Annual performance review gives school districts areas to improve

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Annual Performance Report shows significant gains in school districts across Missouri, along with areas for improvement.

DESE'S Report shows improvement by Jefferson City School District and the North Callaway R-1 School District in crucial academic areas. This is the second year in a row both districts have bumped their numbers up, even with the total number of possible points rising.

Fulton Public Schools declining in overall performance for the second year in a row.

This year's APR data includes a three-year composite score using data since the introduction of the sixth edition of the Missouri School Improvement Program for the 2021-2022 school year.

JC Schools scored 83.7% of possible points in this year's report, which combines performance and improvement scores from the 2023-24 school year. The school district scored 78.2% in its performance and 96.6% in continuous performance.

North Callaway scored 80.1% of possible points in this year's report. The district scored 72.7% in its performance and 96.6% in continuous improvement.

Fulton comes in at a score of 66.7% in possible points for the 2023-2024 report. Fulton Public Schools scored 53.9% in its performance and a 96.6% in continuous improvement.

DESE Annual Performance Reports from 2022 and 2023 highlight the improvements JC Schools and North Callaway have made in recent years to boost their numbers.

In 2022, JC Schools scored 70.9% in possible points and 76.7% in 2023. North Callaway scored 67.6% in 2023 and 62.6% in 2022.

Kenya Thompson, Superintendent of the North Callaway R-1 School District, credits curriculum changes to her district's improvement.

"We rolled out a new reading curriculum last year that we think was really impactful, and our teachers have bought into that; but also we got some new progress monitoring tools for Iready testing," Thompson said.

Thompson also believes April's vote to approve a 25-cent tax increase and raise teacher salaries has changed the game in classrooms district wide.

"The correlation of our community saying we're going to give a little bit of us and pay a few more dollars in taxes really showed our teachers that they're invested in this community and in this place, which has allowed us to retain more teachers," Thompson said.

The APR shows JC schools "on track" overall in language arts, science and social studies, scoring 75%. There is still work to do in its overall score with a math score of 50%.

As for growth in the four core subjects, JC Schools is "on track" (75%) in language arts, math and science, while it hit its target in social studies with a perfect score of 100%.

North Callaway is "on track" overall in social studies, but is still working on boosting other scores in math, English, and Science that sit at 50%.

The JC schools is also hitting the marks with its students in advanced credit courses, graduation rates and post-graduation follow-ups sitting at a score of 100%.

All three school districts have room for improvement in their attendance on the APR with scores sitting at 50% collectively.

This is the third year DESE has scored school districts using the MSIP 6 model based on performance and continuous improvement. This is the first year DESE included a composite APR score under MSIP 6 using at least the past three years of data.

Even with the improvements, this year's scores won't necessarily count. The 2023-24 APR data will not be used to classify school districts this year because the first year the program was used is considered a pilot year, according to DESE.

The State Board of Education will consider district classification at its January 2025 meeting.