A bad second inning doomed Northeast Nodaway in districts as they lost 11-1 in six innings to Stanberry Wednesday. The Bulldogs scored six times in the second to create an insurmountable 7-0 lead after two innings and cruised to the victory.
Stanberry scored once in the first; Sydney Stoll reached on an error and Hailey Stuart doubled her to third, hitting a shot into the right field gap. Kimberly Jensen was thrown out on a dropped third strike, but Stoll broke for home safely on the throw to first to make it 1-0.
Northeast threatened in the top of the second as Blair Schmitz walked and Mallorie Peters grounded out to advance her to second, but Taylor Dougan and Sarah Fox struck out.
The Bluejays were doomed by pitching breakdowns in the second inning. Emily Bryant struck out three Stanberry batters in the first, but her control deserted her and she walked four batters in the second. Stanberry teed off on her as well, getting four hits in the frame and sending eight straight batters to the plate safely. The big blows for the Bulldogs in the inning were Shannon Luke’s two-run single between first and second as well as Jensen’s line drive single that scored two more.
Northeast got a run back in the third when Bryant tripled in the gap in right center and Cammi Hansen grounded out to bring her in.
Bryant walked two more batters in the third; Alex Wallace advanced them with a bunt and Hailey Stuart singled them home. Stuart took second on a wild pitch and then Jensen reached safely when Mallorie Peters fell down trying to field a grounder, scoring Stuart. That made it 10-1.
After Northeast went in order in the fourth, Taylor Dougan replaced Bryant on the mound. She struck out the first two batters; Morgan Luke reached on an error for Stanberry, stole second, and took third on a wild pitch. But Cammi Hansen fielded a grounder and threw her out at the plate to end the inning.
Dougan was hit by a pitch for Northeast and took second on a wild pitch in the top of the fifth; however, Kelsie Shaw and Sarah Fox struck out and Emily Bryant grounded out to end the threat.
Stanberry loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the fifth, but they could not score. Dougan struck out Jensen; Katie Redig hit a line drive that would have ended the game, but Bryant snared the shot at shortstop to keep Northeast alive. Kelsey Stuart struck out to end the inning.
With two outs in the sixth, Rachel Runde singled between first and second while Blair Schmitz walked; however, Mallorie Peters grounded out to strand them. Morgan Luke singled in the 11th run for Stanberry to end the game on the 10-run rule.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Jack Remembers for 10-15-08
January 11th, 1965 was the coldest day of the winter. The sun was out, but it was below zero. It was the second Monday in January and Inauguration Day for Governor Warren Hearnes. The Honorary Colonels were lining up in alphabetical order for the Inaugural Parade.
For many years, the Democratic governors had named Honorary Colonels to their staff. Normally they named two per county and sometimes many more. They had Colonels uniforms and marched in the Inaugural Parade. At the Inaugural Ball held in the Rotunda of the Capitol Building, the Colonels and their ladies would promenade down the spiral staircase and past the state elected officials. It was a colorful ceremony and cost the state nothing. The Colonels also paid for the painting of the First Lady’s portrait that would hang in the mansion, and would participate in functions throughout the Governor’s term of office.
The Colonel next to me asked if I was cold. I replied, "I’m freezing." Out of his inside coat pocket, he pulled a pint of whiskey, which we thought warmed us up. His name was Pat Jones and from that day on, he was my favorite "Colonel". He owned Modern Security Insurance Company, a 7500 acre ranch near Rogersville, and later built the Exotic Animal Paradise east of Springfield on Highway 44.
After the Inauguration at high noon we adjourned to one of the State Senator’s offices and continued to warm up by consuming some of the Senator’s stock. During this period of time, Pat related to me how proud he was of his two children. His girl he was not worried about, but he said he didn’t think his boy Jerry would ever be worth a dime because all he thought about was football. Jerry was playing that year on the University of Arkansas Razorback team as a guard. Little did Pat realize 30 years down the road his son would own the Dallas Cowboys. I don’t know what the Cowboys are worth, but the Washington Redskins recently sold for $800,000,000.00.
