The State Board of Education voted today to classify the Normandy Schools Collaborative as provisionally accredited following several years of improvement in the district. The board accepted a recommendation from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to grant provisionally accredited status based on improvements in student performance, operations, and school culture and climate. The new classification is effective beginning Jan. 2, the beginning of second semester.

“We are pleased with the progress made in Normandy, particularly in improved student achievement,” said Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Margie Vandeven. “The students and teachers have worked very hard, and they should be proud.”

The State Board classified the Normandy School District as unaccredited in 2012. In 2014, DESE took control of Normandy’s finances to avoid financial failure primarily due to high transportation and tuition costs for transfer students. The board lapsed the district and appointed the Joint Executive Governing Board (JEGB) in May 2014, when the district was reorganized as the Normandy Schools Collaborative. The JEGB hired Dr. Charles Pearson as superintendent in May 2015.

Normandy’s Annual Performance Report improved from 7.1 percent in 2014 to 62.5 percent in 2017. The district has scored in the provisionally accredited range for the past two years. Missouri considers multiple years of data when determining accreditation classification. Normandy’s near-term finances have improved, thanks in large part to local decisions about spending.