Central Middle School failing to make adequate yearly progress, state says

Cape Girardeau's Central Middle School is unlikely to meet "adequate yearly progress" goals and will be classified by the state as "needing improvement" during the coming school year, state education officials said Tuesday.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has notified more than 250 public schools and school districts that they probably won't meet the academic goals set by the state to meet federal law. Other Southeast Missouri schools on the list include the Poplar Bluff, Mo., fifth- and sixth-grade center, Scott County Central High School in Morley, Mo., and the Sikeston School District's Morehouse Elementary School.

Under the provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, these schools and districts will be required to notify parents about the designation. The school districts will be required to prepare new school improvement plans, DESE officials said.

DESE said it has identified schools and districts in need of improvement as required by federal law. The analysis is based on 2006 and 2007 Missouri Assessment Program student scores, and school attendance and graduation rates.

Schools can seek revisions to the 2007 test scores if they can show that the data reported by DESE is in error.

DESE identified the schools failing to make adequate yearly progress on its Web site on Monday. But school districts won't receive data on test scores until later this week.

Pat Fanger, assistant superintendent of the Cape Girardeau public schools, said the lack of information is "very frustrating."

Central Middle School failed to meet the target goals in some student categories last year. But because fifth- and sixth-grade students were tested for the first time in 2006, Cape Girardeau school officials said at the time that the middle school would have another year before it would have to show adequate yearly progress.

The middle school failed to meet the target goals among black, special-needs and low-income students. But the student body overall at the middle school exceeded the proficiency targets, school officials said.

Fanger said it now appears that the middle school has failed to meet academic goals in at least one of the three categories for two years in a row.

Students in schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress for two consecutive years can transfer to other schools in the district where possible. But Fanger said transfer of students isn't an option at the middle school because it is the only fifth- and sixth-grade center in the district.

"We will have to write a school improvement plan," Fanger said. That plan, spelling out how the district will seek to boost test scores, must be filed with the state.

Cape Girardeau school officials hope the hiring of a new principal will help improve MAP scores in math and communication arts.

"We made some efforts," said Fanger. "I think it goes along with the decision we made in changing the administration."

The school board earlier this year decided to hire a new principal and assistant principal for the middle school, replacing principal Frank Ellis and assistant principal Debbie Followell.

Lack of instructional leadership was one of the problems identified by Fanger and superintendent Dr. David Scala in a letter to Ellis in December.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123