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Missourinet

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You are here: Home / Archives for Missouri Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven

Missouri schools join forces to help military children

April 15, 2021 By Alisa Nelson

Lengthy separations from a parent serving in the military. Heightened anxiety about the safety of their mom or dad in uniform. Frequent moves from one town to the next and leaving familiar things behind. Overlaps in school curriculum and graduation requirement differences. Watching a military parent return home with an injury, or an invisible one like depression or post-traumatic stress. The grief of losing loved ones in combat. These are some of the realities that take a toll on young military hearts every day.

Navigating these challenges takes a village. Some Missouri schools have joined forces with families in the Armed Services to help provide military students with a softer academic landing.

Dr. Blaine Henningsen is the assistant commissioner in the Office of College and Career Readiness at the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. He tells Missourinet the school districts near the state’s two active-duty bases – Fort Leonard Wood in Waynesville and Whiteman Air Force Base in Knob Noster and Warrensburg – are especially committed to the state’s more than 12,000 military kids.

Missouri Capitol (Photo courtesy of Gov. Parson’s Flickr page)

Take Knob Noster, for instance. It has a feature smack dab on the home page of its website detailing its commitment to the military student population.

“With two out of every three Knob Noster students being military-connected, we understand the challenges of military children and families that result from frequent PCS assignments and deployments. The education of all students is very important to us and our team is committed to facilitating your transition into our schools in a welcoming, supportive, and positive manner. Once enrolled, we are dedicated to providing excellent, personalized learning and leadership opportunities for your children,” the page says. “For 2016 and 2017, Knob Noster Public Schools received the highest Annual Performance Report from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education of all school districts in the region. In 2017, Knob Noster Public Schools also produced the top Advanced Placement Qualifying Scores in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math of all high schools across Global Strike Command.”

Global Strike Command is a U.S. Air Force command in charge of America’s nuclear weapons arsenals. It includes the storage of weapons and weapons systems delivery.

Liz Clark serves as Whiteman Air Force Base’s school liaison for 19 Missouri public school districts in the Knob Noster area and all the way up to the Jackson County region. She tells Missourinet many programs are in place to help these families at home and at school.

“If the family is under stress, the active-duty member can’t do the mission,” Clark says. “We want to help make sure the family is as prepared as possible with every resource they can have so that when it comes time for deployment or when it comes time to PCS, which is changing from one base to another, that they’re ready.”

She says the base works one-on-one with families transitioning from other bases, for deployment reasons, and for other events. It holds camps for kids, team-building workshops, and helps students apply for college scholarships. Operation Homefront hooks up each military student with a free backpack annually.

Clark says the base works closely with the military life counselors in school districts. There is a peer-to-peer program in the schools, essentially a buddy system, to pair up a new student with a student that has been around for a while. The base also works closely with the Exceptional Family Member Program to help connect family members with special needs and get them support services.

She says new initiatives and options happen frequently, like virtual services, grant opportunities, and STEM programs for math and science lovers.

Clark says the programs have been very beneficial.

“The military member, of course, is who signs up. It’s the whole family unit that is really serving,” she says.

The state plans to launch a Purple Star School Program in August to showcase schools who are going above and beyond the call of duty to support Missouri’s military kids. The Military Child Education Coalition says nine other states have similar programs and when Missouri launches one, there will be 10. Henningsen says the program is an effort that has been in the works for a couple years.

Missouri Capitol (Photo courtesy of Gov. Parson’s Flickr page)

“I think the various branches of the military are really taking a long, hard look at the communities where their bases are located and they are looking at the quality of life situations that those communities offer. We think Missouri is in a good place, says Henningsen. “When we work with our economic development people around the state, they have really emphasized the importance of these military bases, not only in terms of the jobs and the economic impact they have on their local communities, but all around the state because there are lots of supporting industries and businesses. What we are seeing here is when we have these thousands of military personnel deployed to Fort Leonard Wood or Whiteman Air Force Base, at the time of their leaving military service, we’re seeing many of those move back to other areas of the United States. But we want them to know how important they are to us and we want them to really consider Missouri as a place to live, work, and to raise their families after their military service.”

Joe Driskill, the executive director of the Missouri Office of Military Advocate, says U.S. Department of Defense information updated this year shows Missouri has a total of roughly 43,000 members in military uniform and service civilians.

The program requirements are a work in progress but Henningsen says they are expected to include a designated military family liaison, professional development for teachers to help these students, and various military family recognition efforts.

