Thayer Schools Earn Distinction in Performance

A total of 319 Missouri school districts – 11 fewer than last year – have qualified for the state’s “Distinction in Performance” recognition, based on their academic achievement during the last school year (2008-09), state education officials announced today.   Thayer R-2 School District is proud to be among these top performing schools in the state. 

Of this year’s recipients, 266 are K-12 districts and 53 are K-8 districts. There are 523 public school districts in Missouri, enrolling a total of about 900,000 students.

The Distinction in Performance recognition is based on the 14 academic performance standards that are the basis of the state’s accreditation program for all school districts. The standards are based on scores from the state-mandated MAP tests, high school end-of-course exams, graduation rates, ACT scores, and other measures.

“To qualify for Distinction in Performance, a school district must be achieving at a high level or making consistent progress at all grade levels. School districts work hard to achieve this recognition,” said Stan Johnson, assistant commissioner for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

To qualify for the award this year, K-8 districts had to meet 6 out of 7 performance standards that apply to these districts, including all of those that are based on the results of the MAP tests. K-12 districts had to meet 13 of 14 standards, including all of the MAP-based measures.

Graduation Matters

Graduating from high school is as important now as ever and maybe more so.  Across the state graduation rates seem to be declining.  Students must understand that in today's society that a high school education is a must if they are to be successful.  Promoting this and imbedding it into minds of our youth is not only the schools role, but the community's as well. 

“Our ultimate goal is to help Missourians prepare themselves with the goals, education and skills they need to be competitive and prosperous throughout their careers,” said Michele Clark, a communications specialist at DESE and coordinator of the project. “Part of that effort involves convincing some young people of the critical importance of staying in school, graduating and preparing for what comes after high school.”

Thayer schools hope that everyone gets behind this movement and encourages a child to stay in school.  Click the link Graduation Matters to watch a video clip on the importance of staying in school or listen to KKountry 95 for the public service announcement, because graduation does matter.

Improving Communications

The district is looking into the Alert Now notification system. This system is being used by many schools in the state to keep parents and students informed, including the Springfield Public Schools. The system would give immediate updates in the event of emergencies, school closures, or public service announcements. Another feature of the system is to keep parents informed of their child’s attendance. Once morning attendance is taken the system would call and inform the parents if their child is in school or not. The system can call a home number, a cell phone, or email depending on the parent’s choice. We know at times parents get upset when we call to check why their child is not in school. We are not doing this to check or judge their parenting skills. We believe that parents need to know this information in the event that they believe their child is in school and in fact they are not. Early intervention could save lives. We value your feedback on implementation of a notification system.

Has The Flu Gone Away?

Our attendance is back to normal this week, but we don't need to get complacent.  The flu is now wide-spread across the state and although we had it run through the school a few weeks ago doesn't mean it will not reappear its ugly head.  We are still encouraging parents to remind the students of safe practices to prevent the spread of viruses.  Wash your hands or use sanitizer.  All classrooms have sanitizer and there is a wall mounted dispenser next to the cafeteria serving line.  Cover your cough.  It is everyones responsibility to keep others safe and not to expose them to airborn infections.  Keep your children at home if they have a fever.  I understand that both parents have to work in many families and there is no one to watch the kids, but sending sick children to school jeopardizes the welfare and safety of everyone.

Thayer Meets All Standards on Annual Performance Report

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released the preliminary APR, Annual Performance Report, today for school districts in Missouri.  Thayer is proud to announce that the school has met all 14 standards which qualifies them to be classified as being accedited with Distinction In Performance.  This will make the fourth consecutive year that Thayer has recieved such an honor. 

The APR is used in the Missouri School Improvement Program to track performance of school districts.  The report is broken down into 14 indicators.  Six of the indicators deal with MAP, Missouri Assessment Program, test scores broken down into grade spans.  The MAP data in Mathematics and Communication Arts is used to determine if a district has met a standard established by the State Board of Education. 

In addition to the MAP scores, additional indicators include: ACT scores, Advance Course Offerings, Career Eduation Courses, College Placement, Career Ed Placement, Graduation Rate, Attendance Rate, and Subgroup Achievement. 

Thayer School District will under go a MSIP review this March.  District undergo reviews every five years.  We are proud of the hard work our parents, students, and teachers have given to this school system. 

Welcome Alumni

Thayer School's administration and staff welcome alumni and visitors to our homecoming activties.  School will be dismissed at 11:45 on Friday so that the we can prepare for the parade to be held downtown starting at 2:00.  I hope that everyone can attend.  We anticipate a large crowd for the football game against Miller which kicks off district play.  There is plenty of parking at the football field, high school parking lot and the elementary parking lot.  Parking fills fast, so if you want to park close to the field you must arrive early. 

We have been seeing our attendance from the recent flu concerns continue to improve.  This morning, Thursday, October 15th, our attendance at the high school is normal at 94% and the elementary school is at 92%. 

Attendance Picking Up

Attendance at Thayer Schools continues to improve.  It appears that we have seen the number of children sick start to decline from the peek last Friday.  Today, October the 14th our morning attendance rate is at 91.2% at the high school and 90% at the elementary school.  We continue to ask the parents to monitor their children and not to sent them to school with a fever.  Keep children home for an additional 24 hours after the fever breaks.