Attendance is key to improvement in state score

Having gained 75.7 out of 128 and 46 out of 52 in the two scores that compose the annual performance review, or 67.6% overall, the St. Joseph School District earned a grade that may seem on first glance to be equivalent to a “D.” There is more complexity to it than letter grades, though.

“What the point of it is, is ‘Show us your plan, that you have made as a school district that’s going to effectuate change,’” said Kendra Lau. “In that way, the score continuously goes up.”

The 46 out of 52 score, 88.5%, points to optimism for the future, as explained by Lau, the district’s director of school improvement. The “performance” scale of 75.7 out of 128 points is weighted more heavily, because it reflects the situation as it is now. The low score can, in part, be attributed to receiving only half the points available in academic achievement for all students in the categories of English/language arts (6 out of 12), mathematics (6 out of 12) and science (2 out of 4).

A “pilot” of the review process has just been done, a trial run of sorts, in which districts get examined and a score is produced, but no beneficial or negative effects will come down from the state level as a result.

“These standards and indicators are designed to establish a new method for us to understand the extent to which students are meeting the expectations in Missouri learning standards, and obtaining the necessary skills and knowledge to be prepared for what comes next for each of them,” said Lisa Sireno, assistant commissioner of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in a recent news conference on MSIP-6.

If the scores are not improved by spring 2025, when the 2023-24 score will become available, DESE will apply provisional accreditation to the district, and higher state scrutiny of how local schools operate could ensue. A total loss of accreditation can occur for any district that scores less than 50%. What would happen then would be in the hands of the State Board of Education, but it would likely involve some kind of state takeover of the affected district.

The continuous improvement score, the one that was worth a total of 52 points, tells the tale on how to avoid that. The district scored 0 out of 4 for attendance.

That’s because despite years of effort, the goal of at least 80% satisfactory attendance remains unmet. To get there, at least 8 in every 10 children need to show up throughout the year for at least 9 in every 10 of their classroom hours. Kids in earlier grades, like kindergarten, are attending at a lower rate than their older peers, and it’s because the district has not yet succeeded in engaging with parents on the need to get their kids to class every day, on time.

After all, it’s not as though the kids can drive themselves.

“Our students aren’t showing up to class,” Lau said. “And so the work that the teachers are doing every day in instruction, in the classroom, how is that reflected when the kids aren’t coming on a regular basis?”