CAPE ALLIANCE: STEERING GROUP WORKS TO IMPROVE EDUCATION

An eight-member steering committee of Southeast Missouri State University and Cape Girardeau public school educators are working to improve education through a cooperative alliance.

The Cooperative Alliance for Public Education (CAPE) is still in its infancy. But a key component of that alliance, the steering committee, was formed this summer and already has begun to pursue cooperative education plans.

School and university officials announced the formation of the alliance in May, saying it would focus on long-term strategies to restructure education.

"What we are really doing is just getting established," said Carolyn Vandeven, principal of the L.J. Schultz School and head of the steering committee.

University representatives on the committee are Shirley Hindman of the elementary and special education department, Margie Theobald of the secondary education department, Ann Johnson of the educational administration and counseling department, and earth science professor Ernest Kern, who has been involved with the KSAM (Kindergarten through Sixth Grade Science and Mathematics Improvement) program.

Representatives of the Cape Girardeau school district, besides Vandeven, are Ruth Kasten, a teacher at Franklin School; Shelby Shell of the Central Junior High School faculty; and Richard Bollwerk, director of elementary education.

Neyland Clark, superintendent of the Cape Girardeau public schools, and Lenore Bierbaum, dean of the College of Education at Southeast, are ex-officio members of the steering committee.

"The steering committee is really going to identify the areas where the university and the public schools can work together. Then we are going to establish goals for those areas," said Vandeven. "We are going to recommend strategies for implementing the projects."

She said the committee has held two meetings and plans to meet monthly at the Board of Education office during the school year.

Committee members will serve staggered, four-year terms, with two members' terms expiring each year.

Vandeven said the chairmanship of the committee will be rotated on an annual basis between the public school and university representatives.

For example, next year a university representative will head the committee and the meetings will be held on the university campus, she said.

Vandeven said she and other committee members are enthusiastic about the joint venture.

"I think it is wonderful that the public schools and the university are going to join forces to work toward common goals."

She said the school district and the university already cooperate on such things as teacher education and the Reading Recovery program.

"But there hasn't been an official structure to really oversee and coordinate all these things," she said.

In announcing the alliance in May, Clark and Bierbaum said CAPE would focus initially on several projects, which include:

Implementation of the Comer Project, a school development program that brings together parents and school and university personnel to improve academic and social achievement of students as well as school operations.

Beginning to restructure the mathematics and science curriculum in the public schools and the teacher education program at Southeast, including possibly establishing a mathematics-science center or academy in the school district.

A plan to designate an "America 2000" school site within the Cape Girardeau district and plan for a "New American School" that would serve as a model for education. The project reflects state and national goals.

Increased development of field sites and internships in the school district for university students, which also will provide assistance to school teachers and administrators.

Vandeven said the steering committee is considering all the proposed programs, but has yet to prioritize them.

"These are very ambitious projects, and when we get moving on this there will be some very big innovations coming forth from it," she said.

"We all know that we are in a time of big change in our social values and in what is going on in our schools, and we know we are going to have to make a lot of changes," she said.

She said that it's more economical to have the school district and the university work together to improve education.

"I think ultimately we are going to produce an improved academic and social achievement for all of our students," Vandeven said. "I think we are going to improve our school operation, and the university should be able to improve their teacher education program."