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Missouri department updating accountability measures on charter school sponsors

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The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is revising standards by which charter school sponsors are judged. During a recent Missouri Board of Education meeting, Chris Neale with the department says operating on an almost direct basis with charter schools and sponsors is probably no longer the best practice.

Missouri department updating accountability measures on charter school sponsors

“We’ve come to the conclusion that since sponsors of charter schools have that contractual relationship with their schools, our best efforts need to be put into strengthening those sponsors to ensuring that they are then strengthening the schools,” he says.

Neale says the changes would reduce the number of standards and be more clearly defined. He also says they would emphasize the sponsor’s role in the management of governance, financials, operations, academic expectations, and contract consequences of its charter schools.

“I think what we’ll see is a much more effective approach to sponsor practice and to our evaluation of sponsors against effective practice,” he says.

For the past several months, the department has been revising sponsor standards in collaboration with the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA). It has also gathered feedback from sponsors. The Missouri Charter Public School Commission has funded the project.

Bill Mendelsohn, the executive director of Charter Schools at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, says for years, university sponsors have advocated for standards revisions that incorporate best practices.

“We fully support DESE’s efforts to revise the standards and the process by which DESE evaluates sponsors. We deeply appreciate that NACSA and DESE have involved us in the process and we support the incorporation of best practice for sponsors in the new standards, knowing that our offices have already incorporated many of them into our own policies and operations,” says Mendelsohn.

He says during the past five years, eight charter schools have been closed in Kansas City and St. Louis. He indicates that some of those schools outperformed the public schools in St. Louis and Kansas City that are comparable in demographics and grade levels.

Charter schools are allowed in Kansas City, St. Louis an any unaccredited public school districts in Missouri. Charter schools in Missouri are required to have a sponsor to operate. Sponsors are given 1.5% of state aid to help cover their operational costs for their charter school responsibilities.

For the changes to occur, the Missouri Board of Education must approve them.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Ivanka Trump visits St. Louis area to discuss workforce development

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Ivanka Trump is touring the country to unite academic, business, and political leaders in a series of workforce development roundtable discussions. During a visit today at Lewis and Clark Community College near St. Louis, she says the nation’s low unemployment rate is creating an unprecedented climate.

Ivanka Trump speaks to hundreds of U.S. Steel workers in Granite City, IL on July 26, 2018

Ms. Trump wants to connect unemployed and underemployed Americans with the training necessary to fill skilled jobs in growing industries.

“For the first time in history, we actually have more job vacancies than unemployed people,” she says. “There’s skills mismatched that exist. What can we do about it?”

She says the federal government is going to reconcile workforce programs to make them more accountable and think holistically about the role of education through the lifecycle of American workers.

“I think as a federal government, we are not very good, typically, at training. But we can leverage the knowledge of the private sector. We can say be our partner and help us do better,” Trump says. “Help us amplify the issue. Help us think about ways that we can be creative. Help us leverage technology, for example, to create better transparency for our students and our workers across the country.”

Ms. Trump cites the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics saying the country has 6.6 million vacant jobs.

“They can tell you the industries they are in, but they can’t tell you geographically where those jobs are located and they can’t tell you the underlying skillsets required to fill those jobs,” she says.

Trump goes on to say the U.S. is experiencing historic low unemployment rates for African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, women and the disabled.

Todd Sauter contributed to this story.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Missouri shoppers hit retailer stores for tax-free Back-to-school weekend

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Missourians can save some money while shopping during this weekend’s Back to School sales tax holiday underway. Dave Overfelt, President of the Missouri Retailers Association, says shoppers will not have to pay state sales tax for clothing, computers and school supplies with certain value limits. Some municipalities might still charge local sales tax.

Missouri shoppers hit retailers for Back-to-school sales tax holiday weekend

“It is a very popular weekend for a number of back to school shoppers. The larger family with a couple of kids going into high school and maybe one going to college, the holiday can save some money, especially at stores that want to promote holiday sales,” he says.

Overfelt tells Missourinet the state’s retailers are geared up for a big weekend.

“The holiday is a great thing to get people out into the local stores and purchasing locally over internet warehouses,” Overfelt says. “It’s a big deal for the stores to participate and really promote it and have sales and promote to get people to come into the store.”

Many student head back to school in mid-August.

“I think by having it this first weekend in August, kind of gives us a little one up on other states that we might be competing with,” Overfelt says.

He says the exemptions offset themselves.

