develop end-of-course tests. (See related item below.) Some of the members of the higher education community encouraged us to delay our decision to proceed with the development of end-of-course tests, so that there could be more discussion about the relationship between our course-level expectations and the entry-level competencies which the higher education institutions must adopt. Because we must proceed with our test-development efforts in order to have new exams in place by the spring of 2009, we could not agree to delay our action. We will, however, need to work closely with the higher education community in the coming months as we seek to articulate and align our expectations more closely. These are not simple issues, and they are not made easier by the tight schedules under which everybody must work.
It is important for public school leaders to know that there is significant activity taking place at the state level concerning academic standards and expectations. We are already working on the development of end-of-course assessments for selected classes. We have asked representatives from the higher education community to assist us with this process. Likewise, the Department of Higher Education is working on the development of entry-level competencies for core courses at the college level. The DHE is recruiting representatives from the K-12 community to assist with that process.
We will do our best to keep you informed about the progress of these collaborative efforts.
DEVELOPMENT OF END-OF-COURSE TESTS HAS BEGUN
As we announced in September, the State Board of Education authorized DESE to proceed with the development of end-of-course tests in selected subjects, and we have awarded a new contract to Riverside Publishing to help us with the development of those tests. The work has already begun. We have already convened teams of educators from across the state to begin item-writing for the new exams.
MAP TESTS IN 2008
School district personnel should already have this information, but we want to repeat the plans for MAP testing in 2008:
- Mathematics will be tested in grades 3-8 and grade 10 (no change).
- Communication Arts will be tested in grades 3-8 and grade 11 (no change).
- Science will be re-introduced as a mandatory subject in grades 5, 8 and 11. (The MAP science exam has been voluntary in recent years.)
- The Social Studies assessment will no longer be available.
WEB SITE IS REMODELED; ONLINE “MAILBAG” IS COMING
By now, I expect you have seen the revamped DESE Web site. I hope you like it. I am still adjusting to it myself. It has been six years since our site was substantially revised. We hope this design will be more consistent and user-friendly, as well as being easier (on the technical side) for us to manage. There is an evaluation form featured on the site if you would like to tell us what you think about the revised site.
With the introduction of a new site, we also plan to begin a transition to the use of an online “Mailbag,” to replace the Mailbag that we now mail to all school districts and selected organizations. The Mailbag was instituted several years ago to reduce the number of separate mailings to school districts and to control costs. I do not expect that we will totally eliminate the Mailbag, but you should anticipate getting fewer mailings from us in coming weeks. We will notify you again about this transition and when you can expect to see new information posted in the online Mailbag.
If you or somebody on your immediate staff has not subscribed to the “DESE News Bulletin,” we encourage you to do so. This is one of the tools we will use to alert people that new information is available in the Mailbag. The News Bulletin is an e-mail alert that we send to subscribers when DESE issues a news release or other important announcement. Anybody may subscribe to this service.
To receive the DESE News Bulletin, go to our main Web site and click on “News Releases” in the right-hand column. Follow the instructions at the top of the News page to become a subscriber.
VISION EXAMS AND SCREENINGS
Beginning July 1, 2008, every child enrolling in kindergarten or first grade in a public school must have one comprehensive vision examination performed by a state-licensed optometrist or physician. This requirement is part of legislation enacted this year (Senate Bill 16). Evidence of the child’s eye examination must be given to the school no later than January 1 and shall include:
- Complete case history
- Visual acuity at distance (aided and unaided)
- External examination and internal examination (ophthalmoscope examination)
- Subjective refraction to best visual acuity
Also beginning July 1, 2008, all school districts must conduct an eye screening for each student once before the completion of first grade and again before the completion of third grade. These screenings shall be conducted by a school nurse or other trained and qualified employee.
The Children’s Vision Commission shall determine the eye screening test and will design and coordinate the training programs for school staff who will be able to conduct the required screenings.
Rules for the operation of this program are now being developed. The Children’s Vision Commission, which is required by the law, has not been appointed by Governor Blunt. These are two essential components that need to be accomplished before more specific information can be provided. We will keep you updated as more information becomes available. If you have questions, contact Roger Dorson.
The State Board of Education will hold its regular meeting next month (November 15-16) in St. Joseph. This may be the first time the board has ever met there. St. Joseph is the home of the board’s vice president, David Liechti. We are looking forward to meeting at the St. Joseph School District board office and visiting a couple of schools while we are there.
I recently had the pleasure of visiting schools in Camdenton, Skyline, Springfield, Republic and Ozark. As always, it was a pleasure for me to meet with teachers and students and to share some of the positive energy that always comes from visiting classrooms. It was hard enough to do when I was a superintendent, and it is even more difficult now for me to make time for such visits.
I continue to receive chemotherapy on a regular basis, but I have been able to maintain a near-normal work schedule. I am grateful for the strong support that I continue to receive from my family, my DESE colleagues, my board, and my friends throughout the state.
Sincerely,
D. Kent King