SCHOOL DISTRICT BECOMES ACCREDITED

Cape Girardeau public schools earned accreditation for grades kindergarten through 12 from the North Central Association.

This is the first year the district's elementary schools have been accredited. Central High School has been accredited since 1922.

Because of the work done to become accredited, Cape Girardeau students will learn more, said Stan Seiler, who teaches sixth grade at Alma Schrader Elementary School. He served on the district's accreditation committee.

Seiler said statistics show students attending NCA-accredited schools have increased achievement and a better attitude about school.

"I think that's a big payoff for the school and the kids," he said.

This benefit was paid for with hours and hours of work by dozens of school employees. Much of the work involved documenting things already in place in the school system so NCA officials could see Cape Girardeau schools are doing the things the association sees as important.

The self-study began last year. The end product is a plan to improve the schools. "We will set certain goals we need to achieve," Seiler said.

Cathy Baird, assistant executive director of the North Central Association, said school districts accredited from kindergarten through high school make an effort at "seamless education."

"If a student learns something in grade one, he doesn't learn it again in grade two," she explained. "The high school teachers have talked to the junior high school teachers and know what those algebra students have learned."

The North Central Association is one of six regional accrediting associations and represents 20 states. It has 7,691 accredited schools, including 2,367 elementary schools. In Missouri, 46 elementary schools are accredited, including the six in Cape Girardeau. Membership is voluntary.

Alma Schrader Principal David Giles, who served on the steering committee, said the process of earning accreditation forces educators to focus on improving learning for students. Teachers have worked to develop an educational plan that emphasizes student growth and achievement, he said.

The elementary schools are provisional members in the association until an on-site visit occurs.

Missouri has started a new system of rating school systems called the Missouri School Improvement Plan, which includes a self-study and visit similar to the NCA activities.

Cape Girardeau schools coordinated the Missouri School Improvement study to coincide with the NCA review.

"This was an efficient use of our time and effort," Giles explained.

The NCA system of evaluations helps educators see how the school system ranks with their own expectations and expectations of people from outside the district, Giles said.

"We want to keep our kids competitive -- more than competitive," Giles said. "If we don't have some form of formal assessment, might we tend to become complacent?"