The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has announced eight Missouri Gold Star Schools for 2022. The program, which aligns with the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, recognizes schools for outstanding academic achievement or for performing at high levels while serving a significant proportion of disadvantaged students.

Missouri’s 2022 Gold Star Schools include:

At today’s State Board of Education (Board) meeting, the Legislative Priorities Subcommittee announced that members of the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Blue Ribbon Commission have been selected and will hold their first meeting in June 2022.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is using federal relief funds to partner with Mental Health First Aid Missouri — operated by the Missouri Department of Mental Health (DMH) and the Missouri Institute of Mental Health — to provide Mental Health First Aid trainings to schools across the state at no cost.

Today, the Missouri General Assembly passed and Governor Mike Parson signed into law House Bill 3014. Among a number of line items, this early supplemental budget bill includes 90 percent of Missouri’s American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) allocation that will be distributed directly to local education agencies (LEAs) — a total of $1.9 billion. This means the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has the necessary appropriation authority to meet the deadline to award these federal relief funds to LEAs by March 24, 2022.

Today, the State Board of Education voted to classify Kansas City Public Schools (KCPS) as fully accredited, effective immediately. The vote followed a presentation by staff at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) outlining the district’s student growth in academics as well as improved instructional systems and processes and stability in district leadership.

At today’s State Board of Education (Board) meeting, board members voted to establish the group’s priorities for the upcoming legislative session. The priorities were developed by the board’s three-member Legislative Priorities Subcommittee and presented to the entire board today for adoption. The legislative priorities center on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE’s) priority areas and mission, which are:

At today’s State Board of Education (Board) meeting, board members accepted the recommendation made by Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven to begin a gradual transition back to local governance for the Normandy Schools Collaborative (NSC) and the Riverview Gardens School District. This means voters will have the opportunity in the April 2022 election to select two new members to both the NSC Joint Executive Governing Board (JEGB) and the Riverview Gardens Special Administrative Board (SAB).

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), in conjunction with Missouri's Office of Administration Information Technology Services Division (OA-ITSD), will begin to send letters in the coming days to certificated educators across the state whose personally identifiable information (PII) may have been compromised during a recent data vulnerability incident. The state is unaware of any misuse of individual information or if information was accessed inappropriately outside of an isolated incident.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) announced today the launch of a new digitally-powered recruitment platform — TeachMO.org — to identify and cultivate the next generation of teachers throughout the state. This is a collaborative effort, supported by TEACH, a national nonprofit organization, as well as schools, universities, and education organizations across the state.