Education News in Brief

The Springfield School Board has selected Ray and Associates Inc., an Iowa-based search firm, to seek out the next superintendent for Springfield Public Schools.

In June, the board voted unanimously not to extend the contract of Superintendent Jack Ernst. His contract expires June 30, 2005.

According to a news release from the school district, Gary Ray, president of Ray and Associates, was among officials from four groups interviewed by the board to conduct the search.

Ray and Associates has conducted executive searches for 29 years and has worked with school districts similar in size to Springfield’s. The company does much of its work in the Midwest, but it can expand its search nationwide.

The school district will pay Ray and Associates a base fee of $22,500, plus undetermined expenses for the search.

In the next few months, Ray will return to Springfield to meet with board members and establish a timeline for the search.

SMSU Foundation record

A significant increase in support for student scholarships helped the Southwest Missouri State University Foundation reach a record $9,285,422 in private contributions in 2003-04. According to an SMSU news release, that amount, raised between July 1, 2003, and June 30, is $2 million more than last year’s amount, and nearly $1 million more than the previous high of $8,365,498 in 2001-02. Contributions were made via 34,954 gifts. Two major scholarship funds established during the year were the Hutchens/SGA Centennial Leadership Program and the W.I. “Les” and Jennie McQueary Athletics Scholarship Fund. Other monies were received in major gifts for the William H. Darr Agricultural Center and Hammons Field. For SMSU-West Plains, there were 1,185 gifts totaling $507,996, up from 889 gifts totaling $346,541 the previous year.

SMSU’s $50 million comprehensive fund-raising campaign, “The Campaign for SMS: Imagine the Possibilities,” remained on schedule in 2003-04, with a total of $35,788,912 received or committed. The campaign will run through 2005.

Students in Nicaragua

Students from College of the Ozarks were in Nicaragua Aug. 6-12 to help build new homes in partnership with Rainbow Network. Four students – Marilyn Lopez of Ozark, Julie Martin of Thomas, Okla., Natalie Phillips of Camdenton and Janelle Rowe of Olathe, Kan. – were led by Ron Martin of Springfield. Martin is director of career development at College of the Ozarks. He was assisted by Al Dixon of Forsyth, who teaches math and physics at the school. Also on the trip was Ron Wingo of Fair Grove, who served as Rainbow Network leader for the trip. The students are part of Rotaract, a student organization at College of the Ozarks. Rotaract is affiliated with Branson Daybreakers Rotary Club and the Branson-Hollister Rotary Club.

The group worked at a Rainbow Network/Habitat for Humanity housing project in rural Nicaragua. There are 25 new homes now under construction in the project, which is part of a Rainbow Network/Habitat partnership to build 500 houses in three years in rural Nicaragua.

Ralph Nader visit

Consumer advocate, environmentalist and 2004 presidential candidate Ralph Nader will be in Springfield to speak at Drury University. Nader, who founded the Public Citizen research group and has written several books, will speak at 7 p.m. Aug. 26 at Clara Thompson Hall. The public is invited and the event is free. Nader’s visit is part of Drury’s 2004-05 convocation series, “For the Common Good: Private Interest and Global Citizenship.” Nader, widely known as an advocate for the rights of consumers, has in recent years drawn more attention – and controversy – as a third-party presidential candidate.

SMSU consultant

Southwest Missouri State University has renewed its contract with legislative consultant Jerry Burch. According to an SMSU news release, the SMSU Board of Governors extended Burch’s contract for another year. It will run through Aug. 31, 2005.

For 2004-05, Burch will be paid $5,600 per month for a total of $67,200. That amount is 1.8 percent higher than his previous salary of $66,000. This is the first base compensation increase Burch has had in four years. He will also be reimbursed for expenses and paid for mileage, and he will receive a monthly stipend of $500 per month for the assistance he and his staff provide in training and supervising legislative interns. Burch, who lives in Walker, served in the Missouri House of Representatives from 1978 to 1990. He has served as SMSU’s legislative consultant since 1990.

Simon scholarship

Sara Robbins of Aurora received the 2004 Simon Youth Foundation Scholarship in July at the Good Morning, Springfield! breakfast event at Battlefield Mall. She received a $1,200 scholarship, which she will use at Southwest Baptist University, where she plans to study psychology.

The Simon Youth Foundation Scholarship is presented each year to an outstanding high school senior in southwest Missouri, according to a Battlefield Mall news release.

Missouri Business Week

Southwest Missouri students Tiffany Gifford, Abby Bolin, Jana Provance, John Barnes, Nate Gray, Ashley Shaeffer, Kolby Kallweit and Samantha Dobson participated in the 10th annual Missouri Business Week, held June 27-July 1 at the University of Missouri-Columbia campus. Missouri Business Week is presented by the Center for Education and Private Enterprise, the not-for-profit foundation of the Missouri Association of Realtors. During the event, students from more than 100 Missouri High Schools attend workshops on several topics, including team building, ethics and marketing.

Reaching students

Taking a Stand for Kids, an outreach program of Drury University, Springfield Public Schools and other community organizations, received a $12,500 grant from the Jeannette L. Musgrave Foundation of Springfield. The program brings Drury volunteers together with children and adults through a wide variety of programs, including mentoring and tutoring students at Boyd Elementary School and Pipkin Middle School and volunteering at Boys and Girls Town. Through the program, an after-school graphic design club at Reed Middle School has been developed, and English as a Second Language classes are taught with Grupo Latinoamericano.

Take A Stand for Kids was created in 1996 with a grant from the Musgrave Foundation. About 170 students committed to weekly volunteer service during the 2003-04 school year.