MSIP REVIEW BEGINS AT JACKSON SCHOOLS

JACKSON -- Members of the Jackson School Board were interviewed about the overall state of their district during a special board meeting Tuesday evening.

The meeting was part of a week-long mandatory state evaluation which is conducted in Missouri school districts on five-year rotations.

"We felt like it went really well," said school board president Marvin Adams. "They had a set agenda of general questions that they directed at the board as a whole, and if we had input, we answered the questions."

Two team leaders from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education questioned board members about various aspects of the school district, including finances, educational programs and curriculum, and district facilities during the hour-long meeting. The team leaders are part of the 40-member Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP) team that is evaluating the school district this week.

"All of the process is to look at our school district in light of the state standards," said superintendent Dr. Howard Jones. "A lot of the questions had to do with how (board members) perceived the district and the processes within our district."

A reception sponsored by the Jackson Chamber of Commerce was held in the Middle School cafeteria following the interview. Representatives from the Chamber of Commerce, school board and MSIP team attended the reception. "The officers and some members of the chamber of commerce hosted the reception," said Adams. "They provided refreshments and handed out packets to let them know a little about why we think the city of Jackson is so special."

The school district has been preparing for the state evaluation since mid-summer. One of the things the district did was create a written curriculum policy that has been placed on display in each school and at the two public libraries in Jackson.

"They wanted to make sure we're aware of the things mandated by the state, and to make sure we had written school objectives, policies and goals in place," Adams said. "We've been preparing for this for most of the year, so we were prepared for this. I'm sure they'll delve into the manuals and things further in the next one or two days."

The MSIP team is stationed in the Jackson Middle School library through Friday. As part of the evaluation, team members will interview faculty, administrators and staff about the district. They will also study the district's personnel and discipline policies to determine whether they are within state guidelines for hiring, discipline and safety, among other issues. An exit-interview is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

The team will draft a report about the district based on its findings.

If improvement recommendations are made in the report, the district has one year after the final draft of the report is issued to create improvement plans.