Jackson School Board discusses plan to improve education

The Jackson School Board unanimously voiced its approval for the Missouri Vision Project during its meeting Tuesday.

The project, a joint effort between the Missouri School Boards' Association and the Missouri Association of School Administrators, was initiated in 2010 to develop a comprehensive plan to improve the educational experience in every school district within the state, according to an outline provided to the board from the Missouri Public Education Vision Project.

To that end, the project reflects three major goals: to create unifying principles to change the education culture in Missouri; to provide guidance to local school districts as they develop plans for increased educational opportunities in their communities; and to build trust and support for public education, the materials said.

"We'll be hearing more about the project as time goes on," board president Terri Tomlin said during the meeting. "It will represent the future of education in Missouri."

The project consists of core components that recommend focus in seven areas: teaching, which involves curriculum and instruction; early learning, which concerns student readiness and funding options for early childhood programs; values, which relate to issues involving school climate and student safety; people, which involves recruitment and selection of teachers; leadership, which calls for action from local school boards and superintendents; environment, which centers on the physical structure of the school and classroom size; and finance, which concerns potential sources of revenue on a state and local level and also from federal educational funding, according to the outline.

Implementing the project's components in Missouri school districts will take time, particularly the areas that involve funding from taxpayers, board members said during the discussion, but they expect better prepared students living and working in a global society, equipped with the knowledge, skills and character traits required for their future.

"I'm very happy with the project," assistant superintendent Rita Fisher said after the meeting. "And I'm even happier that the board has unanimously approved its recommendations."

* In other business, the board unanimously approved a property tax rate of $3.80 per every $100 valuation for the 2012-2013 school year.

Pertinent address:

614 E. Adams St., Jackson, Mo.