Part 3: Schools
& Districts
With the adoption of the Show-Me Standards, the establishment of
a rigorous statewide testing program, and the implementation of stricter
accreditation standards, Missouri took decisive steps during the 1990s to raise
its educational standards and make public schools more accountable. But the job
is not finished. We must stay the course and continue to push for local and
state policies which will "ratchet up" schools’ overall performance
and accountability.
The public now supports the idea that there should be high,
uniform standards for all public schools. In our highly mobile society, both
families and employers expect to find similar services in public schools and
similar levels of educational quality wherever they go. In many Missouri
communities, public schools now experience student-mobility
("turnover") rates of as much as 50 percent or more per year. Such
mobility creates more pressure for school districts to provide a rich, rigorous
curriculum for all learners, as well as highly qualified staff, and a full menu
of support services and extracurricular opportunities.
We believe the combined effects of high mobility and the
shifting demographics of our state and nation will require public schools, in
the 21st century, to embrace external standards and become more adept at
responding to changing needs in their communities.
While we believe there must be high, consistent standards for
all students and schools (as expressed in Missouri’s Show-Me Standards), the
State Board of Education has no intention of imposing a statewide curriculum or
forcing local schools to adopt particular organizational structures or methods
of instruction.
There can be no single strategy or state prescription for
achieving high-quality education. The only necessary ingredient is a deeply held
commitment to helping all children learn well. To this end, we urge local school
and community leaders to work together in creating their own vision of excellent
public schools for the 21st century. We believe such schools should:
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Embody a sense of mission, founded on high academic
standards for all young people, which is embraced by the entire community.
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Provide a safe, secure, caring environment.
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Emphasize teaching and learning for in-depth
understanding.
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Provide adequate time for learning, for students and
faculty alike.
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Provide rich opportunities for "real-world"
learning, for students and faculty alike.
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Have the capacity to accommodate students with special
learning needs.
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Foster understanding of the value of diversity in a
democratic society.
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Encourage innovative management practices and
instructional approaches, developed in response to student and community
needs.
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Involve parents/guardians, faculty and other key
stakeholders in making decisions which affect students and the life of the
school.
Recommendations
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Local school boards should adopt and enforce clear
expectations for student performance, building-level performance and
system-wide accountability. Performance standards and goals should be
clearly understood by all students, staff, families and patrons.
Expectations for student performance at every level (classroom, grade,
building and district) should be designed to assure that students are
making satisfactory progress in achieving the Show-Me Standards, the
proficiency criteria of the Missouri Assessment Program, and locally
defined achievement targets.
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Schools and districts should adopt their own
student-accountability policies – including locally defined rewards and
consequences – to encourage students’ good attendance, good behavior
and sense of responsibility for their own learning. The purpose of such
incentives should be to motivate students, at all levels, to give their
best effort in all aspects of the learning process.
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Schools and districts should adopt policies which
encourage students to pursue demanding courses of study. Research
consistently shows that there is a strong link between students’
course-taking patterns in school, their performance on college-entry
exams, and their success (both academic and occupational) after high
school. All students should have the opportunity to enroll in courses and
programs which expose them to rigorous academic content.
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Boards of education and building-level personnel should
develop formal school-improvement plans and use them as primary tools for
goal-setting and internal evaluation. School leaders should actively
engage staff, parents, students and the community in developing long-range
school-improvement plans and monitoring their effectiveness. Such plans
should include these key components:
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Current and historical data about student achievement,
the performance of individual schools, and the overall performance of
the district. Such data should be routinely reported and analyzed with
breakdowns by subject area, grade levels, gender, ethnicity,
socioeconomic status, disability, etc. The data also should be readily
available, and reported regularly, to staff, parents and the public.
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Specific plans for the recruitment and deployment of
school district personnel. The plan should anticipate staff needs
(based on retirements, typical turnover rates, demographics of the
community, etc.) and guide the district’s long-range recruitment and
staff-development efforts.
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Formal guidelines for the continuing education and
training of all professional staff and instructional-support staff.
This plan should define priorities for the faculty’s inservice-training
activities, based on identified instructional needs at the building
and district levels.
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Short- and long-range goals for acquiring technology
and using technology to support the district’s instructional
priorities.
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Regular follow-up evaluations of students’
performance after high school graduation, including such measures as
their success in postsecondary education and feedback from employers.
 
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