More than 400 Missouri high school students have a chance to become international champions in problem-solving, real-world workplace events as they compete at the International Career Development Conference in Orlando, Fla., April 26-May 1.

Missouri FFA is 25,375 members strong – the sixth highest state membership in the nation. Students will receive recognition for outstanding achievements in agriculture education at the 91st annual Missouri FFA Convention April 25-26. From food production to agriculture sales to livestock evaluation and more, FFA students receive comprehensive agriculture education and have the chance to be honored for their accomplishments. More than 8,000 FFA members, advisors and guests from across the state will gather for the convention at the University of Missouri’s Hearnes Center.

The State Board of Education today accepted a recommendation from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to dissolve the Transitional School District of St. Louis, effective July 1. The board noted that the Transitional School District has met the goals for which it was established. The vote means that governance of St.

More than 2,300 career and technical education students from high schools and colleges across the state will compete at SkillsUSA Missouri’s State Leadership and Skills Conference April 4-6 at State Technical College of Missouri in Linn. The students will be participating in more than 150 contests. 

Beginning April 1, Peggy Landwehr joins the staff of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) as chief counsel. Landwehr makes the move from the Department of Social Services, where she was special counsel in the Division of Legal Services. Previously, she worked for several years with the Missouri Attorney General’s Office as assistant attorney general where she represented DESE on cases pertaining to the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), educator certification, school district boundaries and more.

The State Board of Education today approved a recommendation from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to classify Calhoun R-VIII as fully accredited based on the past several years of improvement.

Calhoun has scored in the accredited range for two consecutive years in its Annual Performance Report, students in the district have met or exceeded growth targets in English language arts and math for the last three years, and students have made steady gains in college-and-career-readiness measures.

Adult education program participants in Missouri lead the nation in achieving academic gain. For the period July 2017 to June 2018, 63 percent of the state’s adult learners advanced at least one educational level while enrolled in the program. Missouri was the top state in 2016-2017 and 2014-15 as well, and ranked second in 2015-16.

Missouri Governor Michael L. Parson named Mary Sheid to the State Board of Education on Tuesday afternoon. Sheid, whose appointment will fill out the eight-member board, is now subject to confirmation by the Missouri Senate in the coming weeks.

Two Missouri students were named Missouri’s top youth volunteers for 2019 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring students for outstanding acts of volunteerism. Shae Smith (Bolivar) and Chloe Christensen (Lake Lotawana) will travel to Washington, D.C., in early May for the program’s national recognition events.

Missouri Vocational Rehabilitation (MVR) will conduct five public hearings throughout the state in March to gain feedback on ways to improve vocational rehabilitation services for individuals with disabilities. Input is welcome regarding MVR’s goals and priorities found in the current state plan.

Public Hearings Schedule