Scott City sees fewer discipline problems

More than four times smaller in size than Cape Girardeau or Jackson, the Scott City School District had significantly fewer discipline incidents than the other districts last year.

According to Scott City schools' annual report card, which was released Dec. 1, only four students were suspended for 10 or more days and just one student was expelled in 2002-03.

At 41.48 percent, Scott City has a higher number of low-income students than the state average or Cape Girardeau.

While studies have shown that a high population of low-income students can equal more discipline incidents, superintendent Diann Bradshaw-Umler says her district's size has an impact on that. This year, the district has 1,025 students, over 99 percent of which are white.

"We're a small district, and that allows us to work very closely with our parents," Bradshaw-Umler said.

Bradshaw-Umler said the parental involvement also trickles down to areas such as the district's graduation and drop-out rate.

More than 97 percent of seniors graduated from Scott City last year, compared to the state's 84 percent. Over 70-percent of those same graduates went on to a two- or four-year college.

"I think that has to do with our counselors and teachers pushing students to go to college and getting the necessary information to them," Bradshaw-Umler said.

Scott City's scores on the American College Test rose by more than a percentage point between the 2001-02 school year and 2002-03. But the district's average score of 18.8 was still below the state's average of 21.4.

cclark@semissourian.com

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