Starting tomorrow (Apr. 27), state school officials will visit hundreds of St. Louis classrooms to conduct an in-depth evaluation and to make recommendations that are aimed at helping the district regain its accreditation.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) along with educators from other school districts in Missouri will visit 89 schools from April 27-30. According to Jim Morris, director of public information for DESE, They will observe lessons and interview students, teachers and administrators. About 250 people from the state agency and school districts will participate in this evaluation process. The team will write a report regarding the findings and return to St. Louis in early May to discuss its findings.
The evaluation is part of the state’s accreditation process for public schools called the Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP). Officials will be evaluating instruction, curriculum and school safety among other things.
“We went to help St. Louis move forward quickly to regain accredited status,” said Becky Odneal, chief accountability officer for DESE. “This in-depth review can provide valuable insights from impartial observers that can help the St. Louis board and staff refine their school improvement plans.”
School Superintendent Kelvin R. Adams said the results of the evaluations will provide the district with constructive criticism that will help strengthen the district. “This review will provide us with additional information in moving forward,” Adams said. “We are confident. But it doesn’t hurt … to have an outside review.”
In 2007, the Missouri State Board of Education stripped the St. Louis Public Schools of its accreditation and took over its management. Under the board’s decision, a three-person board, called the “Special Advisory Board” or “SAB”, was created.
The locally elected board will remain in place but have no power, however, local board elections will continue as required by Missouri law. The SAB is due to expire in 2011, wherein power will return to the elected board.
Odneal said the city will not be a position to be considered for accreditation until 2011 because the state needs at least two consistent years of data regarding college placement and graduation. In the past, the school district used two systems to track the information instead of one, which skewed the data.
“Our community has an overall goal to provide a level of education that prepares graduates for the workforce through continued education in college or career/technical school or immediate employment,” said Rick Sullivan, president and chief executive officer of the Special Advisory Board. “We have always said accreditation is a step along the way to the overall goal to provide the level of education I just described. The … review will provide a measuring stick by which to assess our improvement and the areas which still need our attention.”