MISSOURI'S SCHOOL REPORT CARDS ARE DUE TODAY

Report cards are due today in school districts around the state.Since 1996, Missouri school districts have been required to issue annual reports detailing financial, enrollment, salary and testing information. The reports, mandated with passage of the Outstanding Schools Act of 1993, relate to the previous school year and are due by Dec. 1.A district report card shows improvements and failures in a school system. They also enable people to compare their district's numbers against others in the same region or of similar size. School officials are supposed to make the reports available to local legislators, news media and the general public. School administrators said they are sharing their information in a number of ways.Cape Girardeau schools Superintendent Dr. Dan Steska said he wants to distribute the Cape Girardeau School District report throughout the community so that patrons can read the information at their leisure. "I want to run multiple copies of this and distribute it in places like the Chamber of Commerce, barber shops and oil-change places where people would just like to sit down while they read it," he said.Jackson School District administrators presented their annual report to the school board during a meeting last week. Associate Superintendent Fred Jones said patrons may request a copy of the report by going to the administrative office building at 614 E. Adams.Jones said the reports are especially useful for newcomers to the region who are trying to decide where to live. "I think most of the time it's people new to the community and surrounding region that just like to look at test scores and other indicators that help them decide if it's the type of school district they'd like to enroll their children in," he said.School officials said posting information on an Internet site is a handy way to disseminate information. A number of local districts are including links to their annual reports on their district home pages. They include:n Oak Ridge: www.showme.net\ork12\n Jackson: www.jackson.k12.mo.usn Cape Girardeau: www.cape.k12.mo.us/Oak Ridge school Superintendent Cheri Fuemmeler said her report will be available on the Internet as well as in the district newsletter and in area post offices. School board members also will distribute the report, she said.Fuemmeler was unsure when the newest report would be available on the Internet, but the traditional reports will be distributed this week."We depend on our students to place it there because it's one of their class projects," she said. "We feel like people are interested in it, so it's worth the extra time to put the information on our Web site."

WHAT SCHOOL REPORT CARDS TELL YOU ABOUT A SCHOOL DISTRICT

What the Outstanding Schools Act report card says about each Missouri public school district: * Number of resident and nonresident students enrolled on the last Wednesday of September. * Rates of pupil attendance. * High school dropout rate. * Ratios of students to all teachers, students to administrators and students to classroom teachers. * Average years of experience for professional staff. * Number of staff whose highest degree is above a bachelor's degree. * Student achievement as determined through state assessment systems. * Average teacher's salary. * Average administrator's salary. * Average salaries of noncertified personnel compared to state averages. * Average per pupil expenditures for each building in the district. * Voted tax rates which includes tax rate ceiling for operations and tax rate ceiling. * Adjusted tax rates which includes actual tax rates as filed with county clerk. * Assessed valuation. * Percent of the district's budget that comes from state, federal and local revenues. * All extracurricular activities offered in the district. * Costs associated with each extracurricular activity. * Number of students eligible for free and reduced lunches. * School calendar information to include number of days for student attendance, number of days for parent-teacher conferences and number of days for staff development and in-service training. * List of course offerings with units of credit. * Rates of participation in parent-teacher conferences, special education programs, early childhood special education programs, Parents as Teachers programs, vocational educational programs, gifted or enrichment programs, advanced placement programs and college admissions testing. * Number of students continuing education in post-secondary programs. * Information about job placement for students in vocational education programs. * District's most recent accreditation through Missouri School Improvement Program. * Achievement data, including ACT and SAT tests, should include at least one comparison of the district and state averages or the district average to a similar district average and no less than a three-year history of district scores.