Celebrating eight years of "perfect" scores
Some school districts that received federal sanctions this year for not making enough progress are now receiving a state award for distinction in performance.
That's because the state looks at a broader range of data, including ACT scores, college placement rates and availability of advanced courses, while the federal government focuses mainly on test scores, holding all subgroups of students accountable.
So some districts that received criticism when Missouri Assessment Program results were released in August are now celebrating their state distinction.
The state's education department doled out awards to 330 districts out of 523 this year.
While students on average met the standards, qualifying the district for the state award, subgroups of students did not. Those subgroups include students classified as special education, black or receiving free or reduced-price lunch.
Jim Morris, spokesman for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, referred in an e-mail to No Child Left Behind mandates and Distinction in Performance indicators as "two different galaxies." No Child Left Behind is largely building focused, he said, while the state's accreditation mechanism recognizes districts.
Jackson superintendent Dr. Ron Anderson said he supports "the accountability standard," but thinks some of No Child Left Behind's requirements are unobtainable.
"With some of those [subgroup] populations, it's not realistic. With this, you have a better chance. The subgroups are more of a bonus category," Fisher said.
Celebrating eight years of "perfect" scores
This has been a remarkable year of accolades for the Lee's Summit R-7 School District and community. Just last month, we learned that our district has received the prestigious Distinction in Performance Award from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. This award is a noteworthy achievement and worthy of celebration.
Even more extraordinary is the fact that our schools have earned this honor all eight years the award has been offered with a "perfect" 100-point score each year. State officials do not provide a public listing of districts scoring 100 points on criteria for this award, but we believe that less than six school districts in Missouri have earned this perfect evaluation all eight years.
This recognition follows closely behind two other recent achievements by our schools and community. Last summer, Money magazine selected Lee's Summit R-7 schools as seventh best in the nation in its annual "Best Places to Live" issue focusing on our country's top 100 small cities. The Lee's Summit community was also featured during November in Business Week magazine as Missouri's "best affordable town for raising children." Most important factors in this recognition were school performance, affordability and safety.
We can link these achievements directly to our students themselves and the support we receive from families and community. Especially important for this type of consistent, year-after-year success are our quality Lee's Summit R-7 staff members. Our employees bring passion and dedication to our classrooms, focusing on what each child needs to succeed in school.
Our school district includes approximately 2,580 individual staff members who are committed to doing what is best for our community's children. Lee's Summit R-7 educators do not hesitate to go the extra mile for the benefit of students, making it possible for our district to continue these achievements. I am grateful to be a part of this school district and community and to work with staff members who are truly outstanding in their field.
Earning the Distinction in Performance Award each year with a perfect score will become even more difficult in future years. Lee's Summit R-7 is currently facing increasing challenges as a result of our struggling economy. Already this school year, we have reduced our district's budget by approximately $3.4 million due to losses in local revenue caused by late notification of unprecedented lowering of property assessments by the Jackson County Assessor's Office last spring. With the recent economic downturn, we expect much larger budget cuts during the 2009-10 school year as we face anticipated declines in both local property-tax revenue and state funding.
These are definitely challenging times for our families, our community and our school district. Our goal is to continue to ensure success for our students while making fiscally sound choices. As always, these decisions will focus on what is best for our children. This is also a time when we will need the help of our employees, families and community as we work together to provide our students with an outstanding education and to prepare them for their own bright futures.
We have come to expect excellence in Lee's Summit R-7 and appreciate the value our citizens place on education. Thanks for all you do for the children!
Dr. David McGehee
That's because the state looks at a broader range of data, including ACT scores, college placement rates and availability of advanced courses, while the federal government focuses mainly on test scores, holding all subgroups of students accountable.
So some districts that received criticism when Missouri Assessment Program results were released in August are now celebrating their state distinction.
The state's education department doled out awards to 330 districts out of 523 this year.
While students on average met the standards, qualifying the district for the state award, subgroups of students did not. Those subgroups include students classified as special education, black or receiving free or reduced-price lunch.
Jim Morris, spokesman for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, referred in an e-mail to No Child Left Behind mandates and Distinction in Performance indicators as "two different galaxies." No Child Left Behind is largely building focused, he said, while the state's accreditation mechanism recognizes districts.
Jackson superintendent Dr. Ron Anderson said he supports "the accountability standard," but thinks some of No Child Left Behind's requirements are unobtainable.
"With some of those [subgroup] populations, it's not realistic. With this, you have a better chance. The subgroups are more of a bonus category," Fisher said.
Celebrating eight years of "perfect" scores
This has been a remarkable year of accolades for the Lee's Summit R-7 School District and community. Just last month, we learned that our district has received the prestigious Distinction in Performance Award from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. This award is a noteworthy achievement and worthy of celebration.
Even more extraordinary is the fact that our schools have earned this honor all eight years the award has been offered with a "perfect" 100-point score each year. State officials do not provide a public listing of districts scoring 100 points on criteria for this award, but we believe that less than six school districts in Missouri have earned this perfect evaluation all eight years.
This recognition follows closely behind two other recent achievements by our schools and community. Last summer, Money magazine selected Lee's Summit R-7 schools as seventh best in the nation in its annual "Best Places to Live" issue focusing on our country's top 100 small cities. The Lee's Summit community was also featured during November in Business Week magazine as Missouri's "best affordable town for raising children." Most important factors in this recognition were school performance, affordability and safety.
We can link these achievements directly to our students themselves and the support we receive from families and community. Especially important for this type of consistent, year-after-year success are our quality Lee's Summit R-7 staff members. Our employees bring passion and dedication to our classrooms, focusing on what each child needs to succeed in school.
Our school district includes approximately 2,580 individual staff members who are committed to doing what is best for our community's children. Lee's Summit R-7 educators do not hesitate to go the extra mile for the benefit of students, making it possible for our district to continue these achievements. I am grateful to be a part of this school district and community and to work with staff members who are truly outstanding in their field.
Earning the Distinction in Performance Award each year with a perfect score will become even more difficult in future years. Lee's Summit R-7 is currently facing increasing challenges as a result of our struggling economy. Already this school year, we have reduced our district's budget by approximately $3.4 million due to losses in local revenue caused by late notification of unprecedented lowering of property assessments by the Jackson County Assessor's Office last spring. With the recent economic downturn, we expect much larger budget cuts during the 2009-10 school year as we face anticipated declines in both local property-tax revenue and state funding.
These are definitely challenging times for our families, our community and our school district. Our goal is to continue to ensure success for our students while making fiscally sound choices. As always, these decisions will focus on what is best for our children. This is also a time when we will need the help of our employees, families and community as we work together to provide our students with an outstanding education and to prepare them for their own bright futures.
We have come to expect excellence in Lee's Summit R-7 and appreciate the value our citizens place on education. Thanks for all you do for the children!
Dr. David McGehee
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