SCOTT CITY SCHOOL EARNS FAVORABLE REVIEW

SCOTT CITY - The Scott City School District is worthy of high marks according to a team of educators from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

In an evaluation completed this week, the district received overall favorable ratings and was commended for efforts made toward building renovations and creating a constructive learning environment.

"For the most part I think we received a very positive report," said Superintendent Bob Brison. The superintendent said 18 people, including those from the state department and several teachers and administrators from schools in Southeast Missouri made up the team.

Preliminary results of the evaluation were presented to Brison and other district officials during an informal exit conference Wednesday.

An in-depth written report will be returned to the district in about six months, Brison said. From that report, the district will form its own school improvement plan and submit it to the education department.

The evaluations are routine for every school district in the state. They are performed every five to seven years, and are used to determine the district's rating.

Scott City currently has a rating of AAA, the highest given.

Brison said the district was commended for improvements in the school buildings and for the "pleasant learning environment" at the school.

He said the elementary library was praised for its resources, and officials were impressed with the writing program at the elementary levels.

The writing program is a result of a teacher's incentive grant received several years ago. Brison said because of the program, students have developed stronger writing and analytical skills.

"We are beginning to see that not only are students getting better at writing, their thinking skills are better," he said.

The team recommended that the district improve its long-range planning efforts and develop more specific curriculum guides, the superintendent said.

"Part of their charge was to help us prepare for the years ahead," Brison said. "That keeps us concerned about providing excellence in an ever-changing world. What worked five years ago may not necessarily work in 1992."

Brison said he was pleased with the district's overall report card. He said he was encouraged by the preliminary results, because most of the recommendations for improvement were in minor areas.

"We feel we've been very favorably evaluated, and we're pleased with the preliminary results," he said.

District administrators have been preparing for the evaluation since last spring by assessing the district's strong and weak points themselves, he said. These assessments were used by the evaluation team and compared to other school districts.