I know there's been some discussion around our Annual Performance Report recently, so I wanted to share some information with you and invite you to always reach out with questions or concerns. I won't know every answer, but I will find out and get back to you when I don't.
First, all of our district data is available on the DESE website on the Public Portal. You can access our reports by the district or building level as well as see state data as a comparison. Our District Report Card gives detailed data on our student population, our staff, and our tax base. Our Annual Performance Report (APR) is how DESE scores us annually based on student performance on MAP and graduate data, which is 70% of our score, and other measures of continuous improvement, which is 30% of our score. As you can see on our APR, we earned 100% of the available points on continuous improvement in all but 2 areas.
This year is a transitional year for school districts as far as our APRs are concerned. DESE instituted new measures for all schools as we make the move from the MSIP 5 cycle to the MSIP 6 cycle. Since the measures are new for MSIP 6 and an apples-to-apples comparison to MSIP 5 cannot be made, DESE will not be updating accreditation statuses based on APR scores for 2 years. Miller County R-III, as you can see at the top of our District Report Card, is fully accredited.
However, we recognize there is work to be done on our MAP scores, and our staff is committed to doing the hard work necessary to improve student achievement. Some of the initiatives that are already in the planning stages include:
- Full-day Professional Development days built into the 2023-24 school calendar to allow teachers more time to examine assessment data and plan instructional improvements, as well as get in-depth training on research-based instructional strategies, based on weak areas;
- Time for teachers who are new to the district and to teaching to collaborate and work on instructional improvements;
- Updated assessment measures that are more closely aligned to MAP assessments to measure student achievement as we progress through the school year;
- A restructuring of our intervention program and resources for students who are not achieving at grade level in reading or math;
- A curriculum revision plan as well as an online tool to revise curricula and make it easily accessible to parents and community members;
- Updated student textbooks have been purchased for reading, phonics, science, and purchases are planned for math and social studies;
- Salary schedule improvements and incentives for teacher recruitment and retention, as well as attendance.
Instructional improvement is an ongoing process, and there are no quick fixes. However, we are committed as a staff to making the necessary changes to improve. We appreciate our parent, caregiver, and community support as we strive to better serve every student, every day, whatever it takes.
Dr. Tina Spencer, Superintendent