For many years, the Democratic governors had named Honorary Colonels to their staff. Normally they named two per county and sometimes many more. They had Colonels uniforms and marched in the Inaugural Parade. At the Inaugural Ball held in the Rotunda of the Capitol Building, the Colonels and their ladies would promenade down the spiral staircase and past the state elected officials. It was a colorful ceremony and cost the state nothing. The Colonels also paid for the painting of the First Lady’s portrait that would hang in the mansion, and would participate in functions throughout the Governor’s term of office.
The Colonel next to me asked if I was cold. I replied, "I’m freezing." Out of his inside coat pocket, he pulled a pint of whiskey, which we thought warmed us up. His name was Pat Jones and from that day on, he was my favorite "Colonel". He owned Modern Security Insurance Company, a 7500 acre ranch near Rogersville, and later built the Exotic Animal Paradise east of Springfield on Highway 44.
After the Inauguration at high noon we adjourned to one of the State Senator’s offices and continued to warm up by consuming some of the Senator’s stock. During this period of time, Pat related to me how proud he was of his two children. His girl he was not worried about, but he said he didn’t think his boy Jerry would ever be worth a dime because all he thought about was football. Jerry was playing that year on the University of Arkansas Razorback team as a guard. Little did Pat realize 30 years down the road his son would own the Dallas Cowboys. I don’t know what the Cowboys are worth, but the Washington Redskins recently sold for $800,000,000.00.
Pool Fundraiser October 18th
Grant City Community Betterment along with VFW and VFW Auxiliary will be hosting a Bingo Night and Soup Supper on Saturday, October 18th at the Worth County Fairgrounds Building. They will start serving at 5:30 pm and free will donations will be accepted for the soup supper.
Bingo will start at 7 pm and will be a 50% payback per game. All proceeds will go to the Pool Renovation Project.
Come join us for some good food and lots of fun.
Bingo will start at 7 pm and will be a 50% payback per game. All proceeds will go to the Pool Renovation Project.
Come join us for some good food and lots of fun.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Westfork Boosters 4-H Minutes for October 5th, 2008
The regular meeting of the West Fork Boosters 4H Club was called to order by President Austin Thummel at 4:00 pm on Sunday, October 5, 2008. The Pledge to the American flag and the 4H Pledge were led by Austin Thummel. DeAnn Warne, secretary did roll call. The Roll Call Question "What is your favorite color?" Wyatt Rush gave the treasurer’s report with a balance on hand of $1389.69.
Old business discussed everyone needs to turn in their enrollment forms. At our September meeting we discussed doing a food drive for the Mission Possible Center as our community service project. The goal was to raise 150lbs. of food. We receive quite a bit of food. Our December meeting will be Saturday, December 6th, with bowling at Maryville from 3-5 and we will have pizza delivered. Before bowling we will go shopping for kids that we have taken off the Angel Tree.
New business discussed was our November Community Service Project. A couple of ideas that were thrown out was a Soup Kitchen in St. Joe, cookies for seniors or adopt a family for Thanksgiving. The kids took a vote with 7 votes to Soup Kitchen, 6 votes to adopting a family for Thanksgiving and 2 votes for cookies for seniors. It was decided if we couldn’t get in the soup kitchen then we would adopt the family. We discussed who would bring drinks & snacks our meetings. Wyatt Rush made a motion to start at the beginning of the alphabet. Luke Andrews seconded.
November: Andrews / Gabriel Family
December: Hardy/Hunt Family
January: Rush/ Thorborn Family
February: Thummel/ Troutwine Family
March: Warne/Welch Family
April: Andrews/Gabriels Family
May: Hardy/Hunt Family
Next meeting will be Sunday, November 2nd at 4:00 p.m. at the Worth County Fairgrounds Building or we will find out about the soup kitchen.
A motion was made by Sidney Thummel to adjourn the meeting and Luke Andrews seconded it.
DeAnn Warne,
Secretary
Old business discussed everyone needs to turn in their enrollment forms. At our September meeting we discussed doing a food drive for the Mission Possible Center as our community service project. The goal was to raise 150lbs. of food. We receive quite a bit of food. Our December meeting will be Saturday, December 6th, with bowling at Maryville from 3-5 and we will have pizza delivered. Before bowling we will go shopping for kids that we have taken off the Angel Tree.
