The Missouri School Improvement Program has the
responsibility of reviewing and accrediting the 524 school districts
in Missouri within a five-year review cycle. The process of
accrediting school districts is mandated by state law, and the
specific responsibilities of this section are outlined both by State
Board Rule and in
Senate
Bill 380.
School district reviews are conducted each year for approximately
twenty percent (20%) of the 524 districts, and reports covering the
areas of resource, process and performance are developed. These
reports are reviewed by a Department School Improvement Committee
and a summary of each report and the committee's recommendations
regarding accreditation for each district are presented to the
State
Board of Education for its approval. Each district also submits
a School Improvement Plan which addresses the concerns identified in
the review report and may request a re-review in order to improve
its accreditation rating.
This section's primary responsibilities include conducting training
sessions (for team leaders, team members, counselors,
superintendents and others), mailing and processing materials used
in the review process (advance questionnaires, team training
materials, team member packets, district procedures handbook, and
performance worksheets), arranging for the on-site review,
overseeing the total review process, serving as team leaders or team
members, coordinating school reviews mandated through other sections
(i.e., vocational, special education, special state and federal
programs, etc.), extracting and processing information for the
resource and performance reports, and editing and correcting the
three sections of the reports after the on-site review.
Staff members (including the ten
Area
Supervisors) provide technical assistance on the MSIP process to
district personnel individually and through training sessions held
throughout the state, through a variety of printed materials and
through the School Improvement Plan development and review
processes. Assistance in carrying out on-site reviews is provided by
Department staff members from other sections, teachers and
administrators from local districts and representatives from higher
education. |