“The Department of Revenue has always concluded that the sales tax holiday does not hurt or help the revenue for that quarter,” Overfelt says. “It really has no impact on the state budget.”

Restrictions include:
• An article of clothing cannot exceed a taxable value of $100.
• School supplies are not to exceed $50 per purchase and graphing calculators are not to exceed $150.
• Computer software cannot exceed a taxable value of $350 and personal computers or computer peripheral devices cannot exceed $1,500.

Missouri’s back-to-school sales tax-free weekend was established by the legislature in 2004.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Mizzou Greek houses face changes meant to fight hazing, excessive drinking

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A 40-member task force has issued several recommendations intended to combat risky behavior at Mizzou’s fraternities and sororities, including excessive drinking and hazing. Spokesman Christian Basi tells Missourinet the group has released an 18-page report detailing a variety of ways that could transform the environment within the school’s Greek system. He says in the fall of 2017, there was an “immediate need” to do a full review of the university’s Student Affairs division.

Mizzou Greek houses face changes meant to fight hazing, excessive drinking

“We knew that it was time to take a look and see where Mizzou was and what we were envisioning for the future and how to get there,” he says. “We were looking at what was happening on our campus. We were looking at what was happening nationally. We also were in a position where we were reviewing the entire division of Student Affairs.”

In December 2016, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported almost half of the fraternities on the Columbia campus were on probation, with most involving alcohol violations.

Rumors also surfaced that year about some members of Delta Upsilon fraternity drugging women and raping them. They led to no charges by the university, police or any individual. The fraternity remains closed after the national chapter suspended it for “repeated violations of fraternity policy”.

Mizzou does not have jurisdiction over the fraternities and sororities. The national chapters run them.

The review process included having two outside consultants examine the Greek system. The task force was later formed and reviewed the consultant reports. It was charged with customizing the recommendations to Mizzou’s campus.

“Throughout this entire process, the number one factor that everyone had at the top of their mind is safety,” Basi says. “We want to make sure that our students that come here that want to have the Greek experience have a safe experience but one that also contributes to their education while they are here at Mizzou.”

The task force is made up of students, faculty, staff, Greek members and alumni and national Greek governing boards.

One of the recommendations would limit social events with alcohol to Thursday through Sunday only. Parties could last up to four hours.

They would also be banned during the first week of classes, when the university is closed for business and during any governing council’s designated recruitment period, including Bid Day.

Greek parties are currently allowed any day of the week, except for during finals week. They must end by 1 a.m. and are restricted to a maximum of five hours.

The panel also wants to require that new Greek members be chosen within six weeks, instead of one or two semesters.

“It’s more risky for hazing violations to occur when you have a longer member stage,” Basi says. “This is based off of research as well as best practices across the country.”

Instead of forbidding all first-year students from living in Greek housing, the group has proposed a three-tier system by which only the highest-performing houses can accept first-year students in the fall semester. A second tier would allow first-year students in the spring semester if certain requirements are met. Those in both tiers would be required to meet “stringent” benchmarks for academic performance, member education and participation, adhering to university policy, and maintaining an alcohol and drug-free environment.

All other chapters would default into level one, which would not allow first-year students to live on site.

Other proposed measures include:

• Developing policies to encourage self-reporting of hazing incidents, including one that would prevent punishment for those who report such allegations.

• Allowing only active members to live in fraternity and sorority houses.

• Hiring a full-time staff member within the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life to focus on diversity and inclusion education and support culturally based organizations within the fraternity and sorority community.

• Developing a set of uniform social policies that are adopted by all four Greek councils, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, and the Office of Student Accountability and Support. The goal of this measure is to eliminate confusion and ensure that all fraternities and sororities are held to the same standards with policies endorsed by the university.

The task force recommends implementing the new system in fall 2019. Basi says some of the recommendations could be implemented next year and amended at any time if there are concerning trends.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Bolivar becomes second ‘Autism Friendly City’ in Missouri

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BOLIVAR, Mo. – Bolivar in southwest Missouri has proclaimed itself as an “Autism Friendly City”. The designation means the city commits to training its employees, businesses, churches, schools, and daycares about autism.

Angel Haun helped to launch Autism Awareness in Polk County, a support and social group for parents and autistic individuals. She says autism is often considered an invisible disability. To counter that, she is working on making autism visible understood and accepted. Her 14-year-old son Braden is on the spectrum.

“They are not odd. They want to be included. They want to have friends,” she says. “Being a rural community, we did not have a lot of resources.”

