The Perry County School District 32 Board of Education has followed up on a report about the district’s lower Annual Performance Rate (APR) score.
In December, board members received a report from Chief Academic Officer Jane Narrow regarding the decrease in the school district’s Annual Performance Rate (APR).
Every public and charter school in the state received its APR from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, which is one indicator school districts use to inform their Continuous School Improvement Plans. Many of the school districts across the state received lower scores. The APR used the MAP and EOC exams to calculate student performance and growth.
In her initial report, Narrow said, “The APR provides schools with valuable information about where their efforts are paying off and where they have the opportunity to improve,” Narrow said. “At District 32, we have been focusing on three big areas that impact student achievement: attendance and instruction in English and mathematics. Our focus on attendance is paying off as we are nearing our goal of having 90 percent of students in their seats at least 90 percent of the time. We have not yet seen the impact of changes in instructional practices. However, as our English and math scores on the MAP (Missouri Assessment Program) and EOC (End-Of-Course) tests did not improve significantly, we’re going to continue to concentrate on effective instructional practices as we prepare for this year’s exams.”
In response to the lower score, board members asked Narrow and representatives of the career and technology center (Daniel Hecht), primary center (Emily Koenig), elementary school (Dr. Amy Dill), middle school (Nicholas Cowell) and high school (Principal Shadrick Shafer) to develop Continuous School Improvement Plans to improve the school district’s score.
Chief Academic Officer Jane Narrow presented the report to the board of education.
District 32 saw a slight decrease in APR points earned this year as compared to the 2023 report. The APR was 74.8 last year and 70.4 this year. The district remains in the category that the largest percentage of Missouri schools were represented this year, with 230 of 549 schools earning 70 to 80 percent.
Each of the principals took around 20 minutes to present their plans and answer questions posed by the school board.
Following the presentations, school board President Nancy Voelker thanked the principals for their efforts and noted that the improvements they hope to see “won’t happen overnight.” She added that it would most likely take several years for the district to reach the APR scores they desire.
