Participants on Thursday tackled issues including indicators of student success and what Columbia Public Schools does well and where it can improve at the district’s World Cafe event at Stoney Creek Hotel and Conference Center.
Superintendent Brian Yearwood and his team last week looked at student achievement data and obstacles standing in the way of it. He went over many of the same points with estimated 180 attendees at the event.
Student attendance was “a bit of a sore spot for us” at 68% in 2021-22. That’s 68% if students in school at least 90% of the time.
“We have to improve upon that,” Yearwood said. “We have to get scholars to school to teach them.”
Out-of-school suspensions have increased over the past six years, he said.
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He talked of “out-of-control” student discipline.
Those suspended are disproportionately Black students.
“We’re attacking this problem,” Yearwood said. “If our scholars are out of school, they’re not learning.”
Missouri Assessment Program scores were another negative indicator.
But ACT scores surpass state and national averages, even with 90% of CPS students taking the ACT, compared with 75% statewide.
“It speaks to the quality of education that our scholars get in Columbia,” Yearwood said of ACT results.
Participants at each table first addressed putting scholars first in growth, innovation and achievement.
The reason a student’s not reading at grade level may be that they’re living in their car with their family, said Lisa Boyer, a parent and retired educator.
“His definition of growth was very limiting,” Boyer said of Yearwood. “The MAP test is ridiculous. It is one of the worst tests ever.”
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Focusing only on reading and math could drown a student’s curiosity in other areas, said parent Otto Fajen, Boyer’s husband and legislative director of the Missouri National Education Association.
Kids forgot how to do school when schools were closed during the pandemic, Boyer said.
“I don’t find it surprising at at that there are discipline issues,” Boyer said.
“I think we’re beginning to see the impacts of being out of school,” said parent Julia Grus.
Schools should place more emphasis on skilled trades and schools that teach them, Fajen said.
The second question addressed was indicators of success in achieving growth, innovation and achievement.
“The first thing that comes to mind is life skills, practical skills,” said parent Donna Williams. “Students need to learn to balance a checkbook.”
Altering the structure of the school experience is needed, said Janice Dawson Threat, leader of the educational not-for-profit Grade A Plus.
“One of the measures of success we push for is for students to have critical thinking skills,” Threat said.
The Columbia Public Library has many beneficial programs for children, Williams said.
“They have so many children’s programs,” she said. “They’re really an asset.”
What does CPS do well and where can it improve was the next question addressed at the tables. Participants were asked to switch tables for each new question.
Robyn Schelp praised the RISE program at Jefferson Middle School for students on special education plans. Her son is in it.
“It’s an amazing program,” said Schelp, who is president of Missouri Disability Empowerment. “He’s learning so many amazing things. I can’t seem to praise it enough.”
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Jefferson is ideal for her child, said Grus.
“The longevity of the teachers there is crazy,” Grus said. “All of the teachers just care and they want kids to succeed.”
Lynn Stapleton didn’t have a positive experience in CPS with her middle child, she said. He’s attending private school now.
“I feel that CPS fails students,” she said.
Her son should have qualified for a special education plan, but didn’t receive one, she said.
“They don’t really touch on bullying until the sixth grade year,” Stapleton said.
Schools need to work on being inclusive for students with special education plans and disabilities, Schelp said.
The new standards-referenced grading has problems, said parent John Potter, who runs the Facebook group CoMo Citizens for CPS Accountability and Transparency.
“It seems like high expectations are being brought down” Potter said. “I think it’s causing a lack of motivation.”
It was encouraging that a friend of her child at Jefferson is gender-neutral and her child and other students think nothing of it, Grus said.
“My child was fine with it,” she said.
Potter said he was blindsided when a child in his daughter’s first-grade class switched genders, causing confusion for his daughter and difficulty for him having to explain the situation.
In a potentially complementary effort, the two teacher groups – the Columbia Missouri National Education Association and the Columbia Missouri State Teachers Association – have embarked on an initiative to identify inequities in schools and propose solutions
The district gathered the notes taken at the tables to find common themes and formulate solutions, officials said.
In closing the night, Yearwood asked participants to work with the district to benefit the students.
“We’re not a perfect school system,” Yearwood said. “We’re not. We want to grow. We want to get better.”
Roger McKinney is the Tribune’s education reporter. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com or 573-815-1719. He’s on Twitter @rmckinney9.
