Principals from Beulah Ralph and Rock Bridge elementary schools presented last year’s academic achievement data at a Columbia School Board meeting Thursday. Both elementary schools saw improvements in student test scores.
The data included Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) and i-Ready scores as well as student engagement strategies. Missouri students in grades three through eight take MAP assessments to determine how they compare to state learning standards. I-Ready assessments are taken to assess student needs and monitor progress in math and reading.
Beulah Ralph update
Lance Foulk, principal of Beulah Ralph, said he was excited about kindergartners’ math and reading i-Ready scores.
“Ninety percent of (the kindergartners) were on grade level for reading and 85% on math,” Foulk said. “So, our building was pretty excited about that.”
The percentage of second graders who were on track with grade-level standards increased 2% in reading and 4% in math from the 2022-23 school year.
Foulk said that grades three to five did not see much of an increase but that scores matched what they were a year before.
Foulk also celebrated that attendance at Beulah Ralph topped 90% last year.
But behavior incidents have increased since last year, he said. The school recorded 424 non-suspension, 38 out-of-school suspension and 40 in-school suspension incidents. There were 388 more incidents than the previous year.
“I really wanted to make sure that we reported all these incidents that came to the office, and I wanted to make sure that I was giving my students and teachers everything they needed,” Foulk said.
Board President Suzette Waters asked whether Foulk had heard from teachers about the increased behavior incidents. He replied that when incident numbers were presented each month, teachers were surprised and did not say they noticed an increase.
Waters added that consistently reporting every incident is more valuable than worrying about over-reporting.
Rock Bridge update
Rock Bridge Elementary School Principal Ryan Link presented the school’s attendance records, teaching strategies, i-Ready and MAP scores. Increasing attendance was Rock Bridge’s main goal last year, Link said.
“If the kids are here, they’re going to learn. They’re going to achieve,” he said.
Attendance had flatlined after the COVID-19 pandemic, Link said. Since then, the school adopted a system of having students keep a record of their own attendance in their binders, which led to a 3% increase in attendance rates.
“We did a red, yellow or green system of whether you were here, late or absent and just really did a lot of class celebrations,” Link said.
These celebrations included a “bearly” absent award, a nod to Rock Bridge’s bear mascot.
Grades kindergarten through second reported a 4% increase in reading and 5% increase in math i-Ready scores. Smaller increases in math and reading scores were reported for grades three through eight.
Link said Rock Bridge is a Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) school, meaning staff reward positive behavior with positive feedback. This feedback helps with teacher-student relationships, he said, and added that staff retention has remained high.
A few challenges highlighted at the meeting included trouble communicating the importance of daily attendance to families and changes in the student population as a result of redistricting.
Link concluded the presentation with MAP scores, showing a school-wide increase of 8.3% in both math and English language arts.
Board member Alvin Cobbins offered encouragement. “Continue doing what you do,” he told Link.
“That slow process … it’s much more stable than to have the big increases.”
Legislative priorities
The board discussed what could be added or taken out of its legislative priorities for the 2024-25 school year.
Members talked over whether the need for legislation to address internet access and reliability throughout Missouri was still timely. Board member Blake Willoughby said the board advocated for this legislation in 2020 while students were in online school.
Other board members agreed that the issue should remain a priority. “We do have families who are in some of our rural areas in the Columbia school district that still don’t have access (to high-speed internet),” board member Paul Harper said.
The board also discussed potentially adding the priority of allotting funding toward free breakfasts and lunches for all students.
Waters said students with after-school activities or early lunches were very hungry by the end of the day.
The board will formalize legislative priorities in their regular October session.
Board approvals
Body U Teens: In other action, the board approved an assessment calendar update that would remove KSA Math and add Body U Teens — a program focused on preventing, treating and diagnosing eating disorders through screening and mobile interventions. This will be administered to grades 6-12 across the district.
Free take-home meals: The board approved an agreement with the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri to distribute free take-home meals and snacks to students during this school year.
Food will be distributed at several locations across the district. Participating students will be selected based on food insecurity indicators, not free and reduced-cost lunch eligibility.
Fixing the fence at Hickman: The board approved an agreement with Central Fence LLC to make repairs to the chain-link fence at Hickman High. The cost to furnish labor and materials is $3,660 and will be covered by the district’s facilities and construction services operating budget.
Threat assessment training: The board approved an agreement with Navigate360 LLC, to provide virtual threat assessment training. The training will be offered during professional development days Oct. 2-3. The agreement’s cost is $4,500 and will be covered by the safety and security operating budget.
