By Melissa Dunson

mdunson@joplinglobe.com

Student achievement, finances, community relations and buildings are the areas Joplin R-8 school administrators will focus their efforts on in the next few years.

During a special meeting Wednesday night, the R-8 Board of Education gave preliminary approval to a list of four board goals Superintendent C.J. Huff formulated discussion during an Aug. 28 board summit.

Goal 1: Improve student achievement districtwide to exceed state averages in all areas by 20 percent or more.

Assistant Superintendent Angie Besendorfer defines that measurement as the district’s total scores on the Missouri Assessment Program tests for each area, not necessarily the individual student subgroups.

Besendorfer said the district is already meeting or exceeding state averages as an entire district, but she wants to raise the bar to 20 percent better.

To help the district get there, Huff and his administrative team are putting together a “dashboard” of indicators the board can review each month with information including district attendance percentages, number of and reasons for absences, behavior reports and nurse reports.

Huff is also working with Bruce Speck, new president of Missouri Southern State University, to build a better relationship between the two institutions. The administrators have agreed to participate on each other’s strategic planning groups, and Speck will address R-8 parents and students at a future academic event on the importance of graduating from high school.

Increasing the influence and cash balances of the Joplin R-8 Foundation is also part of Goal 1, as is increasing early childhood education numbers and the Franklin Technology Center, staggering start times at the high school, increasing anti-bullying programs and increasing the graduation rate at the high school.

Goal 2: Continue to recruit and retain highly qualified staff, address projected areas of growth and support programs to improve student achievement through sound financial planning, practices and accountability.

Huff said the board needs to identify the district’s funding priorities and develop a long-range financial plan. Some things to consider are reducing class sizes, staying competitive in teacher salaries, starting an energy conservation and recycling program, and implementing a technology program of one computer for every student in the high school.

Goal 3: Improve relationships with parents, business partners and other members of the community.

Huff said parents need more opportunities to offer views on the district’s operations. He said the district needs to look at increasing not only communication through written materials, but face-to-face and telephone contact.

Goal 4: Provide high quality buildings to provide for the physical and emotional development of student and staff.