DISTRICT GETS NEW STATE NOD; NELL HOLCOMB LAUDED FOR UPGRADES IN SCHOOL

Nell Holcomb's performance on its Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP) review in October has placed it among the elite school districts in the state.

The district was one of the first statewide and the only Southeast Missouri school district so far to be awarded Accreditation with Distinction in performance honors by the Missouri Board of Education. Nell Holcomb received the ranking -- the highest a district can attain -- on March 20 after the State Board of Education read the reviewing team's report on progress in the district since its last evaluation in 1991.

Four state accreditation classifications are available: unaccredited, provisionally accredited, accredited and accredited with distinction in performance.

This is the first year this ranking has been given out. Out of 21 MSIP reviews seen by the board so far this year, only seven have received a distinction classification. Less than 20 percent of the 105 schools scheduled to be reviewed this year are expected to receive that classification.

"We've worked hard getting to this point, so we're very pleased with this accreditation," said Superintendent David Fuemmeler. He said the district was also commended for being the only school district to move from provisional accreditation to Accreditation with Distinction.

Fuemmeler said the district's commitment to improving both programming and facilities was the reason for its achievement.

The provisional accreditation in 1991 was the result of not meeting standards in several subcategories, he said, such as class size and providing a written curriculum in all subject areas.

The MSIP review holds districts accountable for maintaining and upgrading resource, process and performance standards. These three basic standards have 18 clusters of subcategories, and the majority of these must be met during the review by a team of evaluators.

Each district is evaluated on a five-year rotation, after which the team submits a report based on its findings to the State Board of Education. The board then classifies a district or makes administrative decisions based on a district's poor performance.

"We received the new designation because we worked very hard and met every standard in all three areas," Fuemmeler said.

While districts are judged in part on the facilities in use during the MSIP review, Fuemmeler said he believes current construction of a new classroom facility may have contributed to the new classification.

The new facility, which is expected to be completed in time for the 1997-98 school year, will house six classrooms, a nurse's station and a small office area for students and faculty in sixth through eighth grades. The center will also include a library, a 30-station science lab and a separate 30-station computer lab for use by all students in the district.

Approximately $705,000 was needed to build the new building; funding came through a lease-purchase agreement and an existing tax-levy. There are about 305 students enrolled in kindergarten through eighth grades in the Nell Holcomb School District.