Lion's Link #lionpride
April 7, 2023
Pride in Self, Pride in Community, Pride in Learning
District Performance Report
First, all of our district data is available on the DESE website on the Public Portal. You can access our reports by the district or building level as well as see state data as a comparison. Our District Report Card gives detailed data on our student population, our staff, and our tax base. Our Annual Performance Report (APR) is how DESE scores us annually based on student performance on MAP and graduate data, which is 70% of our score, and other measures of continuous improvement, which is 30% of our score. As you can see on our APR, we earned 100% of the available points on continuous improvement in all but 2 areas.
This year is a transitional year for school districts as far as our APRs are concerned. DESE instituted new measures for all schools as we make the move from the MSIP 5 cycle to the MSIP 6 cycle. Since the measures are new for MSIP 6 and an apples-to-apples comparison to MSIP 5 cannot be made, DESE will not be updating accreditation statuses based on APR scores for 2 years. Miller County R-III, as you can see at the top of our District Report Card, is fully accredited.
However, we recognize there is work to be done on our MAP scores, and our staff is committed to doing the hard work necessary to improve student achievement. Some of the initiatives that are already in the planning stages include:
- Full-day Professional Development days built into the 2023-24 school calendar to allow teachers more time to examine assessment data and plan instructional improvements, as well as get in-depth training on research-based instructional strategies, based on weak areas;
- Time for teachers who are new to the district and to teaching to collaborate and work on instructional improvements;
- Updated assessment measures that are more closely aligned to MAP assessments to measure student achievement as we progress through the school year;
- A restructuring of our intervention program and resources for students who are not achieving at grade level in reading or math;
- A curriculum revision plan as well as an online tool to revise curricula and make it easily accessible to parents and community members;
- Updated student textbooks have been purchased for reading, phonics, science, and purchases are planned for math and social studies;
- Salary schedule improvements and incentives for teacher recruitment and retention, as well as attendance.
Instructional improvement is an ongoing process, and there are no quick fixes. However, we are committed as a staff to making the necessary changes to improve. We appreciate our parent, caregiver, and community support as we strive to better serve every student, every day, whatever it takes.
Dr. Tina Spencer, Superintendent
Join us Tuesday, 4/11, for Senior Night at our home softball game. Thank you to our Boosters for always supplying the nice senior banners!
Aiden Snodgrass harvesting radishes and kale from his cold frames as part of his science research project
You will not want to miss the spring play! The price includes dinner (spaghetti, bread, salad)--see Mr. Visser or a Speech/Drama student for tickets!
Bale rings for sale--made by our Ag students--$250 each
April 14th is the Senior BBQ--Don't miss it!
Thank you to our Little League for the new dugouts and benches for Marshall Field!
Thank you to everyone who supported the baseball team in their fundraising efforts, as well as our Boosters who also contributed, so our team could have a new pitching machine!
If you have a student in our special education program, please read this!
We appreciate your input as we make every effort to improve our programs for our students.
First grade is learning all about the solar system!
Summer School Enrollment
Job Postings
- 7/8 English/Social Studies Teacher, 2023-24 school year. Forward resume' and letter of interest to tspencer@tuscumbialions.k12.mo.us.
- K-12 Music Teacher, 2023-24 school year. Forward resume' and letter of interest to tspencer@tuscumbialions.k12.mo.us.
- 4th and 5th Grade Teachers, 2023-24 school year. Forward resume' and letter of interest to tspencer@tuscumbialions.k12.mo.us.
- Part-time dishwasher, 2023-24 school year. Four hours per day, 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., M-F.
- Substitute Bus Drivers, as needed, $31.60 per route (a.m. or p.m.).
Interested parties should contact Dr. Spencer at tspencer@tuscumbialions.k12.mo.us, or come by central office during working hours.
It's always a great day to be a Lion! Come join our Pride!
Upcoming Events
- April 7-10: Easter Break--no school
- April 11: PTO hat day--last chance to pay $1 to wear your hat for the day!
- April 12: Dress up as what you want to be when you grow up in honor of Senior Decision Day! Teachers wear college alma mater shirts; PTO Senior Decision Day, by invitation
- April 14: Senior BBQ
- April 13-15: Spring plant sale
- April 21: Summer school enrollment deadline
- April 27: Spring play and dinner, 7:00 p.m.