New business discussed was our November Community Service Project. A couple of ideas that were thrown out was a Soup Kitchen in St. Joe, cookies for seniors or adopt a family for Thanksgiving. The kids took a vote with 7 votes to Soup Kitchen, 6 votes to adopting a family for Thanksgiving and 2 votes for cookies for seniors. It was decided if we couldn’t get in the soup kitchen then we would adopt the family. We discussed who would bring drinks & snacks our meetings. Wyatt Rush made a motion to start at the beginning of the alphabet. Luke Andrews seconded.
November: Andrews / Gabriel Family
December: Hardy/Hunt Family
January: Rush/ Thorborn Family
February: Thummel/ Troutwine Family
March: Warne/Welch Family
April: Andrews/Gabriels Family
May: Hardy/Hunt Family
Next meeting will be Sunday, November 2nd at 4:00 p.m. at the Worth County Fairgrounds Building or we will find out about the soup kitchen.
A motion was made by Sidney Thummel to adjourn the meeting and Luke Andrews seconded it.
DeAnn Warne,
Secretary
Silver-Haired Legislature Identifies Priorities
Silver Haired Legislative delegates from all areas of the state met September 29, 30 and October 1, 2008 for their 35th annual legislative session. Delegates debated and voted on twenty-two separate proposals during a three-day session, which took place at the Capitol Plaza Hotel & Conference Center, as well as the House and Senate Chambers of the Capitol in Jefferson City. Delegates attending from the Northwest area were Senators: Sharon Ferris, Trenton; Dale Faulkner, Tarkio; Helen Leimbach-Zech, Plattsburg. Representatives: Edwin & Dorothy Allender , Chillicothe; Dale & Patricia Midland, Maryville; Martha Rush, Sheridan; John Murphy, Maysville; James Crenshaw, Lathrop; Claude Brandon, Savannah; Joyce Nixon, St. Joseph; Jennie Vertrees, Princeton; Mary Catherine Damm, Chillicothe; Howard Trullinger, Eagleville.
At the conclusion of the session, delegates voted on their top five priority bills for presentation to the Missouri General Assembly, scheduled to convene in mid-January. Silver Haired priorities include:
1. Comprehensive Entry Point;
2. Increase Area Agencies on Aging Meal Funding;
3. Increase Missouri Health Net Asset Levels:
4. Increase Personal Needs Allowance of Facility Residents on Medicaid;
5. Regulate Payday Loans.
At the conclusion of the session, delegates voted on their top five priority bills for presentation to the Missouri General Assembly, scheduled to convene in mid-January. Silver Haired priorities include:
1. Comprehensive Entry Point;
2. Increase Area Agencies on Aging Meal Funding;
3. Increase Missouri Health Net Asset Levels:
4. Increase Personal Needs Allowance of Facility Residents on Medicaid;
5. Regulate Payday Loans.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Capitol Report for September 24th, 2008
Repairing Missouri’s Bridges
From the very first day that you sent me to Jefferson City, I have fought vigorously for better roads and bridges. Although the progress has not occurred at the speed that I had hoped, our perseverance and determination has prevailed as MODOT has become more aware of the significant needs we have across this great state. Last week, MODOT forged ahead into an area very seldom seen by our state government when they announced their intention to use a design build approach for repairing some of Missouri’s worst bridges.
For nearly two years now, MODOT has been working to find a solution that would allow them to rebuild or replace the 800 lowest rated bridges in Missouri. It comes as no surprise to those of us who drive the roads in northwest Missouri to learn that over 150 of these unacceptable bridges are in the 16 counties that make up the 12th Senate District. As a result of MODOT’s actions last week, over 100 of the worst bridges in this state will be under contract and construction by next spring.
Having traveled thousands of miles on Missouri’s lettered routes and major highways, I understand first hand the need for these repairs. The citizens of this great state should not be forced to drive on roads that are unsafe for themselves and their families. Although the final implementation of the 800 Bridge Project has been modified from its original form, MODOT has held true to the goals and expectations of these projects while maintaining their commitment to thinking outside the box.
