SCOTT CITY SCHOOLS FACE EVALUATION

SCOTT CITY -- The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will assess Scott City Schools in December, evaluating everything from class size to student use of library books.

Superintendent Bob Brison said the evaluation is done every five to seven years at all Missouri schools to determine the district's classification.

Scott City school currently have an AAA rating from the state, the highest given.

"It's the most important evaluation procedure that a school can encounter," Brison said. "They'll be looking at curriculum, instructional climate, the way decisions are made and how they feel the school is meeting the needs of the community."

Representative from the education department will also look at the district's drop out rate, community input, the library, safety features of the school building and test scores, he said.

A team of 20 to 24 people will be in Scott City Dec. 9-11. An exit conference with school administrators upon the team's departure will give them an initial idea of how the district measured up, he said.

"It's like a self-examination," the superintendent said. "We've already determined some of the areas we'd like to be better at, but they're going to come in and look at all phases of the operation."

The evaluation will not affect the amount of state funding the district receives.

Brison said one area he'd like to see improved is follow-up on Scott City High School graduates. He said data is needed that tracks students five years after graduation, to determine if they have attended college, trade school or are working.

Brison said improvements are needed in the school library, but funding to do so is scarce.

"This is not a pat-yourself-on-the-back type of program," he said. "We have to take a good look at what we're doing and what we could do better. School improvement is the name of the game."

Brison said the state will return written results of the evaluation to the district in February.