State of the Schools report outlines priorities for 2023-24 school year

Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Grenita Lathan presented the annual State of the Schools update today as part of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s Good Morning, Springfield! breakfast event at the new Jarrett Middle School building, 906 W. Portland St.

Topics included faculty and staff retention, student attendance initiatives and this year’s theme, “SPS United: Together We Succeed.”

A transcript of her address follows.

Good morning! I’m so excited to be here this morning to highlight the “State of Our Schools,” especially in our newly built Jarrett Middle School. Isn’t this a wonderful facility for our students? Principal Kirk Slater had a heavy lift the last couple of years overseeing an active school and a construction project. I think the result is amazing. Before you leave today, I encourage you to tour the building. Jarrett staff will be waiting near the office to lead you on a tour of this amazing facility at the conclusion of the program.

If you know me at all, you know that I love a new school year. I don’t sleep for weeks before the first day because I am so excited about this new beginning for our students and staff.

This morning, I am going to share with you what we have planned for the 2023-24 school year, but before I do, let’s take a brief look back with a little postseason and pre-season review and celebration.

• 1,800+ students graduated as part of the Class of 2023, earning $21.7 million in scholarships.
• Students will soon be taking to the sky with our Fly SPS program, a partnership with OTC and Premier Flight Center, earning their private pilot’s license and exploring a variety of aviation careers.
• The 2019 Proposition S bond projects are now complete. York Elementary and Jarrett Middle School were the final two projects, and both schools moved into new facilities this Spring.
• We have our first full year of Galileo Results. Galileo is our universal screener where we can track beginning of the year, middle of the year and end of the year test scores. Recent results included these highlights:
o Bissett Elementary: ELA, 5th Grade – a 25.7% increase from beginning-of-year to end-of-year
o Hickory Hills K-8: Algebra I – a 35% increase from beginning-of-year to end-of-year
o Parkview High School: ELA, 9th Grade – a 46.1% increase from beginning-of-year to end-of-year

On April 4, an overwhelming majority - 77.67% of voters in our community - approved $220 Million in bonds to fund critical improvements, including …
• Safety and security upgrades – all sites
• New construction – Reed Academy and Pipkin Middle School
• Renovation/reconstruction – Pershing School
• Storm shelter gymnasiums – Cowden, Holland, Mann, Pittman, Watkins and Wilder Elementary Schools

Last Saturday, we hosted over 5,000 individuals at our Back to School Bash. This event provided more than $100,000 in needed resources to families across our district. We had 50 community partners who also provided resources to our families. We distributed more than 4,500 backpacks, 3,000 hygiene kits thanks to Care to Learn, and 9,000 super smoothies courtesy of Plum Organics. In addition, 84 students received physicals or immunizations from CoxHealth.

There are many more celebrations I could share, but for the sake of time, let’s pivot and focus on the upcoming 2023-24 season.

The theme for the 2023-2024 school year is “SPS United: Together We Succeed.”

Our theme emphasizes that teamwork and a collective vision will result in a win for every member of Team SPS – students, staff, parents and community members.

Together, we will transform obstacles into opportunities and turn dreams into reality. We are committed to coaching students to reach new heights of achievement during this school year.

Our leadership team has been practicing and running drills all summer and we are ready to hit the field on Tuesday, Aug. 22.

To help you get in the spirit, take a look at our back-to-school video.

SPS truly is a team – a big team. In fact, we are Missouri’s largest school district. We have more than 24,500 students who attend 35 elementary schools, an intermediate school, nine middle schools, five high schools, one alternative center, Phelps Center for Gifted Education and four early childhood centers. In addition, we offer more than a dozen Choice Programs that cater to the diverse needs of many students.

I want to recognize an important part of our team, our Board of Education: Ms. Danielle Kincaid, president, Mr. Scott Crise, vice president, and Mrs. Judy Brunner, Mr. Kelly Bryne, Mr. Steve Makoski, Dr. Maryam Mohammadkhani, and Dr. Shurita Thomas-Tate. Thank you to these leaders who volunteer their time in service to our schools and community.