“I think this Purple Star Program will show military families, when they move into these new communities, that they have a friend here in the local communities and that they have someone to go to,” he says.

According to the Military Child Education Coalition, a military-connected child can expect to move six to nine times from kindergarten through their high school graduation, with approximately 200,000 students transitioning to a new school in any given year. It says about 80% of America’s military kids attend public schools. Schools are often a source of stability for these students.

Missouri Governor’s Mansion (Photo courtesy of Gov. Parson’s Flickr page)

“The physical, social and emotional well-being of military children is essential not only to that student’s success in the classroom, but also the success of their family who have dedicated their lives to serving our country,” Missouri Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven said in a press release.

Gov. Mike Parson, a U.S. Army veteran, has proclaimed April as the Month of the Military Child. He wants to pay tribute to Missouri’s military children for their commitment and sacrifice as they support their family members who have sworn to serve and protect our country.

“When parents serve our country, their kids serve too,” he said in a press release.

Parson has designated today as “Purple Up Day” – a day to encourage Missouri businesses and citizens to wear purple and hang purple ribbons to show support for military children. The color purple represents all branches of the military; it is the combination of each of their respective colors combined into one. The Missouri Capitol dome and Governor’s Mansion in Jefferson City will also be shining the color purple tonight.

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

Filed Under: Business, Education, Military, News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: Dr. Blaine Henningsen, Exceptional Family Member Program, Fort Leonard Wood, Global Strike Command, governor mike parson, Knob Noster Public Schools, Liz Clark, Military Child Education Coalition, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Missouri Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven, Office of College and Career Readiness, Operation Homefront, Purple Star School Program, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, Whiteman Air Force Base

Former Missouri House Education Committee chair laid to rest; described as statesman and champion (AUDIO)

January 22, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s education commissioner and a number of current and former state lawmakers traveled to southern Missouri’s Ava for Thursday’s funeral for former State Rep. Maynard Wallace, R-Thornfield.

Former State Rep. Maynard Wallace, R-Thornfield, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on April 8, 2010 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

An obituary from Clinkingbeard Funeral Homes says Mr. Wallace died suddenly at his home on Sunday. He was 77.

The Thornfield Republican served in the Missouri House for eight years, from 2003-2010. He chaired the powerful Missouri House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee during his final two years.

State Sen. Karla Eslinger, R-Wasola, describes Wallace as a champion for public education.

“He would find an opportunity for folks to understand that we have some really good schools out there,” Eslinger says. “He was very proud of the work of the schools in his (southern Missouri) district, and so he was able to share those success stories to folks who may not have that perception of public education.”

Wallace also served as a school superintendent in Ava and in southwest Missouri’s Forsyth. Eslinger served as assistant superintendent under Wallace, at Ava.

She tells Missourinet that Wallace was a statesman.

“The difference between a politician and a statesman is that a politician is worried about the next election, a statesman is worried about the next generation. And I think that is definitely Maynard Wallace,” says Eslinger.

After leaving the Legislature, Wallace also served three years on the State Board of Education. He also served six years on the Missouri State Tourism Commission.

Senator Eslinger also describes him as a devoted husband, grandfather and a man of faith.

Former State Sens. David Sater, R-Cassville, and Mike Cunningham, R-Rogersville, were among the many former and current lawmakers who attended the funeral.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full five-minute interview with State Sen. Karla Eslinger, R-Wasola, which was recorded on January 21, 2021:

https://cdn.missourinet.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/bh-senatoreslinger.mp3

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

Filed Under: Education, History, Legislature, News Tagged With: Ava, former State Rep. Maynard Wallace, former State Sen. David Sater, former State Sen. Mike Cunningham, Forsyth, Missouri Board of Education, Missouri Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven, Missouri House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee, Missouri State Tourism Commission, State Sen. Karla Eslinger, Thornfield, Wasola

Initial shipment of COVID-19 tests headed to Missouri K-12 schools

October 27, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Missouri has shipped thousands of antigen test kits to public and private schools around the state. A state press release says nearly 330 districts/schools applied to get the tests, totaling nearly 583,000 test kits for use among symptomatic students and school workers.

Missouri sends initial shipment of COVID-19 tests to schools statewide

The tests, which are not uncomfortable like the traditional nasal swab tests, can deliver results in about 15 minutes.