Our transportation infrastructure is the lifeblood of our communities and we cannot survive without safe and reliable roads and bridges. The 800 Bridge Project is an important step in improving our transportation infrastructure thereby ensuring the safety of our families and the continuation of our economy. While I will continue to fight for even greater improvements, I am hopeful that these projects mark the beginning of a steady commitment to finally bring our roads into the 21st century.
As always, please feel free to call, email, or write with your ideas or concerns. The Capitol number is (573) 751-1415, my email is brad.lager@senate.mo.gov and my mailing address is Room 429, State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.
From the very first day that you sent me to Jefferson City, I have fought vigorously for better roads and bridges. Although the progress has not occurred at the speed that I had hoped, our perseverance and determination has prevailed as MODOT has become more aware of the significant needs we have across this great state. Last week, MODOT forged ahead into an area very seldom seen by our state government when they announced their intention to use a design build approach for repairing some of Missouri’s worst bridges.
For nearly two years now, MODOT has been working to find a solution that would allow them to rebuild or replace the 800 lowest rated bridges in Missouri. It comes as no surprise to those of us who drive the roads in northwest Missouri to learn that over 150 of these unacceptable bridges are in the 16 counties that make up the 12th Senate District. As a result of MODOT’s actions last week, over 100 of the worst bridges in this state will be under contract and construction by next spring.
Having traveled thousands of miles on Missouri’s lettered routes and major highways, I understand first hand the need for these repairs. The citizens of this great state should not be forced to drive on roads that are unsafe for themselves and their families. Although the final implementation of the 800 Bridge Project has been modified from its original form, MODOT has held true to the goals and expectations of these projects while maintaining their commitment to thinking outside the box.
Our transportation infrastructure is the lifeblood of our communities and we cannot survive without safe and reliable roads and bridges. The 800 Bridge Project is an important step in improving our transportation infrastructure thereby ensuring the safety of our families and the continuation of our economy. While I will continue to fight for even greater improvements, I am hopeful that these projects mark the beginning of a steady commitment to finally bring our roads into the 21st century.
As always, please feel free to call, email, or write with your ideas or concerns. The Capitol number is (573) 751-1415, my email is brad.lager@senate.mo.gov and my mailing address is Room 429, State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
School has Mixed Results on No Child Left Behind testing
The annual testing report for the Worth County school brought bad news and good news. The bad news is that the school did not meet the Annual Progress requirements for Communication Arts. The good news is that the school is in the same boat as the rest of the state; the state as a whole did not meet its Annual Progress requirements under federally mandated No Child Left Behind testing. And the school’s students tested either at or better than the state averages on the annual testing for both math and communication arts; in addition, the school’s students tested well above the state averages on science and met the AYP for math.
Superintendent Matt Robinson said that the state was going to switch to a growth model for evaluating schools; he said that with the growth model, the school would have come closer to passing the Communication Arts component of the No Child Left Behind testing. He said that the 2014 goals of the No Child Left Behind legislation were never going to be met and that "it was going to start hurting schools." Previously, the state had switched from a 5-tiered system to a 4-tiered system.
Robinson noted in his written discussion of the results that the AYP was only a single indicator of the school’s academic performance, as measured by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Other factors, such as graduation rates and attendance rates, were considered, and the school met all of these standards.
Robinson said that the previous model had "compared apples to oranges" because it was comparing different kids; the new model would measure how well a particular student did compared to the year before. And he said that the results, in many cases, were close enough that one or two kids could take the school from red (in need of improvement) to green.
In addition, Robinson said that the school was switching from the MAP testing to end of course tests. He said that would ensure that the students were tested on subject matter taught in the schools rather than force teachers to teach to the test. Students from third to eighth grade will still take the MAP tests.
He said that it would get harder every year to meet the Annual Progress Requirements of No Child Left Behind, but he said that it could be done in this area; for instance, he said that Stanberry and Jefferson were gold star schools for their ability to meet the progress requirements.
