Hundreds of Carthage educators gathered at Carthage Junior High Monday morning for a back-to-school welcome and a round of work sessions known as Vertical Teaming.
The convocation was part of an effort to get teachers geared up for the school year. More than 600 educators were present for the program, which included performances by the high school band, the color guard and the drama team, and a special “Kids Say the Darndest Things” panel of incoming kindergarteners.
Assistant Superintendent Deborah Swarens introduced the audience, by slide show, to 28 of the district’s newest teachers. She admitted, however, the list was incomplete, as the administration office had just hired three more teachers that morning.
She also congratulated the teachers on the various seminars, workshops and professional development exercises many of them had taken over the summer.
“No one can question that teachers only work nine months out of the year,” she said.
Superintendent Blaine Henningsen updated the teachers on several fronts. He introduced the district’s 2010-11 theme, “Committed to Excellence in Education.” He also pointed out some items of distinction – that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education had awarded the district its highest honor, Distinction in Performance, for the 2008-09 school year, and that the Missouri Business Education Association had selected the district’s business department as the top department in the state.
Henningsen also pointed out that North Central Association of Colleges and Schools had recognized the Carthage High School, naming it the oldest accredited school in Missouri, at 104 years.
In more pressing news, Henningsen discussed MAP testing, adequate yearly progress, an update about the State of Missouri’s annual budget, common core standards, and Race to the Top, a United States Department of Education program designed to spur reform in education through incentives rather than punishments.
Although Henningsen didn’t speak out against No Child Left Behind — the Bush-era act that mandates schools meet incrementally higher standards each year or face loss of federal funding — he did indicate the situation it puts the district in troubles him.
Although Carthage has made significant improvements in MAP test proficiency, it is still not meeting NCLB adequate yearly progress goals. The act requires that all students in all subgroups meet certain proficiency levels. If just one of the subgroups doesn’t meet those goals, the district, according to NCLB, has failed.
“I’m kind of tired of people telling us our district is failing,” Henningsen said after noting that Carthage students in 2009-10 made the highest proficiency goals the district has ever seen. “I would put our kids up against any district in the state.”
