Five vie for future of Jackson schools

A five-way race for two Jackson School Board seats pits two longtime incumbents against three challengers who say they want to see a board more responsive to parent concerns. The April 2 election will be the first in many years with that many names on the ballot seeking the three-year terms.

Several issues, including a change in the way students are graded in Jackson schools as the district transitions into using Common Core State Standards, lie at the heart of challengers' interest.

Gerald Adams, a 15-year incumbent, is seeking to retain his seat, as is Dan Stover, a six-year incumbent. Challengers include Alaina Hinze, who owns and runs The Hill Pet Crematory outside Jackson and formerly worked in the criminal justice field, Michele Irby, director of Campus Life and Event Services at Southeast Missouri State University, and Brad Noel, a city of Jackson employee.

Adams is adamant the transition into using common core standards has so far been a successful venture for the district, although he admits the changes have placed pressure on teaching staff, and in some cases, confused parents. The standards are replacing the grade-level requirements in Missouri schools for English/language arts and mathematics from kindergarten through 12th grade and are designed to make sure all students graduate from high school with the knowledge and skills they will need in college and in a career through critical thinking, problem solving and effective communication skills.

"The amount of rigor with this is stronger," Adams said. "But there are many positive effects of it, and our test scores are still going up."

Since the district began implementing a standards-based grading system to coordinate with common core standards in fall 2011, the school board and administrators have found themselves at odds with parents over use of the system. Students are assessed with a numeric score of 1 through 4 on multiple skills within a subject instead of giving a traditional letter grade.

Parents have complained they've received little response from the board on the issue of the grading system during past meetings. Noel and other parents in 2012 asked for the board to form a citizens advisory committee to examine the use of the system, but the board did not take any action. Board members and administrators have advised parents with concerns about the grading system to approach teachers to work out the issues.

Adams, along with Stover, who has spent a combined 50 years with a stake in the district, as a student, as a bus driver while he attended college, and then for 27 years as a teacher there, both say they feel the district's current policies on communication during board meetings are adequately addressing parent concerns. District policy says the superintendent's office must be contacted by anyone who wishes to comment during a meeting and that a public comment form must be filled out and turned in to the board office before a meeting.

"If people perceive that the board is untouchable, or the board is not listening to them, they have a way to take care of that," Stover said of the policy.

"I'm approachable at any time," he added. "If I can't help them when they come to me, I do suggest they go and talk to their child's teacher, or to the superintendent."

Stover's desire to stay on the board ties back to his history with the district.

"I like to think of the district as part of my family," he said. "I have no axes to grind or bones to pick. I'm just full of love for the district, and fully believe in the obligation we have to educate our kids."

Adams also said he would like to stay on the board to evaluate an ongoing effort to ramp up school security, and he'd like to see through an ongoing construction project that will add a new elementary school.

Noel said he feels the issues for the district, of which "there are lots that are good, and lots that need attention" can all be tied back to the board, which is why he feels he would make an effective member.

"If year after year you have parents coming in with issues, why aren't you using your checks and balances to see that things are being done right, and letting the parents know?" Noel asked.

Noel has spent nearly three years researching the use of standards-based grading, even going as far as to speak with an author of a well-known book on the subject.

Hinze also wants to see changes related to the grading system. She created a website, jacksonR2voices.com, where issues are discussed and literature is posted.

Hinze, like Noel and Irby, currently has children in the district.

Hinze said her own personal experience with the grading system through having an elementary student has led her to believe the school board needs to advocate for changes.

"When it started, I was the first to say, 'I absolutely love it,'" Hinze said. "It let me know exactly what my child needed to work on."

But several years later she sees the grading system differently, she said. Her concerns with the system include that the district may not be using the system according to proven models and that teachers don't have time to reteach and retest on concepts that can help improve grades.

Irby said she did not seek out the issues tied to common core standards to focus on in particular when she decided to run for school board, but conversations with parents have often gone to the topic.

Other areas of focus for Irby include use of technology in the classroom and school security. Those issues, she said, mimic the things she cares about as a parent.

"I think, overall. Jackson is a great school district with some strong programs and noteworthy things, but I think there's been some things as of late that I would like to find the ability to add myself to so to work on strategies to improve things," she said.

The Cape County Tea Party plans to hold a candidate forum for Jackson School Board candidates at 7 p.m. Thursday at the University of Missouri Extension Center in Jackson.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

601 E. Adams St., Jackson, MO

684 Jackson Trail, Jackson, MO

CQ AL.