“We believe these rapid antigen tests, in conjunction with other mitigation strategies, could be instrumental in helping schools provide onsite learning opportunities safely,” says State Education Commissioner Dr. Margie Vandeven.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education says districts/schools that applied will receive the number of test kits requested (up to one test per student and staff member, due to limited inventory) in incremental shipments over the coming months. In the state’s current inventory, there are approximately 240,000 test kits available to distribute to K-12 schools that have provided the required assurances and documentation.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has prioritized public and private K-12 schools to receive the Abbott BinaxNOW rapid antigen test kits free of charge, along with higher education schools and long-term care center. Missouri is expected to get a total of 1.84 million of the kits.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Filed Under: Education, News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: Abbott BinaxNOW, COVID-19, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Missouri Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Missouri leaders brief panel about COVID-19 response efforts

August 12, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

A Missouri House Committee heard Tuesday from state Department of Health and Senior Services Director Randall Williams and K-12 Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven. During a public hearing at the state Capitol in Jefferson City, they briefed lawmakers about the state’s response to COVID-19, its spending of federal coronavirus relief funds, and reopening measures taken by Missouri’s schools.

Missouri Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven

The hearing is the second time the Special Committee on Disease Control and Prevention has met. The first time was in March.

Vandeven says the state’s goal is to get as many school buildings open as possible and as safely as possible. She says students could take a real toll if they miss out on months of in-person learning.

“We’re hearing about an increase in suicides,” says Vandeven. “We’re hearing about just what this long-term social and emotional development, particularly for our youngest learners, the impact that we could see decades from now.”

Representative Lane Roberts, a Republican from Joplin and a former Missouri Public Safety Director, says not all students will be safe at home if they are doing online classes.

“When they’re out doing other things, they’re engaging in activities that in my opinion, based on some experience, that those activities generate more injury and death than they would suffer from the virus,” says Roberts.

Vandeven says parents and school leaders should consider both sides of the risk.

“If you go back to any kind of time frame when they are out of school, you do see increases in some of the activities that you are talking about,” she says.

According to Vandeven, the state has distributed as much federal coronavirus aid to Missouri schools as it can at this time. She says Missouri’s local governments can also use their own federal aid to support school-related health measures.

State Representative Kip Kendrick, D-Columbia, passionately encouraged all Missouri school leaders to require students and staff to wear masks.
“For the life of me, I cannot understand why it’s not 10%,” says Kendrick. “If we want to do in-seat, if we want to do this correctly, why is it not 100%.”

Vandeven says the state left the decision up to local leaders to make.

“We’ve certainly provided guidance that talks about the importance of wearing masks,” says Vandeven. “But particularly, if you’re within six feet, we’ve certainly emphasized the importance of that. But those are local decisions.”

“With all due respect, should this be a local decision on masks?” asks Kendrick.

Missouri Health and Senior Services Department Director Randall Williams

“Well, I’ll ask you all that because this is Missouri and we’ve typically always prided ourselves in being a local control state. I would have to say that we see our role as providing the best guidance that we possibly can and trusting that our local authorities know the best for their communities to make those decisions,” says Vandeven.

A German study shows about 20% of COVID-19 patients surveyed have developed heart problems, including some middle-aged adults with mild cases of the virus. Long after recovering, some patients have reported persistent symptoms like shortness of breath, fatigue, coughing and headaches. Some athletes have chosen to sit out the season out of fear of developing such health complications.

Dr. Williams says science is showing that COVID-19 can target the kidneys, the lungs and heart.

“That’s one thing that just makes me so sensitive to this idea why ‘I’m 25 years old, I’ll just get COVID-19 and go on.’ I don’t believe that’s true. I believe the that sequela of that, whether it’s to your point, two months from now you still have difficulty breathing or muscle aches, or that you give it to someone else. I just think we don’t want anybody to get COVID-19 because I don’t think we know enough about it even at this juncture, eight months into it, to give any assurance to a young person that ‘you are just going to get it and get over it.’ I don’t know that we know that to be true,” says Williams.

MSBA’s Susan Goldammer

Due to the potential long-term health problems, Representative Matt Sain, D-Kansas City, suggested that school leaders shift to online learning until a vaccination is available and there’s more data about the disease.

Susan Goldammer with the Missouri School Boards’ Association testified before the committee. The group represents about 400 school districts around the state.

She says staffing during the pandemic is a prominent question schools are asking her organization about. She says some teachers are retiring early due to COVID-19. Missouri has had a persistent teacher shortage and could even have a shortage of substitute teachers and bus drivers this fall.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Filed Under: Education, Health / Medicine, Legislature, News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: COVID-19, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director Randall Williams, Missouri Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven, Missouri House Special Committee on Disease Control and Prevention, Missouri School Boards' Association, Representative Lane Roberts, Representative Matt Sain, State Representative Kip Kendrick, Susan Goldammer

Missouri schools get to decide whether to require masks, shift class sizes

June 25, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

State Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven says many Missouri K-12 public school districts and charter schools have asked their families and workers what their comfort levels are about restarting classes this fall.