In addition to the board, our team also includes 3,500 staff and we are working to grow that number. If you are interested in travel, we can set you up behind the wheel of a yellow stretch “limo.” If providing fine dining is more your thing, we can accommodate that as well. Just let us know what your passion is, and we will find a spot for you.

When you join our team, you have to learn our playbook. A good team lives by it. Most teams keep their playbook a secret and protect it so that no one outside their team gets their hands on the secrets. We are a little different. Our playbook is our strategic plan, and we want everyone to know the details. We intend to base every decision on it, and we want you to be so familiar with it that you can, and will, hold us accountable for following it.

Throughout the strategic planning process, many people spent considerable time listening and learning about our district, including its successes and challenges. This work helped us to focus on themes, governing priorities and objectives, which are the foundation of our new strategic plan. To develop the plan, we hosted in-person and virtual interviews and focus groups with parents, community members, and staff. We conducted multiple site visits and utilized a ThoughtExchange survey to gather feedback.

Let’s dig into our playbook.

Our mission: SPS is committed to the well-being of each student by providing high-quality academic opportunities.

Our vision: SPS will be the district of choice that equips each student to pursue their goals and highest potential as an engaged contributor to society.

We have four priorities:

• Success-ready students: We are committed to preparing all students to be college and/or career ready, with an emphasis on each student reaching their full potential.
• Organizational efficiency: We are committed to being responsible leaders and stewards of district resources.
• Collaborative culture: We are committed to engaging in proactive communication and collaboration with all stakeholders.
• Quality learning environments: We are committed to safe and secure facilities that optimize learning.

Let’s dig deeper into each of these and look at how we are allocating our resources in the current fiscal year to support each priority.

Here are the objectives for Governing priority 1: Success-ready students:
• Objective 1.1: Demonstrate continuous growth toward mastery in all academic areas.
• Objective 1.2: Implement district-adopted curriculum aligned to Missouri Learning Standards.
• Objective 1.3: Maintain a positive classroom environment conducive to teaching and learning.
• Objective 1.4: Review programming to ensure equitable access to opportunity for all students.
• Objective 1.5: Provide high-quality professional learning for teachers and staff aligned to evidence-based best practice.
• Objective 1.6: Enhance real-world educational opportunities for all students.

Our staffing budget allocations for priority 1 include …

Special services
• One teacher and two paraprofessionals to support the expansion of the RISE Program, our elementary alternative learning program.
• Three special education teachers and six paraprofessionals to provide intensive supports.
• Process coordinators for private/parochial/homeschooled and alternate site/choice programming.

Specials
• Five physical education teachers, one at each high school.

Curriculum
• Two technology integration coordinators (K-5 & 6-12) to curate district-approved software platforms that support adopted curriculum and learning goals. Support classroom best practices for technology integration through site instructional coaches.

Counseling services
• One school counselor to support all SPS full-time virtual high school students, staff and families.

Early childhood
• One behavior support specialist to support students through intentional coaching and training of 46 preschool teachers in the transition from a restrictive environment to a general education kindergarten classroom.

Early childhood special education
• One ECSE teacher and two paraprofessionals.

English language development
• One ELD specialist to support the increase in ELD students served.

Choice programs
• Two teachers at AgAcademy and two teachers and one clerical position for the Academy of Exploration.

College and career
• Three college and career readiness coordinators.

Additional budget allocations for priority 1 include …

Choice programs
• $62,287 for supplies and purchased services to expand programs at Jarrett STEAM Academy, Reed Fine and Performing Arts, and AgAcademy.

International Baccalaureate program
• $35,850 to support the training of staff around the requirements of IB and cover the cost of IB evaluations.

