School gets $40K to improve progress

Central Middle School will receive $40,000 from the federal government to improve programming after failing to make adequate yearly progress two years in a row.

The Cape Girardeau school is the first in the district to have a School Improvement status. Classification is based on student test scores on the MAP, or Missouri Assessment Program.

Principal Mark Kiehne met with Federal Instructional Improvement supervisor Jamie Holiman last week to discuss required action. The school will be receiving $40,000 and must present a plan before Feb. 1 with how the money will be used to improve achievement.

Kiehne plans to form a committee to review options, and hopes to complete a proposal after Thanksgiving. Transportation for after-school tutoring or additional SMART Boards are possibilities for the plan. SMART Boards allow a computer display to be projected on an interactive white board.

During the first year of school improvement, technical and financial assistance is provided.

With each continuing year a school fails to make AYP, the consequences get more severe, leading ultimately to a complete restructuring. These consequences apply only to Title 1 schools.

"When you are forced to be in school improvement, it makes you turn over every rock and see where your barriers are so you can begin addressing them," Kiehne said.

Both Blanchard and Jefferson Elementary schools were told last year by the state they would be entering school improvement, and notified parents they had the option to transfer their child to better performing schools in the district. However, after recalculating scores, the district was informed the schools had made adequate yearly progress.

School choice is not an option at Central Middle because there are no other middle schools in the district.

The overall school population reached state proficiency standards in both subjects both years, but subgroups didn't. Last year, students receiving free and reduced lunch did not meet standards in communication arts, and black students and those receiving free and reduced lunch did not make standards in math.

Kiehne said many systems are already in place to boost achievement, and simply need to be refined. While money will be spent on items for long-term use, Kiehne said he knows improvement must be shown immediately.

"That's the whole thing. Not just that we want to get better. We have to get better now," he said.

Tutoring, beginning today, could be made mandatory, but then transportation would be required. Following bus rides expected to take up to an hour, some students could be getting home as late as 6:15 p.m., and Kiehne worries about burnout. However, he also notes that most of the students who need tutoring the most are the ones who don't participate.

Targeted students are being pulled during study hour for additional help in groups of four to eight. Unlike the past, where the lowest students were targeted, teachers are also trying to meet the needs of those on the cusp of becoming proficient.

"Many schools think you've just got to help the lowest of the low. A lot of resources go to that. Now we want to reach those kids, but also those who are in the middle," he said.

School improvement is not new to Kiehne -- he steered Kelly Middle School in Benton, Mo., out of school improvement status last year. He said motivation and school culture are key.

Kiehne plans to offer an incentive for good behavior and effort on testing days, such as a school carnival.

Last year, students walked out of class the day of the MAP test, Kiehne said, to protest the firing of then-principal Frank Ellis. Board members did not explain why Ellis was replaced other than that a change was needed.

Interruptions like that can affect a student's psyche and focus during a test, Kiehne said. His goal is to create a climate where students know teachers care about them and the students in turn strive to please.

If the school doesn't make adequate yearly progress next year, "it won't be from a lack of effort," he said.

lbavolek@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123