“From what we know about these survey results, it seems the majority of our families and educators agree, they want to be back in school learning in person but with extra precautions,” she says.

Missouri Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven

Districts will get to decide whether to require students and staff to wear masks when classes resume. During a press conference today, Vandeven says the state is not mandating them to wear masks to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

“Circumstances vary across the state –the age of the child certainly makes a distance, the ability to social distance. There’s a lot of factors that go into the mask decision-making,” she says. “So, we have left that to the local level.”

According to Vandeven, class sizes could be smaller at some schools when they start back up in August. The decision will ultimately be up to local districts.

“That’s exactly where our leaders are right now, is trying to think about the best arrangements to make for students and schools. Again, will be left to the local district, we could not make that decision at the state level. Classrooms are different sizes, what’s happening in each of the regional communities is vastly different. But I can assure you, that is a primary topic of discussion for our school leaders,” says Vandeven.

She says the state is encouraging schools to shift away from incentivizing perfect attendance. Since student attendance is used in accountability measures and determining the level of state aid to schools, she says the Missouri Board of Education is waiving attendance figures for the state’s school improvement program, the MSIP accountability metric. She goes on to say the state is also working to address ways to make payments to districts for in-seat learning, online schooling, or a combination of both.

For schools that offer virtual education, Missouri’s lack of broadband internet access will continue to be felt.

“While educational opportunities continued to be provided during the school closures, one in five Missouri students could not take part in those options,” she says.

She says closing schools was necessary in March to help fight COVID-19. But she says there are several “serious consequences” that can come from students not attending school in person.

“We know that schools provide kids much-needed social interaction and development,” says Vandeven. “Many have expressed concern about the adverse effect of behavior and mental health on our children that they may have experienced during the disruption to their normal routine and social emotional growth.”

A task force is working to develop tools to help schools identify gaps in student learning, both academically and in social emotional development. Once identified, Vandeven says targeted supports and interventions can be provided to get students up to speed.

Another adverse effect Vandeven points to is the state’s Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline having as much as a 50% decline in calls since schools closed. Many school employees serve as mandated reporters who make those hotline calls.

Since schools closed in mid-March, they have continued to fill the stomachs of hungry kids. Teachers, administrators and others have served more than 19 million meals Missouri students.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Filed Under: Education, Health / Medicine, Legislature, News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: coronavirus, Missouri Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven

Missouri works to avoid K-12 funding decline from coronavirus inflicted attendance drop

June 10, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Some health experts predict a spike in coronavirus cases this fall – putting Missouri K-12 public schools in a potential funding dilemma. Missouri’s foundation formula – the system used to determine how much state aid to give to schools – is based on a combination of components, including student attendance figures and academic achievement.

Missouri works to avoid K-12 funding decline from coronavirus inflicted attendance drop

During Tuesday’s Missouri Board of Education meeting, members discussed how to avoid a drop in school funding as a result of possible coronavirus related attendance problems. President Charlie Shields, a former Missouri Senate president, thinks the state Legislature could be called back in September for a special session.

“So, should we ask the governor to put a couple things in play? One would be to figure out the attendance piece. We’ve got different scenarios for snow days and all kinds of other things, but nobody had one for COVID-19,” he says. “It would give us the flexibility to do something on attendance in terms of the formula. The other would be this issue if you withhold across the board, including hold harmless, during the emergency, that you don’t have to make that up somewhere throughout the rest of the fiscal year. Do we ask the governor to put that in his call for a special session to clarify those issues for us?”

The General Assembly returns each September to weigh whether to attempt an override of any vetoes the governor makes to bills passed during the regular session. A special session directly before or after a veto session is an efficient way to handle issues that some elected officials and stakeholders feel are urgent.

Deputy Commissioner Roger Dorson says state funding is given to schools on an annual basis. He indicates if the economy rebounds in a few months, then a potential legislative fix should take that scenario into consideration.

Commissioner Margie Vandeven says the health of students comes first – not perfect attendance.

