From the Desk of…
Diana Bourisaw, Superintendent
State Board of Education Meeting – March
22 at 10:00 a.m.
Truman State Office Building
301 W. High St. - Room 490/492
Jefferson City
The State Board of Education will be making several important
decisions this week that could forever change the face of public
education in the City of St. Louis. They will first vote on
the accreditation status of the St. Louis Public Schools. Second,
they will vote on whether to allow two new charter schools
to open in St. Louis. Let’s examine both of these issues.
Accreditation
Last month, the State Board voted to reauthorize the transitional
school district. If they decide this week to remove the District’s
accreditation, the St. Louis Public Schools would have a new
three-member appointed board. The members would be appointed
by the Mayor, the current President of the Board of Aldermen,
and the Governor. The Governor’s appointee would also
serve as the paid CEO of all schools.
There are many myths that continue to surface regarding this
proposed state intervention. I thought it would be helpful
to provide a snapshot of how some stakeholders would be affected.
More importantly, how they would not be affected.
Students
Many students fear a loss in accreditation will render their
diplomas invalid. Some students also believe they may have
to attend another year of high school, or take a GED test.
This information is untrue.
Students may be affected in other ways, though. For example,
the law governing the transitional school district requires:
students who do not perform at grade level to attend summer
school (with the exception of special education students);
that no student can be promoted to a higher grade level unless
he or she can read at or above one grade level below their
current grade level. Again there is an exception for special
education students. What this means, for example, is an 8th
grader who cannot read at the level of at least a 7th grader
will not be able to move on to high school with his or her
peers.
While most students will not experience difficulty in the
college admissions process, there are some colleges that may
increase the entry requirements for students who attended an
unaccredited school. We are in the process of surveying select
colleges and universities to determine the true impact and
have, thus far, found two colleges that have increased entry
requirements for students attending unaccredited schools.
CITIZENS
The citizens of St. Louis would still be able to cast their
vote this April for two new members of the St. Louis Board
of Education. However, if the District’s accreditation
is removed, the members of our local elected board will be
powerless.
The draft plan to return to an elected school board was unveiled
at last month’s State Board meeting. If the plan advances
to the legislature, the voters would again begin electing their
representatives to a local school board in the coming years.
SCHOOLS
Specific to schools, the statutory language that authorizes
the transitional school board also provides the following powers
and duties to the new board:
“(1) Creating an academic accountability plan, taking
corrective action in underperforming schools, and seeking relief
from state-mandated programs;
(2) Exploration of alternative forms of governance for the
district;
(3) Authority to contract with nonprofit corporations to provide
for the operation of schools;
(4) Oversight of facility planning, construction, improvement,
repair, maintenance and rehabilitation;
(5) Authority to establish school site councils to facilitate
site-based school management and to improve the responsiveness
of the schools to the needs of the local geographic attendance
region of the school;
(6) Authority to submit a proposal to district voters pursuant
to section 162.666 regarding establishment of neighborhood
schools.”
DISTRICT EMPLOYEES
There are rumors of mass layoffs that will take place in administration.
I’ve had questions about whether district employees will
begin receiving state paychecks. I have seen no plans for the
future of SLPS and, of course, cannot make guarantees about
how employees may be affected.
The bottom line is that we will not know the impact of unaccreditation
until it actually happens. There has been no plan provided
by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. There
has been no public discussion of how the new transitional board
will be evaluated. There is no enabling legislation in place
that spells out an exit plan for the transition board.
Charter Schools
As I mentioned, the State Board of Education is expected to
vote on Thursday to establish two new charter schools for St.
Louis. In addition, recently introduced legislation (Senate
Bill 564) would grant the Mayor of St. Louis the ability to
sponsor additional charter schools.
We do not need additional low-performing charter schools in
St. Louis. Instead, we need to work together as a community
to continue the improvements that are already underway in the
St. Louis Public Schools.
MAP test results from past years reveal that students in St.
Louis Public Schools consistently outperform students in charter
schools in all subjects and at all grade levels.
The members of the St. Louis Board of Education are unanimous
in their opposition to the expansion of charter schools in
the City of St. Louis. The Board-approved legislative package
for this session calls for a moratorium on charter schools
until student performance in those schools improves. Further,
the Board believes charter schools should be held to the same
accreditation standards as public school districts. If you
agree, I encourage you to contact your state legislator and
the State Board of Education.
“I still believe America’s destiny is to become
a living testament to what free human beings can accomplish
by acting in unity.” – Sen. John Kerry
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