In addition, Robinson reported that the school’s ACT scores went up as well, continuing a recent trend. He said that was good because more students than usual had signed up to take the ACT. He said that the ability of students to take upper level classes was predictive of how well they would do on the ACT, which meant that the school’s recent move to eight-hour days was a good move; he said that would allow students to take band and FFA and other such activities and still take upper level courses and stay on track to graduate; he said that in a lot of school districts, it was a struggle to make sure that students were prepared for college and that they met new state requirements for graduation.
Robinson said that improving the school’s test scores in Communication Arts, which covers literacy and reading, would involve the whole school and not just the English class. "It has to happen in all classes across the board," he said. Since this is the first year that the school has not met the Annual Progress requirements of No Child Left Behind, there are no penalties that the school faces; if the school fails to meet the Annual Progress Requirements, they would have to come up with a three-year improvement plan. However, Robinson said that he was not waiting for the school to miss the AYP goals next year and that he was already in the process of drawing up an improvement plan for Communication Arts and working with the administration and staff.
Christina Charles, a visitor, requested that the bus stop between 8th street and Lover’s Lane, citing safety concerns and the high number of kids who lived there. There is a bus that already drives by there, but it is full. The board adopted last year’s plan; however, Robinson said that he would continue to look into ways of busing more town students. He reported that he had done some checking and that if there was no extra cost to bus the students, the state would allow them to bus more town students, but that if there was extra cost, such as an extra trip, then there would be a penalty. He said that most of the busses were full right now and that was another problem that had to be addressed; he said that he would be riding busses to see the situation for himself and to evaluate the bus drivers.
On a related note, the school received a spot inspection from the Missouri Highway Patrol, which found that there was only one defect, an upper fender light, which was immediately replaced. Board member Kevin Austin reported that he had heard many positive comments from the inspectors afterwards; they told him that there were normally a lot more problems with busses that they found during random inspections at area schools.
Debbie From of ACES gave her annual presentation to the school board. ACES is a 21-member educational cooperative designed to meet the needs of students who are special education or who are at-risk. They include an alternative school and assist districts with behavioral intervention services.
From reported on the goals and challenges of the program. She reported that the number of suspensions reported by the schools was reduced by 12%, which is over the state goal of 10%. The graduation rate for the member school districts was 95.84%; that exceeds their goal of 95%. The attendance rate last year for students was 86.48%; however, From said that it was closer to 90% this year. She said that the group that skewed the numbers were the 17-18 year olds, who are not required by state law to attend school under the Compulsory Education Act. The goal was 93%.
The number of discipline/incident referral reductions for students enrolled in the program was 38.7%. The goal for the program was 50%; there were 30 students reviewed, and 17 decreased their number of referrals by 50% or greater. From said that they were on the right track, but that it could be better; she said that there were strict protocols for when teachers were to refer students for action.
One of the areas that was in most need of improvement for the program was the number of students who transitioned successfully back to their home school or who received an alternative diploma. For Fiscal Year 2008, only 50% of students met this outcome, down from 71.91% the year before. She said that the reason was that they were heavy on older students; she said that there would be better outcomes with earlier interventions with students. She broke down the data into age groups; the group most likely not to have successful outcomes was the Missouri Options Program students.
The Missouri Options Program is a last chance program for students who are in danger of not getting all the credits they need to get a high school graduation. This is not a GED program, because students still get a High School Diploma through the program; if a student successfully completes the program, schools do not have to count them as a dropout. The program had a 42% success rate because the students enrolled are at high risk for dropping out; by contrast, the 7th to 12th grade intervention program had an 82% success rate and the elementary intervention program had a 100% success rate.
Students at the program met 84.3% of their academic plans, that was an improvement from 2007; the state goal was 80%.
ACES also offers a prevention program for schools; it has served 108 students in their home districts; 82.4% of the students in the prevention program maintained placement in their home districts.
The estimated value of services provided by ACES was $86,469 for each school district. The Worth County School paid dues and tuition for students totaling slightly over $22,000, meaning that the school saves over $60,000 by participating in the program. And board members noted that there were even more savings given the fact that it creates a better environment for students not in need of intervention.
From said that the biggest challenge was getting funding from the state to continue the program. Safe Schools funding will decrease from the current level of $400,000 this year to a maximum of $300,000 next year, depending on the ability of ACES to get funding; they can renew their Safe Schools grant, but it will be a competitive process with similar programs around the state. They will also lose $60,000 in cooperative expansion grants.