“We will be asking parents to keep their children home if they are ill,” says Vandeven. “And we will be asking parents to keep their children home for symptoms that they may not have ever kept them home for in the past. So we expect to see a significant decline in attendance data, at the request of health officials and of school officials to say ‘Keep your children home.’ That’s one thing. The other thing we have never encountered before is, let’s suspect you have to quarantine an entire class, or an entire bus – just be thinking in terms of this could be 14 days. So, the way we’re trying to think about how to get this attendance waiver or whatever we need is to say ‘Should children stay home if they’re ill – yes. Should we stop talking about perfect attendance as the banner award for this year – yes.’”

Vandeven says the state must also figure out how to ensure that students can continue learning from home if they are quarantined.

Meanwhile, a new state statute requires Missouri K-12 public school districts to start 14 days prior to Labor Day or later, unless the state Board of Education waives the regulation. Some school districts have expressed an interest in starting the school calendar year earlier in the fall to beat an anticipated climb in coronavirus cases.

The board has given the education commissioner temporary power to let districts start earlier in August if they make the request and meet certain requirements. Local school boards must first hold a public hearing and explain how an exemption would benefit the students and reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

The following districts have asked to start earlier in August:

• East Newton Co. R-VI
• Lutie R-VI
• Weaubleau R-III
• Community R-VI
• Joplin Schools
• Hickory Co. R-I
• Tri-County R-VII
• Carthage R-IX

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is reviewing the requests.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Filed Under: Education, Health / Medicine, Legislature, News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: Charlie Shields, Missouri Board of Education, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Missouri Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven, Missouri legislature, Roger Dorson

Missouri K-12 districts can request to start school year earlier this fall

May 12, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

A new state statute requires Missouri K-12 districts to start 14 days prior to Labor Day or later, unless the state Board of Education waives the regulation. Today, the board voted to give the State Education Commissioner temporary authority to decide whether districts can start the school year earlier this fall. Under today’s action, schools interested in starting earlier must first get input by holding a public hearing at the very least and explain how an exemption would benefit the students and reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

Missouri K-12 districts can request to start school year earlier this fall

Some models show an uptick in coronavirus cases is projected in the fall – possibly affecting learning for kids. During today’s board meeting, President Charlie Shields, who runs Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, says schools play a big role in the community rates of the coronavirus infection.

“Our infectious disease people – they would tell you that while children are not particularly susceptible to COVID-19, although the science is changing on that rapidly, they are very good at transmission,” says Shields.

Member Mary Schrag of southern Missouri’s West Plains says she’s been asked whether schools are liable if they start earlier and an outbreak happens.

“I really like the idea of the public hearing because I think it allows people the option to be involved in the conversation,” she says. “And then it also, I hope, prevents people from immediately going ‘Well they started too soon. Are they liable?’”

Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven says one comment received about letting schools start earlier is the impact it could have on tourism revenue. The new state statute emerged from tourism and the Missouri State Fair being affected by kids going back to school earlier. But, Vandeven says options would be good for schools.

“But all the research and everything on the national circuit of what they’re talking about how to minimize this what they’re calling COVID loss, instead of learning loss, is to really grant schools flexibility to find the right time to re-enter. Summer school would allow for optional summer schools to be taking place in August already,” says Vandeven. “So, I think some are considering looking at summer school, but there are many who are saying ‘We need to get our teachers and our students and everybody back in place in early August.’”

Speaking of summer school, the board also voted today to give the commissioner the ability to lift a state regulation this year requiring summer school to last a minimum of 120 hours. If a school makes a request to waive the requirement, it would have to demonstrate why doing so is in the best interest of the students.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is reviewing ways to narrow the digital divide among students. The COVID-19 outbreak led to Missouri’s K-12 schools shuttering their doors in mid-March and coming up with a way to reach students in a matter of days. The pandemic has shined a light on the internet connectivity gap felt by Missouri students and shows that the problem stretches through rural and urban Missouri.

Some Missouri kids are learning the old school way through packets of educational materials because they don’t have access to broadband internet. That takes a Zoom class session out of the picture for some students and so is downloading school work or having coursework emailed.

Perry County School District in southeast Missouri took the bull by the horns during the coronavirus closure. It teamed up with area organizations to deploy school buses equipped with internet hotspots to designated locations in the county. Parents and students can drive up and access the internet to get learning materials needed.

A survey the department has conducted is helping to shape the way the state tries to narrow the gap. It shows the problem runs deeper than lack of service available.

The survey provided to the board shows one in five Missouri students – about 200,000 – do not have broadband internet access and cannot learn online. The survey, with responses from the state’s 555 school districts and charter schools, says affordability of internet service and devices is the main problem.

“That’s too many. One in five. We have to work together because who’s going to tolerate one in five kids,” asks Vandeven.

