The R3 School Board Thursday night began discussing ways to monitor and improve student achievement.
School Board President Leroy Wade made the suggestion last month and the board began discussing ways to redesign their procedures and administrative reports to make them more effective at board meetings.
"Our goal is better student achievement. We can have great teachers but the key is students must understand the material and learn. Covering the material is not enough. Students must learn," said Interim Superintendent Thomas Baugh.
The board wants to hear a presentation from a representative from the Missouri School Board Association (MSBA) on its comprehensive plan to help guide the board in finding ways to make sure student achievement improves.
MSBA offers a plan for $2,000 to help the board set up procedures to measure and hold individual administrators and teachers accountable for various duties designed to improve student test scores.
The board agreed to send a letter of condolences to the North Callaway School District for the tragic death of a 6-year-old student who was run over accidentally by a school bus just after the child got off the bus at Williamsburg.
The accident prompted New Bloomfield administrators to hold a special class for elementary students training them on procedures when leaving a school bus and waiting for the driver to signal them before walking in front of the bus.
Administrators told the board that the school district is making strides in improving student achievement and reducing the dropout rate.
The board heard a letter written by Jimmy W. Ohem, a substitute teacher at the school, who praised the changes that had been made during the last two years at the New Bloomfield school. He said student behavior has improved and the learning atmosphere is much better than it was four years earlier. "Most of all I see teachers who care about seeing the students receive the best education possible," Ohem wrote.
Baugh said open enrollment continues to be a hot topic in the Missouri General Assembly. But he said such a change allowing students to enroll at neighboring school districts could cause enormous transportation and other problems for rural schools.
Baugh said the New Bloomfield School District has received interest from two firms in bidding on private operation of the food service program at the school. He said the food service bid will be considered at the board's meeting next month.
The superintendent said bids also will be taken on elementary school playground improvements, erection of a greenhouse and improvements to the recently completed new track.