Fifth grade teacher Ginny Quick reported on her classroom’s studies. In science, they were studying weather and weather lore, including tornadoes and other extreme weather; they were making brochures about weather emergencies. In English, they were working on writing sentences and writing short autobiographies about themselves; in math, they were working on place values and decimals. Julia Moore talked briefly about her English work at the junior high and high school levels.
Elementary Principal Nancy Lewis reported in her written report to the board that 88% of families attended the Open House on August 18th; school pictures were taken on the 25th and progress reports were sent home on September 5th. The current enrollment of the elementary was 191.
In his written report to the board. Robinson said that the school had gotten a Dollar General Grant for literacy for the Junior High Enhancement class. The grant is for $4,990 and will be used to target reading, including comprehension skills, vocabulary, and fluency, and will target individual deficits as measured on the Stanford Reading Test and the MAP Test. It will be used to purchase books for classrooms, supplies, and professional development.
Robinson said that there was no more state funding for the A+ program and that the school would need to incur the costs from its own budget if they wished to pursue that designation. The renovation of the softball field was progressing; the dugouts are being put in and the fence will soon be up. Starting in October, a new 5-year Comprehensive School Improvement Plan will be developed; a new committee will be formed for that purpose.
Superintendent Matt Robinson said that the state was going to switch to a growth model for evaluating schools; he said that with the growth model, the school would have come closer to passing the Communication Arts component of the No Child Left Behind testing. He said that the 2014 goals of the No Child Left Behind legislation were never going to be met and that "it was going to start hurting schools." Previously, the state had switched from a 5-tiered system to a 4-tiered system.
Robinson noted in his written discussion of the results that the AYP was only a single indicator of the school’s academic performance, as measured by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Other factors, such as graduation rates and attendance rates, were considered, and the school met all of these standards.
Robinson said that the previous model had "compared apples to oranges" because it was comparing different kids; the new model would measure how well a particular student did compared to the year before. And he said that the results, in many cases, were close enough that one or two kids could take the school from red (in need of improvement) to green.
In addition, Robinson said that the school was switching from the MAP testing to end of course tests. He said that would ensure that the students were tested on subject matter taught in the schools rather than force teachers to teach to the test. Students from third to eighth grade will still take the MAP tests.
He said that it would get harder every year to meet the Annual Progress Requirements of No Child Left Behind, but he said that it could be done in this area; for instance, he said that Stanberry and Jefferson were gold star schools for their ability to meet the progress requirements.
In addition, Robinson reported that the school’s ACT scores went up as well, continuing a recent trend. He said that was good because more students than usual had signed up to take the ACT. He said that the ability of students to take upper level classes was predictive of how well they would do on the ACT, which meant that the school’s recent move to eight-hour days was a good move; he said that would allow students to take band and FFA and other such activities and still take upper level courses and stay on track to graduate; he said that in a lot of school districts, it was a struggle to make sure that students were prepared for college and that they met new state requirements for graduation.
Robinson said that improving the school’s test scores in Communication Arts, which covers literacy and reading, would involve the whole school and not just the English class. "It has to happen in all classes across the board," he said. Since this is the first year that the school has not met the Annual Progress requirements of No Child Left Behind, there are no penalties that the school faces; if the school fails to meet the Annual Progress Requirements, they would have to come up with a three-year improvement plan. However, Robinson said that he was not waiting for the school to miss the AYP goals next year and that he was already in the process of drawing up an improvement plan for Communication Arts and working with the administration and staff.
Christina Charles, a visitor, requested that the bus stop between 8th street and Lover’s Lane, citing safety concerns and the high number of kids who lived there. There is a bus that already drives by there, but it is full. The board adopted last year’s plan; however, Robinson said that he would continue to look into ways of busing more town students. He reported that he had done some checking and that if there was no extra cost to bus the students, the state would allow them to bus more town students, but that if there was extra cost, such as an extra trip, then there would be a penalty. He said that most of the busses were full right now and that was another problem that had to be addressed; he said that he would be riding busses to see the situation for himself and to evaluate the bus drivers.
