By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
February 1, 2012

Kansas City Public Schools’ officials are determined to regain state accreditation.

During a Jan. 24 KCPS Board of Education meeting, district officials introduced three drafts: KCPS Key Performance Indicators; Road to Accreditation Action Plan; and Attendance, Truancy, Dropout Plan of Action. Each plan outlines goals and initiatives for improving student academic achievement.

For KCPS, academic struggles aren’t new. The district hasn’t been fully accredited by the state since 1993 and finally lost its state accreditation on Jan. 1, 2012.

“Obviously, we have some very ambitious goals and rightly so,” KCPS Director of Assessment and Accountability David Rand said. “We’re moving forward, we’re not moving backward.”

The Road to Accreditation plan includes a number of “measurements of success,” which includes goals like “100 percent of students will demonstrate at least 1 1/2 years of growth across one year of instruction in reading as measured by locally administered scaled assessments”; reducing the number of students with more than one suspension by 25 percent from the previous year; at least 35 percent of students scoring proficient or above in state assessments for math; at least 20 percent of graduating seniors scoring at or above the national average on the ACT, among other goals.

KCPS will also ensure the curriculum is aligned with state model curriculum by utilizing technical support from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

On a broader scale, KCPS will focus on “professional development,” which includes teaching pedagogy, content knowledge and instructional interventions.

“What do we do with the kids who don’t get it?” said Steve Scraggs, KCPS director of student-centered learning schools.

The answer is instructional interventions.

“We want to make sure that every day in every classroom, instructional interventions are taking place,” Scraggs said.

That includes using data to cater to the individual needs of students and schools, he said. KCPS will continue to conduct a needs assessment at each school, garnering feedback from principals and teachers on resources they need to improve academic achievement, Green said. KCPS will reallocate funding to meet those needs, he said.

In addition, KCPS will raise “rigor” and ensure that both principals and teachers understand the district’s definition.

Board member Arthur Benson questioned the definition of rigor.

“For years, rigor has been kind of a code for structured emphasis upon numerating items likely to be covered in the standardized test,” Benson said.

KCPS Interim Superintendent Dr. Stephen Green assured Benson that rigor wouldn’t solely be defined by state assessments. It would also include deep levels of understanding and applying concepts to real world scenarios.

Department snapshots

Five departments will be assessed through “department snapshots,” which includes curriculum and instruction, finance, human capital management, information technology and operations.

Each department will be broken down into specifics and compared to industry standards. Departments will also be rated on a color coded gauge system that resembles a vehicle’s gas gauge.

“If we do not begin to meet some of these areas on this page, then we’re going to have a very difficult time becoming reaccredited,” Rand said. “The gauges give you a good idea of where we’re standing.”

“If we haven’t met the standard, we’re saying in order to get there here’s what we have to do,” KCPS Chief Operating Officer Michael Rounds added.

Project Choose

Another initiative KCPS is launching is Project Choose.

“We’re focusing on attendance, dropout rate and truancy. That is an area we feel we need the most help,” Green said.

Project Choose is one plan with a three pronged approach, said Eileen Houston-Stewart, KCPS executive director of public relations and marketing.

One proposal that’s already in the works is a city truancy ordinance, said KCPS Executive Director of Student Support and Community Services Dr. Luis Cordoba.

Cordoba said he’s met with City Council member Scott Wagner and Assistant City Prosecutor Beth Murano. Together, they’re drafting a truancy and daytime curfew ordinance that will give “police officers teeth” to enforce the ordinances, he said. Wagner said the new ordinance could be introduced to the city council as early as next week.

KCPS is also looking into developing truancy patrols, like beat patrols, and establishing “hot spot” areas.

“Strong and clear truancy policies” would be created and would include intervention referrals and firm consequences.

“If we put teeth to this, I think parents will get the hint that you need to do everything in your power to get the children back in school,” Cordoba said.

To further deter skipping school, KCPS is considering holding a truancy court at Northeast High School and developing a truancy hotline.

“The community is our eyes and ears,” Cordoba said.

To address student behavioral and mental health issues, KCPS is partnering with Mattie Rhodes to secure health related grants. Addressing those needs will help students in academic achievement, he said.

“We are moving forward with things we need to reduce the absenteeism, to improve the graduation rate, to decrease the dropout rate and to decrease the truancy rate in our district,” Cordoba said.