More improvements needed in KC schools

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Kansas City School District will remain provisionally accredited but has to make significant improvement to gain full accreditation by 2010, its chief state reviewer said Tuesday.

More than 200 administrators, teachers and other educators from across Missouri inspected every school and most classrooms in the district last week. The state gathered records and reports and interviewed students, teachers, administrators and board members.

The district was well enough prepared for the inspection to remain provisionally accredited as the district and the state launch a collaboration to boost student performance.

If the district had been ill-prepared for last week's review, the state could declare the district unaccredited and give the it two years to improve or face a takeover.

But that was unlikely, said Tony Stansberry, the state's regional supervisor.

"I believe they (the district board and administration) understand the importance of this," he said. "They took the review seriously, and it went smoothly. My guess is that they will work with the state, and we will see some improvement."

Becky Odneal, coordinator of school improvement and accountability for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, said it was difficult to predict what the outcome would be, but that "student achievement will determine it."

Kansas City went through what was the largest inspection conducted by the state under its new accreditation process. Unlike in past accreditation reviews, the inspectors did not come as final examiners to render a verdict for or against accreditation. Instead, they came to see if the district was capable of reaching accreditation within two to three years.

"I feel comfortable that we put our best foot forward," interim Superintendent John Martin said. "We know we are going to have to prove some things."

Martin said the state's team did not present any specific findings yet. But Odneal did reveal that performance varied significantly among schools.

"Some buildings were doing things very well," she said. "Some were not doing very well, and these are issues that will be cited in the report."

Odneal said the state would prepare a preliminary report by mid-June and review it with the district. A final report will be prepared sometime in July, and the district will have 90 days to create its plan to meet full accreditation standards.

The district has been provisionally accredited since 2002. Under the old system, the district was within two points of the 66 out of 100 needed for full accreditation. But a revamped, more stringent system launched in 2006 began measuring against 14 standards.

Kansas City met three of the 14 that first year and then five in 2007. School districts must meet at least nine standards to be fully accredited, and Kansas City has been charting a course to reach that goal by 2010.

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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com