New Hamburg school gets perfect score from state

Kelso C-7 School in New Hamburg, Missouri, has reason to celebrate.

The district is one of 35 throughout Missouri to earn a perfect score on its Annual Performance Report issued by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The reports, made public Friday, provide a snapshot of school districts' performance and are used by the state to review and inform accreditation recommendations for the 519 public school districts in Missouri.

Kelso, a K-8 district, earned all 76 points possible in its report, which was broken into four categories: academic achievement, subgroup achievement, high school readiness and attendance rate.

The district has seen a climb in its scores over the past few years. Last year, it scored 90.8 percent. In 2013, the district scored 86.8 percent.

Parker Burford reads a Dr. Seuss book in his first-grade classroom Thursday at Kelso C-7 School in New Hamburg, Missouri. (Laura Simon)

"Our success over the years has really been attributed to the size of our school, our community support and our teachers' dedication to stay student focused," said superintendent Kim Burger. "They are very committed to doing what's best for kids."

The district, which has preschool students, is growing and has 125 students, Burger said. It encompasses the communities of New Hamburg and Kelso, as well as rural Oran, Chaffee and Benton.

Kelso is one of two Southeast Missouri school district to earn 100 percent of total points possible, with the other being in Stoddard County's K-12 district, Richland in Essex.

Burger said Kelso C-7 School can make a difference in its students' lives and motioned toward bags of food that were being sent home to families in need.

"We have an opportunity to really focus in and help our families," she said. "And that's the focus I've tried to take as an administrator, is to treat this as a family and not just a school. I think just creating that culture of a family is a big difference."

Although it's a small school, she said, it has the same role as larger districts, and teachers there have several roles to fill.

"Everybody has different hats, so you see a bigger picture within our district," she said. "And I think having a bigger perspective allows teachers to look beyond their classroom and really focus on the team versus my compartmentalized classroom."

Being able to share the good news of a perfect score with the district came with much excitement, Burger said.

"It's always rewarding to be able to tell people this is all the hard work you put in, when you're having those dog days, that this is what can happen," she said. "I really feel like we earned this. Our teachers earned it and our kids earned it."

Statewide

The Annual Performance Reports are used to show how well school districts are meeting Missouri's education standards under the state's accountability system, the Missouri School Improvement Program 5.

The APR consists of five categories -- academic achievement, subgroup achievement, college and career readiness, attendance and graduation rate -- in which K-12 districts can score up to 140 points.

Districts that score 90 percent or more are considered accredited with distinction, 70 percent or more are accredited, 50 percent or more are provisionally accredited and less than 50 percent are unaccredited.

More than 98 percent of Missouri school districts scored in the fully accredited range this year, according to DESE.

In the first year of reports in 2013, 30 districts scored below full accreditation. That number now has been reduced to eight districts, said Missouri Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven.

"We've come a long way in three years, but we still have work to do," Vandeven said during a recent teleconference. "The most recent Missouri Assessment Program, or MAP, results show the continuation of the achievement gap in our state. It will take more on our part to help our struggling students succeed. We need to come together in our communities to help students arrive at school ready to learn in supportive and engaging environments."

Jackson

The Jackson School District increased its score by 4.3 percent this year, with a score last year of 91.4 and this year's at 95.7.

Matt Lacy, associate superintendent of personnel and instruction, said the district was pleased with its score and is looking at ways to maintain that.

"You're always very excited when you hit that level of proficiency, but then your thoughts say, 'All right, what is this data telling us, and what do we need to look at to make sure we have success in the future?'" he said.

One of the challenges, he said, is school districts are going to take four different achievement tests in four years.

"When you have the same test historically, you kind of know where you need to place your focus and which standards are more heavily emphasized, etc.," he said. "So, with a new test, you really aren't sure what's going to be emphasized to help guide instruction."

Lacy said the subgroup achievement has been an area of conversation between the district's leadership. The subgroup achievement category includes minority students and students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. Districts are required by the state to demonstrate improvement in student performance for subgroups.

The Jackson School District received 10.5 points of 14 in that category.

"We believe there's room (for) growth in that subgroup achievement," Lacy said. "So, we're looking at that now, doing some strategic planning and just finding a way to maybe bolster those subgroup achievement scores."

Cape Girardeau

The Cape Girardeau School District saw a slight decrease in its score this year, dropping from last year's score of 88.2 percent to 86.4.

Both scores, however, show a significant increase from the district's score of 73.9 percent in 2013.

Christa Turner, interim director of academic services, said the district received more points this year for social studies and college and career readiness assessments and fewer points for science.

"Our high-school counselors have worked really hard, along with our transition coordinator, to ensure we're helping students be as successful as they can in either college or career," she said, adding graduating seniors are required to take one career and college readiness assessment, including the ACT, SAT, Compass and ASVAB.

Each public school building in Missouri also receives an Annual Performance Report, so administrators will work with district principals on areas to maintain or opportunities for growth, as well as areas to celebrate, she said.

"We're working with building principals to look at those areas we need to try to come up with some plans for and how we can provide those growth opportunities," she said. "Last year, we revamped our attendance procedures, so I think buildings are continuing to work with attendance review committees. We are continuing to focus on student achievement, and we do know science is an area we need to grow a little bit."

Turner said the district wants to continue to see growth until it reaches the 100-percent mark.

"That's the ultimate goal," she said. "It's a snapshot of what we do. We want to prepare students the best we can for their postsecondary career or experience."

klamb@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3639

Pertinent address:

614 E. Adams St., Jackson, Mo.

301 N. Clark St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.

1016 State Highway A, New Hamburg, Mo.

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Documents

To view a full list of Missouri school districts*' Annual Performance Reports, visit mcds.dese.mo.gov/Pages/default.aspx and click the "accountability" tab, then "accountability documents."