“Things have gone–knock on wood–just as we had hoped,” explained Superintendent Tony Rossetti.
Webb City is expected to see significant enrollment growth, with 100 or more extra students this year. School leaders are keeping an eye on campus needs, while also preparing for a change in state standards with the Annual Performance Review (APR).
“I think there’s going to be a fairly substantial change to the APR – it’s not going to read like it has in the past,” Rossetti added.
And the changes don’t stop there. The state Board of Education is evaluating new long term goals for the entire Show-Me State K-12 system.
“They wanted to identify priorities–priorities that would make every student graduate with success,” explained Dr. Melissa Massey with the Southwest Center for Educational Excellence.
It’s everything from teacher recruitment and retention, to workforce development and the future economy, to starting workforce prep with the youngest students. Also, innovation in school structures, data systems and educational accountability.
“We look at prioiritizing these, because the list is too broad,” Massey added.
Funding will also likely be an issue–but the impact when it reaches the classroom could be significant.
“I think when you look at it, it’s going to impact from the ground up,” said Massey. “It’s going to impact our early childhood education, it’s going to impact teacher shortages.”
The Missouri Board of Education just saw the proposed priorities at a meeting on Tuesday, meaning it could be some time before they make a difference in the classroom.
