RATING OUR SCHOOLS: CAPE'S STUDENTS OUTPERFORM STATE AVERAGES (FIRST IN A TEN-PART SERIES)

It's a good time to live in the Cape Girardeau School District, said Superintendent Dr. Dan Steska.

Steska said the district's annual report card released Dec. 1 demonstrates many of the positive academic and other achievements being made within the school district.

Although Steska, who started working in the district July 1, couldn't take credit for the results, he said he wasn't any less proud of his district's results.

"I am really proud of our results in most of the areas," he said. "This just shows Cape public schools are a good place to be."

The report card is an annual summary of academic, financial and assessment information from the previous school year that is submitted to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Missouri law requires school officials to submit the report to local media sources and make it available to the public.

Steska said the report is currently being printed for distribution within the community next week.

During the 1998-99 school year, students in Cape Girardeau public schools outperformed the state average in terms of graduation rates, percentage of students who continue their education after graduation, percentage of students scoring above the national average on the ACT college entrance exam, average daily attendance and on state achievement scores.

In contrast, the district posted numbers lower than the state average in terms of money spent per student, average teacher and administrative salaries, local tax rate and student drop out rates.

"We actually decreased our expenditures per student while the state average expenditures per student went up about $300," said Steska. "We actually spent less per student and scored above the state average in many categories. I think this is a great return on what the community is investing in the school in terms of results."

Over the past five years, Cape Girardeau schools have seen a dramatic reduction in the drop out rate. During the 1994-95 school year, the district posted a dismal 10.7 percent drop out rate. With the exception of the 1997-98 school year, that rate has dropped annually.

Steska credited last year's 3.1 percent drop out rate to an improved school climate, better programming and attentive teachers and administrators who demonstrate their desire to help students succeed.

Another factor affecting drop out rates and attendance was the district's policy on school absences. Student may only miss five days per semester before their credits are affected. The tighter restrictions make students more aware of the need for regular attendance and good performance, said Steska.

"I think things that contribute to kids staying in school are programs that meet their needs that they see and practical and useful," he said. "I think the total school climate that is responsive to their needs and is a pleasant place to be contributes to their staying in school."

Participation in students taking college entrance exams remains strong within the district. More than half of all Central high School seniors take the ACT each year. Last year, 72. 2 percent of the seniors were tested, a 5 percent increase over the previous year and nearly 14 percent higher than the state average.

Among the students taking the test, 131, or 45 percent, scored at or above the national average.

"That's even given the fact that we're actually testing more students, which would usually indicate we're testing lower achieving students," he said. "We're testing a good academic mix of our students, and they're performing well."

Steska said he would like to see improvement in financial aspects of the district. Cape Girardeau is a hold-harmless school district, which means state funding is frozen at the same per pupil rate that was received in 1994.

This means the district relies mainly on local funding for support, and its tax rate of $3.41 is significantly lower than the state average of $3.53.

The district is doing well with its limited resources, but more local funding will eventually be necessary in order to improve per pupil expenditures, make teacher and administrative salaries more competitive with surrounding districts, and improve the overall success of students, said Steska.

"We're doing well, but there's always room for improvement," he said. "By increasing our performance in these area, we'll be even better able to help our kids be successful."