Career Technical Education Enhancement Grant
• $30,726 to support the expansion of Project Lead the Way biomedical sciences and agriculture at Hillcrest High School.
• Transition of the GOCAPS program, shifting from a separate entity to a district program.

Here are the objectives for Governing Priority 2: Organizational Efficiency and Excellence:
• Objective 2.1: Develop a culture of effective governance.
• Objective 2.2: Evaluate and align administrative positions for organizational efficiency and effectiveness.
• Objective 2.3: Ensure long-term fiscal stability.
• Objective 2.4: Analyze and improve the human resources functions of the school district.

Our staffing budget allocations for priority 2 include:
Early childhood
• Assistant Director for EC programming to support the evaluation and supervision of Parents as Teacher staff members, staff at the Study nursery and EC teachers within elementary school buildings.

Elementary Learning
• Assistant principal at Disney to support the building leader, teachers and students. Disney is the largest elementary school in SPS.

Data & Compliance Reporting
• Coordinator to collect, monitor, and report upon state and federal requirements.

Information systems
• The chief information officer will be responsible for aligning technology resources with the strategic goals of the district.
• An IT director will be responsible for the selection, implementation, development, and support of all software used.
• An audiovisual Engineer will develop and implement standards for audio-visual equipment in all uses.
• A software support manager will oversee support personnel that document, train and improve the use of district software and facilitate data governance committees.
• A student information system engineer will develop programmatic solutions that support the use of the student information system.

Clerical

• Two training mentors will support building secretaries across our 50+ campuses.

Salary and benefits
• An increase of $12.1 million for salary and benefits of existing staff supports collective bargaining negotiations and other recommendations for employees not represented by a union.

Health plan benefit
• A 5% premium increase is anticipated to help ensure the stability of the district’s self-insurance fund which would result in an increase of $1,054,592.

Governing Priority 3: Collaborative Culture objective is …
• Objective 3.1: Provide timely, clear communication, and meaningful public engagement opportunities for all stakeholders.

Governing Priority 4: Quality Learning Environments objective is …
• Objective 4.1: Maintain safe and quality spaces for all students and staff.

School police
• Additional dispatchers ensure we are able to meet industry staffing standards.

Utilities
• An increase of $725,795 addresses usage and cost based on increased square footage of new and renovated buildings.

Transportation
• An increase of $100,000 will address increased fuel and materials costs.

Building services
• A $214,000 allocation for filters and testing kits will meet the requirements of the “Get the Lead Out of School Drinking Water Act”.

Stimulus funds will fund or continue to fund the following for the 2023-2024 school year.

Category 1: Recovery of learning during the school day
• Resources totaling $1.8 million will fund seven numeracy coaches, five literacy coaches, two high school learning specialists, two numeracy coaches for grades 6-8, and resources and training for instructional staff.
• Resources totaling $2 million will fund continued collaboration with current mental and general health partners.
• Resources totaling $1.5 million support our K-12 universal screening tool, Galileo.

Category 2: Student supports beyond the school day
• $1.7 million will be invested in before and after school care known as SHINE .
• We will maintain 1,850 hotspots: $320,000
• Support for college and career planning tool and staffing will be $616,000.
• Continue SPS University with an investment of $125,000.
• Staff to support the behavioral needs of students in focus rooms to ensure positive classroom environments that are conducive to teaching and learning as prioritized in Objective 1.3 budgeted at $763,820
• Investment in staff to support the behavioral needs of special education students at a cost of $745,418.

Category 3: Staff supports and retention
• We will retain seven temporary nurses hired to assist with COVID-19 issues: $477,750
• Retention of two human resources coordinators to support hiring, placement, unemployment, supports impacted by COVID-19: $136,500
• Retention of one director to support the family support services department: $139,886
• One building aide/teacher intern per building: $2 million.
• One certificated/support staff per elementary schools and two per middle and high schools: $6 million.
• Staffing retention and continuation of operations will cost $11 million.

