Eight public schools in Missouri have been selected as 2013 Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education. A total of 286 schools ‒ 236 public and 50 private ‒ earned national honors this year, according to an announcement made Tuesday by U.S.

The State Board of Education is requesting full funding for Missouri's school foundation formula, funds for a new student assessment contract and additional money to assist low-performing schools and districts in its budget request for fiscal year 2015.

State Board of Education members learned today about research by Department of Elementary and Secondary Education staff focused on the needs of the 21st century learner and the technology-readiness status of Missouri schools. The current generation of students – born from the early 2000s to present day and called Generation Z – is used to interacting with advanced technology and communication. However, that digital world is sometimes inaccessible once students enter the classroom.

Missouri's ongoing work to implement new standards for the state's educator preparation programs was reviewed by the State Board of Education Tuesday in Jefferson City.

The State Board is responsible for establishing standards for the education, assessment and certification of all public school teachers and administrators in Missouri. The new Missouri Standards for the Preparation of Educators, approved by the State Board in 2012, took effect in March.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education staff was saddened to learn of the tragic events involving an Ashland high school student early this morning.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and the classmates of the student,” said Chris L. Nicastro, commissioner of education. “We appreciate the enormous responsibility our school personnel assume for the protection and care of our children.”

The Missouri State Board of Education and the Gordon Parks Elementary School have agreed on language in an amended final judgment on the school's charter application. Last week the Board filed a motion to amend the judge's decision citing factual inaccuracies in the ruling, which was written by opposing counsel. The final judgment removed those inaccuracies. The charter school's contract remains intact.

The State Board of Education and the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education have filed a motion to amend the decision on the Gordon Parks charter school in Kansas City.

"We are requesting the amendment in order to clear up some of the factual inaccuracies expressed in the ruling that was written by opposing counsel," said Chris L. Nicastro, commissioner of education.

The State Board voted not to renew the school's five-year charter application at its May meeting. A decision by a judge last month overturned that vote.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has released the first set of annual performance reports (APRs) for Missouri schools based on the state's newly revised accountability system.

The fifth version of the Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP 5) was approved by the State Board of Education in 2011, giving schools two years to prepare for the new accountability requirements.

For Jamie Manker, school was always a place that built up her confidence. As a social studies teacher and department chair at Rockwood Summit High School in Fenton, Mo., Manker works to instill that same kind of confidence in her students and fellow teachers.

“I promote a spirit of self reliance,” Manker said. “My most important contribution has been to change the attitude of the students I teach and the teachers I lead from one of passive acceptance of failure to vigorous drive for success.”

Three out of four (76 percent) Missouri ACT-tested high school graduates in 2013 met at least one college readiness benchmark, according to ACT's The Condition of College and Career Readiness 2013 annual report released today. Only 28 percent of Missouri test-takers met all four benchmarks, which was above the national average of 26 percent and an increase of 1 percent over 2012. An achievement gap still persists in Missouri with 5 percent of African Americans and 18 percent of Hispanic/Latinos meeting all four benchmarks on the ACT.