CAPE SCHOOL BOARD FOCUSES ON FUTURE PLANS

The Cape Girardeau Board of Education is ready to roll up its collective sleeves and get to work on a five-year, long-range plan. The board wants to develop its long-range goals and strategies during an all-day work session today.

The district does not have a current long-range plan to work from, so the board has to draft one. The session begins at 8 a.m. at the Victorian Inn Terrace Room.

"What we want to do is to digest all the information," said Superintendent Dr. Dan Tallent.

Most of the data have been collected through public meetings, faculty and staff input and committee meetings held in the last nine months. All the information will become part of the district's long-range plan.

Board members hope the work session will give them ample time to study the issues and develop goals and solid improvement strategies. Much of the information has been combined by school administrators who will present it to the board today.

"We'll hash it out and figure out the costs," said Dr. Bob Fox, school board president.

The board then must decide what goals to implement and when to begin the process. "You need to have something for future boards to look at and update yearly," he said. "We're headed in the right direction."

The school district also wants to meet requirements set out in the Missouri School Improvement Plan. The final MSIP report also will be discussed during the work session.

Comparing the MSIP report with other committee reports is the biggest goal of the meeting, Fox said. Board members can address issues in the report and find ways to make improvements outlined in it.

"We'll try to satisfy the needs of the public, faculty and administration and lay out a plan to achieve it," Fox said, adding that most of the MSIP work will take long-range planning.

The district must create improvement plans within a year of the MSIP final report, but not all the improvements are required to be made within that year.

The district hopes its long-range plan will correct deficiencies in the schools. "There are some recurring themes," Tallent said.

Two of those themes are technology and vocational-technical career training. Both Tallent and Fox agree the district should improve its technology offerings for students.

From its public meetings last fall, the district heard about a move for "back to the basics" education, Fox said. "A lot of people think technology is really basic."

The district needs to improve its technology curriculum to make computer classes open to all ages. None of the elementary schools have a classroom devoted solely to computers like the high school does, Fox said, adding that decisions about school programs will affect building needs.

Building needs top the agenda for member Terry Taylor. He wants to look at the wear and tear on each building and set goals for next year. Not every improvement can be made in the next year, but it will be a start, he said.