North County School Board addresses low ELA scores
Concerns regarding the school district’s low English and Language Arts scores were discussed at the North County Board of Education meeting held Nov. 2 at the central office. Kevin R. Jenkins
Virtual learning during pandemic believed source of low scores
The North County Board of Education met in regular session Thursday evening at the central office in Bonne Terre. Discussion of the Annual Performance Report (APR) was the main topic of the evening, as well as a review of the annual audit.
In the consent agenda items, filing dates for the April school board election were set. The opening date to file for a seat on the board will be at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5, at the central office. Filings will close at 5 p.m., Dec. 26. The office will be open from noon to five on the 26th to accommodate filing. There will be two three-year terms on the ballot currently held by David Bahr and David Mallow.
District administrators and building principals addressed the Annual Performance Report (APR). Dr. Lori Lamb, assistant superintendent in charge of elementary education, spoke to the board, outlining the changes made on the state level and how that impacts North County.
The building principals spoke to the particulars in their building regarding the specific APR. The one point that remained consistent throughout was that the English and Language Arts (ELA) scores were below the state average from fourth grade through high school. A significant portion of this deficiency can be traced to the COVID-19 pandemic as a common denominator when students were using virtual learning.
However, the principals pointed out strategies to remedy the deficiency, including the use of interventionists, who in many cases are retired teachers with expertise in the field, along with instructional coaches — again, in many cases retired teachers — who assess data and help teachers determine the best path to addressing situational problems. Also, any student reading one year below their grade is assigned an RSP (Reading Success Plan) designed to address problem areas as outlined in Missouri Senate Bill 681.
At the middle school level, seventh-grade math scores were above the state average, and while other scores were below the state average, they are showing improvement from the previous year.
Middle School Principal Jason Toney said, “We have some work to do at the middle school, and that’s OK. It’s the impetus that is really driving some of the programs that we’re implementing at the middle school.”
Dr. Ryan Long, principal of North County High School, addressed his students’ progress and plans for continuing that progress by incorporating successful strategies into other areas.
“In our ELA department, although we are not at state average yet, we did show a growth of almost 5% over the previous year,” he said. “They’re in the middle of two years’ worth of doing some revisions to common rubrics, writing standards, and those things across all grades and aligning those to state standards. We’re starting to see that pay off.”
A review of North County students after graduation showed that 38% attend a two-year college, 17.5% attend a four-year college, 41% enter the job market, and 3.5% join the military.
In other board action:
• The annual audit for 2022-23 was approved. It was deemed to be a clean audit with no issues. From the perspective of the auditors, everything went well.
• Faculty members will take part in a training incentive relating to stress management this month. Faculty will be compensated for their time in the extra duty program before Thanksgiving.
• The board adjourned into executive session to discuss matters regarding personnel and records.
The next North County Board of Education meeting will be held at 6 p.m., Dec. 14, at the central office in Bonne Terre.
Dan Schunks is a staff writer for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at dschunks@dailyjournalonline.com.