She took her efforts a step further and helped Bolivar to become an Autism Friendly City.

Bolivar Mayor Christopher Warwick anticipates long-term impact for the entire community.

“In the ten to 15-year-term of those folks coming into the workforce, or just being a citizen here,” he says.

Elizabeth Obrey is the vice president of STARS, “Service, Training, Awareness, Respects and Support,” an autism organization in Battlefield. In 2014, the city near Springfield became the first Autism Friendly Community in Missouri.

“To become autism-friendly you have to know what autism is and what it means,” says Obrey. “If you are going to have to travel to a sensory-friendly event and you have to travel a half an hour there and then a half an hour back. Families shouldn’t have to leave their hometown to feel welcome.”

The goal is inclusion, helping families find services and support right at home.

“One of my hopes is that we are not going to get the stares that we do when we have a meltdown at Walmart because they are out of our favorite peanut butter,” says Haun.

Bolivar is one of three U.S. cities calling itself an Autism Friendly City. Haun, Obrey and Mayor Warwick hope their commitment is the beginning of a snowball effect of autism awareness in Missouri.

By Jennifer Abreu of Springfield television station KOLR

New state budget includes jump in public school safety funding, but Missouri still lags behind

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The new state budget signed into law dedicates $300,000 to address school safety demands within Missouri’s K-12 public districts. Details are still being worked out about the best way the funds will be distributed, according to Melissa Randol with the Missouri School Boards’ Association (MSBA) She tells Missourinet the state has taken a positive step to help ensure that no child is harmed at school.

New state budget includes jump in public school safety funding, but Missouri still lags behind

“Our schools are the safest place in our community in Missouri and actually throughout our country,” Randol says. “We maintain that and we’re proud of that but we need to continue to make sure we can have these environments that are safe for our children. One child being injured, harmed or God forbid killed is intolerable.”

During the 2015-16 school year, Randol’s association distributed $575,000 in state funding to Missouri’s roughly 500 public school districts. The allotment was one of the two years the MSBA received money and the most it received from the state to distribute to schools.

“We’ve had it as a high priority as our association for a number of years but we’re thankful this year that the state of Missouri is kicking in some to help our local school districts make sure that our kids are safe at all times, particularly when they are under our care,” she says.

Former Governors Jay Nixon, a Democrat, and Eric Greitens, a Republican, have both vetoed school safety funding in state budgets from some previous years.

“We don’t have a long history of receiving funding for school safety, but $300,000 is not high but it’s about average,” says Randol.

According to Randol, Missouri ranks near the bottom in school safety funding. She goes on to say the state’s financial commitment does not mean efforts are not being made by Missouri officials. Her association has partnered with a number of state agencies to share information regularly and discuss what can be done collectively.

Randol says the funding involves a multi-faceted approach.

“We are looking at this not as a one-size-fits-all approach but working with school districts to determine what best meets their needs,” says Randol. “We also see school safety as not something that can be addressed exclusively by a school district but it needs to be a partnership with the community.”

The funding could be used to address things like providing security officers, technology upgrades, threats involving weapons and digital mediums, the prevention of suicides, school bus safety, bullying, keeping students safe from sexual predators, addictive prescription drug misuse and mental health issues, among other things.

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for Americans ages 10-24 and the number of teen suicides has hit an all-time high in Missouri. According to an analysis by the Kansas City Star, 73 children ages 10 to 19 years old killed themselves in 2016.

In March, a student at Kingston High School in eastern Missouri’s Cadet shot himself to death in a school bathroom. The student reportedly sought mental health treatment about four years ago.

Missouri is among a number of U.S. states who let K-12 teachers carry concealed guns on school grounds. Randol says many of the districts who have armed teachers are ones who do not have law enforcement nearby. Missouri educators who are packing on school property are required to complete training.

The funding could also help to focus efforts on Missouri’s School Violence Hotline, which has not had a financial commitment from the state in several years. The hotline still exists today but with restricted work. It allows the public to report anonymous information about school violence by phone, online, an app or through text messaging.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Poor performing Missouri charter school set to close this week sues to stay open

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Benjamin Banneker Charter Academy in Kansas City is preparing to close its doors this week but school officials aren’t going without a fight. They have sued the State of Missouri in an attempt to stay open and have been in a legal battle with state officials for months.