On a related note, the school received a spot inspection from the Missouri Highway Patrol, which found that there was only one defect, an upper fender light, which was immediately replaced. Board member Kevin Austin reported that he had heard many positive comments from the inspectors afterwards; they told him that there were normally a lot more problems with busses that they found during random inspections at area schools.
Debbie From of ACES gave her annual presentation to the school board. ACES is a 21-member educational cooperative designed to meet the needs of students who are special education or who are at-risk. They include an alternative school and assist districts with behavioral intervention services.
From reported on the goals and challenges of the program. She reported that the number of suspensions reported by the schools was reduced by 12%, which is over the state goal of 10%. The graduation rate for the member school districts was 95.84%; that exceeds their goal of 95%. The attendance rate last year for students was 86.48%; however, From said that it was closer to 90% this year. She said that the group that skewed the numbers were the 17-18 year olds, who are not required by state law to attend school under the Compulsory Education Act. The goal was 93%.
The number of discipline/incident referral reductions for students enrolled in the program was 38.7%. The goal for the program was 50%; there were 30 students reviewed, and 17 decreased their number of referrals by 50% or greater. From said that they were on the right track, but that it could be better; she said that there were strict protocols for when teachers were to refer students for action.
One of the areas that was in most need of improvement for the program was the number of students who transitioned successfully back to their home school or who received an alternative diploma. For Fiscal Year 2008, only 50% of students met this outcome, down from 71.91% the year before. She said that the reason was that they were heavy on older students; she said that there would be better outcomes with earlier interventions with students. She broke down the data into age groups; the group most likely not to have successful outcomes was the Missouri Options Program students.
The Missouri Options Program is a last chance program for students who are in danger of not getting all the credits they need to get a high school graduation. This is not a GED program, because students still get a High School Diploma through the program; if a student successfully completes the program, schools do not have to count them as a dropout. The program had a 42% success rate because the students enrolled are at high risk for dropping out; by contrast, the 7th to 12th grade intervention program had an 82% success rate and the elementary intervention program had a 100% success rate.
Students at the program met 84.3% of their academic plans, that was an improvement from 2007; the state goal was 80%.
ACES also offers a prevention program for schools; it has served 108 students in their home districts; 82.4% of the students in the prevention program maintained placement in their home districts.
The estimated value of services provided by ACES was $86,469 for each school district. The Worth County School paid dues and tuition for students totaling slightly over $22,000, meaning that the school saves over $60,000 by participating in the program. And board members noted that there were even more savings given the fact that it creates a better environment for students not in need of intervention.
From said that the biggest challenge was getting funding from the state to continue the program. Safe Schools funding will decrease from the current level of $400,000 this year to a maximum of $300,000 next year, depending on the ability of ACES to get funding; they can renew their Safe Schools grant, but it will be a competitive process with similar programs around the state. They will also lose $60,000 in cooperative expansion grants.
Fifth grade teacher Ginny Quick reported on her classroom’s studies. In science, they were studying weather and weather lore, including tornadoes and other extreme weather; they were making brochures about weather emergencies. In English, they were working on writing sentences and writing short autobiographies about themselves; in math, they were working on place values and decimals. Julia Moore talked briefly about her English work at the junior high and high school levels.
Elementary Principal Nancy Lewis reported in her written report to the board that 88% of families attended the Open House on August 18th; school pictures were taken on the 25th and progress reports were sent home on September 5th. The current enrollment of the elementary was 191.
In his written report to the board. Robinson said that the school had gotten a Dollar General Grant for literacy for the Junior High Enhancement class. The grant is for $4,990 and will be used to target reading, including comprehension skills, vocabulary, and fluency, and will target individual deficits as measured on the Stanford Reading Test and the MAP Test. It will be used to purchase books for classrooms, supplies, and professional development.
Robinson said that there was no more state funding for the A+ program and that the school would need to incur the costs from its own budget if they wished to pursue that designation. The renovation of the softball field was progressing; the dugouts are being put in and the fence will soon be up. Starting in October, a new 5-year Comprehensive School Improvement Plan will be developed; a new committee will be formed for that purpose.
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