AREA SCHOOLS GET A+ MARK: STUDENTS, DISTRICTS BENEFIT FROM PROGRAM DESIGNATION

Alyssa Holyfield already knows that her books and tuition fees at Missouri Western College in St. Joseph, Mo., will be paid for when she starts college.

Holyfield didn't compete for a full-ride scholarship, she just applied herself to volunteering and community service through the A+ Schools program.

The A+ Schools program offers Missouri high school students free tuition and pays book fees at a two-year public junior college or vocational-technical school in the state. Nearly every student attending an A+ designated school is eligible, but each student must also complete 50 hours of volunteer service.

Holyfield has already finished her volunteer hours required by the program. She worked primarily at the Missouri Preschool Program this fall and as a tutor at the Civic Center.

"She did just about everything you could imagine," said Mendi Gragg, director and teacher at the Missouri Preschool Program.

Holyfield and a classmate, Cassie Gross, both spend up to an hour a day at the preschool helping students work puzzles, learn to write their names or memorize the alphabet.

Some might balk at the idea of 50 hours of tutoring or mentoring, but over the course of a year, it's less than one hour a week, said Deena Ring, A+ coordinator for the Cape Central district. "This really sets the stage for community service."

That's exactly why Gross decided to enroll in the A+ program.

"I'm not sure about a college yet, but that's not really why I joined," she said. "I wanted to do this for the community service aspect. And in case I take college courses in the summer, it would be free at a community college."

A beacon in the dark

For many students in Charleston, Mo., the A+ Schools program is the light at the end of the tunnel. Many of the students might be faced with minimum wage jobs after high school if they can't afford college tuition, the program's coordinator said.

Robin Seabaugh said the program offers students a chance to continue their education with state funds.

"We see so much talent, and sometimes they have no hope," Seabaugh said.

With a dropout rate that has plummeted from 11 percent to almost 3 percent in just five years, the A+ program in Charleston should get the credit for meeting needs students have, according to Seabaugh.

The Charleston school received its approval in October and expects the Class of 2001 to graduate with an A+ designation. Final OK will come from the Missouri Board of Education in January.

"We're excited that now we have been recommended," she said. The school district spent three years revamping its curriculum and working to lower student dropout rates before being recognized as an A+ school. Charleston now joins 122 other Missouri schools with similar designations.

Cape joined early

When the A+ program was first offered to Missouri schools, only 38 received state grant funding to start curriculum reviews and implement new, more challenging courses.

Cape Girardeau Central High School was one of the first to be designated. The program, which is in its sixth year, has more than 200 students enrolled.

"We have the highest numbers ever, and last year had the largest number of designated graduates," said Ring, A+ coordinator for the Cape district.

Any student is eligible for the program, but they have to complete 50 hours of tutoring or mentoring and have a 95 percent attendance rate along with a 2.5 grade point average on a 4.0 scale. They also must attend an A+ designated school for three consecutive years.

But the program designation doesn't dictate what classes are offered or require any extra courses for students, Ring said.

With an expansion of the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center, Ring expects even more interest in A+ programs.

The program allows more students to get post-secondary education or career training that might not have had that opportunity otherwise. And career trends today are geared toward technical degrees, Ring said.

New equipment, courses

Some schools have bought new lab equipment, offered expanded courses and distance-learning classes once A+ grants and designations were approved by the state, said Willard Worts, director of A+ Schools for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Jefferson City, Mo.

"It's the things they wouldn't be able to do with their own budgets," he said. Yet the grant application and A+ designation doesn't favor big city schools over rural districts or vice versa.

"There is no determining factor for the size of the district. You'll see some that are extremely rural and some that are suburban Kansas City and St. Louis," he said.

In Southeast Missouri, there are at least 10 districts, not including Charleston, that already have an A+ designation.

So all can compete

One goal of the program was to make sure that all students could compete in a global market and would have an opportunity for continued education, Worts said. The program began from initiatives in the Outstanding Schools Act of 1993 that also created hold-harmless districts, which kept some smaller schools from losing state money under a revamped funding formula.

Worts said the A+ program is only limited by the appropriations DESE receives from the state legislature.

Missouri's program is one of the most comprehensive in the nation, he said. Georgia offers a similar program through scholarships. "We are somewhat on the cutting edge," he said.

There hasn't been any study done that tracked university and junior college growth to see what affect the A+ program might have had on enrollment, but there are some growth trends, Worts said.

Four-year colleges are seeing students transfer from junior colleges who might not have finished if they enrolled in a four-year program straight after high school, he said. "But four-year schools are probably getting the transfers that have been successful and have the confidence to go and pursue a degree."

Statistics do show that 85 percent of junior college freshman who used A+ funds to pay for schooling re-enrolled for a second year as compared to the 50 percent of college freshmen who typically drop out after their first or second year of school, Worts said.

A+ SchoolsThe A+ Schools Program began in 1993 and was designed to raise academic standards for Missouri students and introduce them to tutoring and mentoring activities. It offers advanced education, either at a junior college or technical school, to students upon graduation.

Who's eligible:

Students must meet the following criteria to receive full tuition coverage and book fees at any public community college or technical school in Missouri:

* Attend a designated A+ school for three consecutive years prior to graduation.

* Have a grade point average of 2.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale.

* Have at least a 95 percent attendance record.

* Perform 50 hours of unpaid tutoring or mentoring.

* Maintain a record of good citizenship and avoid unlawful drug use.

* Attend a Missouri community college or postsecondary vocational-technical school on a full-time basis and maintain a 2.5 GPA.

Area schools that have A+ designation:

There are 122 schools in Missouri that have an A+ designation. Area schools:

Annapolis in southern Iron County, Mo.

Cape Girardeau Central High School

Charleston High School, Charleston, Mo. (just received designation)

Clearwater High School, Piedmont, Mo.

Farmington High School, Farmington, Mo.

Perry County School District, Perryville, Mo.

Poplar Bluff High School, Poplar Bluff, Mo.

Potosi High School, Potosi, Mo.

Puxico High School, Puxico, Mo.

Sikeston High School, Sikeston, Mo.

Kennett High School, Kennett, Mo.

Malden High School, Malden, Mo.

On the Net:

http://www.dese.state.mo.us/divinstr/aplus