Category 4: Operational supports
• Three human resources positions and one payroll position to staff the implementation of an ERP system to support deployment, monitoring, business operations and auditing of the utilization of ESSER funds: $285,600
• The cost to replace heating, ventilation and air-conditioning units to upgrade air filtration will be $572,384.

Now that you know our playbook, will you join our team? We have a special opportunity for you.

Grab your jersey and join our team on Oct. 6! SPS and the chamber are providing an immersive experience at 51 schools for business leaders to spend two hours at an assigned school shadowing a principal. Watch educators as they teach, lead, and collaborate. Get a behind-the-scenes look at running a school and witness students learning. At the end of the two hours, all Principal for a Day participants will meet up for lunch and a debrief. Sign up today by contacting Jessica Blake at jbblake@spsmail.org.

We work hard to allocate all of our resources to meet the needs of our students so that they can and will be successful. We also have to continually look for any potential barriers that might keep them from achieving what they need to achieve. For the 2023-2024 school year, we have identified a significant barrier and we are committed to doing what we can to remove it. We want everyone on the field.

We could have all of the resources in the world, and it wouldn’t matter if we don’t have students in school to learn. This morning, we invite you to join in helping us.

Over the next several weeks, we will be rolling out a marketing campaign with related supports to help us achieve our goal of increasing student attendance by 2% for 2023-2024 school year. Each of our students has 172 game days, and we don’t want them to miss a single one. We want them to attend every day from Tuesday, August 22 to Thursday, May 23.

Attendance isn’t just important, it is crucial.

What it means for the student
Every day a student is absent is a lost opportunity for learning. Unnecessary absences impact the student’s achievement, and it also disrupts learning for the entire class. Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school—and themselves.

Chronically absent students are less likely to read on grade level by 3rd grade, are more likely to score lower on standardized tests and get suspended in middle school and are at least four times more likely to not complete high school.

What it means for future employers
Regular attendance and punctuality are vital attributes for all employees. It is important for employees to attend work regularly and to arrive at work on time, because failure to do so detrimentally affects employee morale and productivity.

What we need to do
We must shift away from placing blame and begin to understand why students miss school and work together to create meaningful solutions. Our first play must be to create foundational school supports that promote positive conditions for learning. These include a healthy environment and positive school climate, access to engaging curriculum, learning supports and student and family engagement.

We can’t do this alone. It will take all of us – our staff, our students, our parents and our community – to create a culture where attendance in school is not seen as an option but as a necessity. Throughout this year, we will be reaching out to you for help in achieving these goals.

Our objectives will be …

• Objective 1: Encourage students to be in school every day.
• Objective 2: Partner with parents to provide information and resources that support their efforts to get students to school.
• Objective 3: Create a community-wide understanding of why regular attendance is important, encouraging partner involvement in supporting school attendance.

Our collective dream is to continue improving student achievement, and with our united efforts, there's no limit to what we can accomplish. We'll build on the successes of the past, learning from our experiences, and continuously evolve to meet the unique needs of every student.

In the face of challenges, we'll remember the resilience that defines us. We'll rise above any obstacle, knowing that together, as one team, we are an unstoppable force. The power of collaboration, empathy, and compassion will guide us, strengthening the bonds that hold our SPS United family together.

SPS United is not just a theme or a vision; it's a call to action. With each breakthrough, we'll create a ripple effect that will echo for generations to come. We are SPS United, and this sense of urgency propels us forward to embrace the brilliance within our students and inspire lasting success in their lives.

The time to make a difference is now. Together, we'll rise to the challenge, transforming obstacles into opportunities and turning dreams into reality. We are committed to achieving high results, and with passion, determination, and a profound sense of urgency, we'll elevate student achievement to unprecedented heights. Together, we'll unlock brilliance, leaving an indelible mark on the world, one student at a time.

In the words of Henry Ford, “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”

Joining me is part of my team and we hope you will join us in our endeavors. United together, let’s have a successful school year.