To view the survey, click here.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Filed Under: Education, Health / Medicine, Legislature, News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: Missouri Board of Education member Mary Schrag, Missouri Board of Education member Peter Herschend, Missouri Board of Education President Charlie Shields, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Deputy Commisssioner Roger Dorson, Missouri Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven, Missouri legislature, Missouri State Fair

Missouri K-12 schools to remain closed but learning continues rest of academic year

April 9, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Gov. Mike Parson has ordered that all of Missouri’s 555 public and charter schools remain closed through the rest of the academic year. The decision is in response to the coronavirus outbreak that has killed at least 77 people and infected more than 3,500 others in Missouri.

Missouri K-12 schools to remain closed but learning continues rest of academic year

In mid-March, Parson left it up to local districts to decide whether to call off classes. Schools have been closed ever since.

Kids won’t get off the hook that easily. During today’s COVID-19 briefing, Missouri K-12 Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven says remote learning will continue through the end of the school calendar year.

“School buildings will remain closed for the rest of the school year, but school continues,” she says.

Student meals will also continue through the academic year. Some districts are delivering meals to students and others are doing a “grab-n-go” concept.

“We know maybe now more than ever just how important our public schools are, how critical the services are that they provide their local communities and how important the work is that our educators do each day for our children,” says Vandeven.

During this unprecedented time, some parents have been brushing up on their education from earlier years by taking on the role of homeschooling and doing a little bonding with their kids at the same time. Some might have had to quit their jobs due to lack of childcare while their kids have been home. Others have had to juggle paid jobs, kids at home and helping with homework. Vandeven says the recommendation she made to the governor is not one that she made lightly.

She encourages school leaders to continue being creative and innovative in reaching students.

“We see some schools mailing or delivering to the front doorsteps packages to students who may not have access to technology or the internet,” says Vandeven. “While other teachers and students are learning to navigate video conferencing software to deliver and receive instruction, we cannot applaud these educators enough as well as our families at home for stepping up to the plate to make learning a possibility amid this new normal.”

In a statement from Melissa Randol, executive director of the Missouri School Boards’ Association, she says she agrees with the decision.

“Even though traditional classes will not resume this school year, education of our students will continue for the remainder of the year. The buildings may be closed, but quality education continues,” says Randol. “The Governor’s closure of schools is a necessary step to protect the health and safety of our students, teachers, staff and communities. In spite of the unprecedented challenges of the remote learning environment, our innovative educators throughout the state prioritize the needs of our children and continue to offer quality instructional opportunities.”

Vandeven says the department is working quickly to address district questions about summer school, graduation, internet broadband problems, among others.

Gov. Parson says Missouri’s high school seniors have worked hard for twelve years and the state will figure out a way for them to still walk down the graduation aisle at some point.

Filed Under: Education, Health / Medicine, Legislature, News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: coronavirus, COVID-19, governor mike parson, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Missouri Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven

(VIDEO) Watch governor’s daily press briefing about COVID-19

March 24, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

During today’s press briefing, Gov. Parson and various cabinet leaders gave a brief overview of what they are doing to respond to COVID-19. They also answered questions from reporters.

Watch the press conference below:

Filed Under: Education, Legislature, News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: coronavirus, COVID-19, DPS Director Sandy Karsten, Missouri Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven, Zora Mulligan

Missouri says no standardized tests, makeup days this school year due to COVID-19 problems

March 21, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Many of Missouri’s K-12 public school students will be thrilled. They don’t have to take statewide tests this school year and they don’t have to make up missed school days because of problems created by the coronavirus.

Missouri Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven

“There is a time and a place for statewide required assessments and now is not the time,” State Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven says on Twitter. “Rest assured, that we are taking this issue off of your plates so that you can serve the needs of our children.”

All Missouri public and charter schools have closed indefinitely, but some are teaching students remotely for the time being – a big adjustment in itself for many. Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, let school districts make the call on whether to continue holding classes, instead of ordering them to close.

According to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, missed calendar hours will not impact the calculation of average daily attendance. State funding to schools is usually figured through a formula that includes academic performance and attendance.

The department says districts and charters should make attendance decisions based on the safety and well-being of their students and staff, without concern that the low attendance numbers will negatively impact payment. Further guidance regarding school finance issues will be included in a separate memo from the Division of Financial and Administrative services early next week.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Filed Under: Education, Health / Medicine, Legislature, News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: coronavirus, COVID-19, governor mike parson, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Missouri Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven



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