JEFFERSON CITY 鈥 Two votes made a decade apart by the Missouri Board of Education point to a turnaround of 50度灰视频 Public Schools 鈥 one that civic leaders hope will boost efforts to revitalize the city.
On Tuesday morning, the state board voted unanimously to give full accreditation to the city鈥檚 school system. In doing so, state education leaders praised its stable leadership and continued improvement.
鈥淚n less than a decade, what they鈥檝e achieved is extraordinary,鈥 said Mike Jones, a member of the state board. Jones called it an exceptional day, not just for district leaders 鈥渂ut mostly those kids, teachers and staff who made this happen.鈥
It was a far cry from 10 years ago, when the city school system was deemed by the state to be failing its 32,000 students on a massive scale.
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The district was graduating just 56 percent of the students it was supposed to. District leaders were staring down a budget hole more than $24 million deep that had been dug out of a $52 million surplus just five years before. The district would force out or say goodbye to six superintendents in five years. The district was meeting only five of 14 state accreditation standards.
In 2007, the Missouri Board of Education decided things were so bad that it had no choice but to strip the district of its accreditation, its basic badge of adequacy.
The day the state board cast that vote, 150 students and parents piled into the board room in protest, expressing fear that their education, coming from an unaccredited school district, could soon be worth nothing in the eyes of many.
That same year, the state decided to install what would be the first of its kind in Missouri: a three-member appointed board to replace the district鈥檚 local elected board. The experiment was scrutinized from the start.
But Tuesday, state school leaders expressed confidence that the city school system has experienced a legitimate turnaround.
鈥淐ertainly, we鈥檝e seen what leadership stability has done for this district,鈥 said Chris Neale, an assistant commissioner of education. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter which standard you look at. We鈥檝e seen positive achievement across the board in the past four years.鈥
The state board鈥檚 vote for full accreditation returns to the district a level of confidence it has not seen in many years 鈥 one that many say could remove a shadow of stigma that has hovered over the city as a place to live and raise a family.
鈥淟et鈥檚 not kid ourselves. The fact that this district has been unaccredited has been used against us in economic deals,鈥 former Gov. Jay Nixon, who left office this week, said at a press conference Thursday celebrating the district鈥檚 progress. 鈥淭his is going to be a real shot in the arm economically for the region.鈥
鈥楴ot going to stop鈥
The State Board said it has seen significant progress toward goals for academics and other measures of success. The board that include test scores, attendance and the graduation rate. The state鈥檚 accreditation system values progress and student growth, in addition to actual academic performance.
Today, the high-poverty, majority-African-American district has a 72 percent graduation rate and 95 percent attendance rate. The district had a $19.2 million surplus in June. The district has improved its students鈥 test scores year after year.
Still, Superintendent Kelvin Adams and the appointed Special Administrative Board acknowledge that the district is not meeting its academic goals.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really about the young people 鈥 who deserve to have the kind of education we all want for our kids,鈥 Adams said after the board鈥檚 vote. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to stop until every single kid can read, every single kid has that opportunity.鈥
About 37 percent of students who took state tests last year scored proficient or advanced in English, and 26 percent did so in math. Only 12 percent of district high school graduates who were tested scored at or above the national average on the ACT.
There are other issues that also hold the district back, such as and pension costs.
The district 鈥 and, along with them, state money 鈥 to suburban schools, private schools and city charter schools. Mayor Francis Slay has nurtured charter schools, which are also public schools, as an alternative to the city鈥檚 long-unaccredited school district.
District enrollment dove to just 22,500 students this year from 32,000 students when the district lost accreditation.
Adams said it鈥檚 too early to know whether reaccreditation will help stem the out-migration of students and convince 50度灰视频ans to view the district in a better light.
鈥淚 think we have to fight every single day to do that and change perception,鈥 Adams said after Tuesday鈥檚 vote. 鈥淏ut I think this is one way of helping to do that.鈥
Stable leadership
Nobody has been given more credit for the turnaround than Adams and the Special Administrative Board. The conviction that, together, they were the turning point in the district鈥檚 troubled history is shared by district advocates and those still dissatisfied with the district鈥檚 rate of progress.
The launched , sending the district its first surge of revenue in 25 years. It closed about 18 schools suffering from enrollment loss and poor academic performance while opening 10 .
But board CEO Rick Sullivan has said hiring is the board鈥檚 greatest accomplishment.
Adams鈥 tenure of nine years in a position that typically sees turnover every three years makes him one of the longest-running superintendents in the 50度灰视频 region. The simple fact that he has stayed with the district, , earns him genuine respect from those he works with, including the appointed board.
鈥淭he stability, commitment and foresight of our superintendent have been immeasurable, and one of the main reasons this school system continues to achieve,鈥 said Richard Gaines, a member of the district鈥檚 Special Administrative Board.
Both Adams and the Special Administrative Board are under contract to stay until 2019. But the district .
Members of the elected 50度灰视频 School Board, who have watched from the sidelines for the past decade, believe the return of full accreditation eliminates one more obstacle to their return.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really hoping this serves as a catalyst to move toward a transition,鈥 said Susan Jones, president of the elected board.
State law says nothing about how or when the switch should happen.
Neale, the assistant commissioner of education, said the state board must now consider how to decide when the appointed board has fulfilled its purpose.
Regardless, Adams, who is 60, says he will not leave even if the Special Administrative Board is transitioned out before then.
鈥淏ecause you get a new boss tomorrow, do you stop working? No. You keep working and doing what they tell you to do,鈥 Adams said in an interview. 鈥淚 have a contract until 2019. I鈥檝e committed to my contract.鈥