GROUP'S FIRST MEETING HERE ON TAP THURSDAY, FRIDAY: STATE SCHOOL BOARD PLANS CAPE VISIT

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- The Missouri Board of Education will meet next week in Cape Girardeau, marking the first time that the state board has convened in this city.

"One time a year, the board tries to schedule a meeting out state," said Bekki Cook, a Cape Girardeau attorney and a member of the state school board since September.

"As far as I know, this is the first time it has ever been to Cape. The board has met in Poplar Bluff, but that is the only other meeting in Southeast Missouri that anyone can remember."

The seven-member board is scheduled to meet next Thursday and Friday at the Holiday Inn here. The state school board meets each month, usually in Jefferson City.

Officially, the meeting is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Thursday. Before that, board members will meet with officials at Southeast Missouri State University and will get a first-hand look at the university's teacher education program.

Cook said the board is particularly interested in looking at the KSAM project, an innovative training program for elementary teachers of math and science.

The board travels out state, she said, to get a look at what schools are doing. "We want to see what's happening in schools and in communities," she said. "We can't do it very often because of the expense."

Thursday evening, board members will attend the annual Southeast Region School Boards and Superintendents' dinner meeting in Sikeston.

She said area superintendents have repeatedly invited the state board to attend their annual dinner.

"It so happens their meeting coincides with our meeting here. This meeting will give us a chance to meet with some people we just generally never are able to meet," she said.

The state board will reconvene Friday morning.

Cook said the board is scheduled to discuss action in the state legislature concerning education funding.

The board will also address teacher training issues. For example, she said, the board will set a cut-off score for the new C-BASE test. Teacher candidates must attain at least this minimum score before they can be certified to teach in Missouri.

"This is in higher education," Cook said, "But we are the ones authorized to prescribe what it takes to be certified as a teacher in Missouri."

She said the board will also review the teacher education programs at William Jewell College, Stephens College and the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

"Our department reviews the programs to make sure they are educating the kids the way they should be," Cook said.

"Those are just a few items," Cook said. "We usually cover a large number of topics."

She anticipated that the board's open session will carry over to Friday. At the conclusion of the open meeting, the board will meet in closed session.