Poor performing western Missouri charter school set to close this week sues to stay open

In December, the University of Central Missouri announced it would no longer sponsor Benjamin Banneker and declined to renew the charter agreement. The move left the charter school with the task of finding another sponsor or face closure on June 30. State law requires public charter schools to have an area sponsor to operate and Benjamin Banneker has failed to find another sponsor.

Vicky Hughes with the University of Central Missouri has told Missourinet that Benjamin Banneker’s consistently low performance levels led to the decision to cut ties with the charter school. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education use Annual Performance Report (APR) scores to calculate academic achievement in public schools. According to department data, Benjamin Banneker’s Annual APR scores include:

2014: 71%
2015: 60%
2016: 47%
2017: 45%

An APR higher than 70% is considered fully accredited and below 50% is unaccredited. The state does not accredit charter schools but sponsors can choose to revoke a charter contract if the sponsor does not feel a charter school is meeting certain benchmarks.

In court documents filed, Benjamin Banneker officials claim an unknown breach of contract against UCM and discrimination by UCM, the Missouri State Board of Education, interim State Education Commissioner Roger Dorson, and board members Charlie Shields, Victor Lenz and Mike Jones. The school’s student population is 99% African-American.

The charter school goes on to say that pursuant to the Charter Schools Act, both the Board and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education are “utterly absent from a sponsor’s decision not to renew a charter”.

The school is seeking to remain open, an unspecified amount in damages and “specific performance”.

Another court hearing on the case is set for Thursday in Cole County Circuit Court.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Missouri legislator asks governor for emergency help in fighting St. Louis homicides

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Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis

State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, wants Gov. Mike Parson to declare a state of emergency in response to the homicide rate in the city she represents. In a letter to the governor on Monday, Nasheed calls the murder figure an “unyielding and deadly public health threat”.

She asks for the declaration to free up resources from the Missouri Departments of Public Safety, Health and Senior Services and Mental Health. Nasheed wants the assistance to cover services to schools for care by trauma professionals and diversion programs for youth. She goes on to say the declaration would give police the extra tools to fight crime.

“If we can spend billions of dollars to fight the Taliban half a world away, surely we can put a fraction of those dollars to work here at home combatting drug dealers and gangs on the streets of St. Louis,” Nasheed says.

Her letter cites 79 homicides in the St. Louis area so far this year, including Monday’s fatal shooting outside of a downtown Pizzaria.

UM System President emphasizes jobs, research and health care with governor (AUDIO)

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The UM System President says Governor Mike Parson (R) is committed to Missouri and to public higher education.

UM System President Dr. Mun Choi

System President Dr. Mun Choi accompanied Parson during the governor’s recent tour of the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Choi says he and his team had a great conversation with the governor about the value the System can provide for economic development and workforce infrastructure.

“But most importantly, how we leverage the educational research into opportunities to create new businesses right here in Columbia in areas in which we can save lives,” Dr. Choi says.

He’s referring to areas like cancer and cardiovascular disease.

President Choi has said that the UM System is working to train more doctors, dentists, engineers and pharmacists in the state.

Dr. Choi says Governor Parson reached out to his office, before last week’s tour at Mizzou.

“Which goes to show that he sees the value of our university, but we have to be now accountable, we can’t take that for granted,” says Choi. “We have to really deliver on our promises of creating excellence in everything that we do.”

Dr. Choi told the governor that the UM System and its four campuses have a $5.4 billion impact on the state, and that 61,000 people have jobs either directly or indirectly because of the university system.

Governor Parson says businesses must be involved in partnerships with colleges and universities.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and UM System President Dr. Mun Choi, which was recorded at the University of Missouri-Columbia campus on June 13, 2018:

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Eastern Missouri woman takes Miss Missouri crown

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Eastern Missouri woman takes Miss Missouri crown

Thirty Missouri women have competed in this year’s Miss Missouri with Katelyn Lewis of Lake St. Louis taking the crown and a $13,000 college scholarship. During Saturday night’s talent portion of the pageant at the Missouri Military Academy in northeast Missouri’s Mexico, Lewis sang “Phantom of the Opera”.

She tells Missourinet affiliate KXEO in northeast Missouri’s Mexico that she hopes to use her platform, Digital Compass, to promote a positive online presence.

This is her fourth year competing for the title.

Other finalists include first runner up Chelsea Arnold of Springfield, second runner up Simone Esters of Columbia, third runner up Katie Moeller of Kansas City and fourth runner up Ali Skinner of Maryville.

Lewis will compete in September’s Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City.

Aimee Higgins of Missourinet affiliate KXEO in Mexico contributed to this story.