Programs evaluated for Cape Girardeau School Board

The Cape Girardeau School Board heard evaluations of gifted, English Language Learners, preschool and Parents as Teachers programs Monday night from the district's special services coordinator.

Deena Ring gave "above average" ratings to the gifted and English Language Learners programs and "excellent" ratings to the preschool and Parents as Teachers programs.

Currently 229 students are participating in a gifted program in the district, and Ring said she expects the number to grow by the end of the year because testing of students for the program is beginning now.

A concern for the program is meeting minimal state time requirements.

According to state guidelines for gifted programs, gifted students must be provided a minimum of 150 minutes per week of exclusive contact time to work with a teacher of gifted students.

"Right now in the elementary schools we are meeting all five requirements, but that becomes increasingly difficult when students reach high school," Ring said.

Ring set the programs' goals as exploring how to exceed the minimal time requirements and updating the program handbook.

In the English Language Learners program, the district has seen an increase of 23 students from last year to a total of 89 students. This is the first year, Ring said, that every building in the district has students who are classified as an English Language Learner. Last year there was after-school tutoring available for students who did not speak English as a first language at the middle school, junior high and high school, and this year, Ring said, tutoring is planned to be extended to all the elementary schools as well. To address a greater need for instruction in English Language Learning, the district recently added a teacher.

Concerns include parent language barriers and increased student numbers and needs impacted by funding. Goals to improve the program include providing more opportunities for parent involvement and professional development for teachers.

Ring said preschool students of the district who participated in last year's kindergarten screening saw a significant increase in scores. There are currently 100 students in the program with 63 on the waiting list. Classrooms are located at Blanchard, Clippard and Jefferson elementaries. The goals for the program are to extend preschool in the remaining two elementary schools in the district, Alma Schrader and Franklin.

Ring also rated the district's Parents as Teachers program high, although the number of children being served by the program dropped from 450 to 242 between the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years. The local program lost around half of its state funding early this year and decreased staff members from four to two.

Ring said the two staff members, who provide developmental health screenings and child-rearing instruction for families with children ages birth to 3 years, are working hard but have so far been able to keep up with families that have a high need for support. Concerns regarding the program include the many "non-high needs" families on a waiting list for services, Ring said, as well as uncertainty about how much funding the program will receive this year.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

301 N. Clark Ave., Cape Girardeau, MO