11 Month Calendar

Several comments on the blog have been about the 11 month calendar. We were planning to discuss at the board meeting on April 13, but we will wait.

There has been so much happening lately with the new building projects that the administrators have had their focus on getting the projects started. So, Dr. Phillips is planning some more surveys and meetings with parents about the 11 month calendar. Check with the elementary principals for more information. Many of the parents who attended the recent parent-teacher day had a chance to complete a survey.

Also, if you check at http://www.columbuscityschools.org/ there is a link about the calendar on the home page and an email address for submitting your comments about the proposed calendar. Please ask your questions so you can get answers and understand the new calendar -- what it is and what it isn't -- and understand the advantages for students.

2008 Graduation Rates released by MDE

The 2008 graduation rates have been "officially" released this week by MDE. You can read the press release at MDE's site. At the end of the press release is a link to the 4-page report of all the districts.

CMSD's 4-year cohort rate is 79% for 2008. We are better than any of the surrounding districts. I went through the list and found just 25 districts with rates 80% and above. So, while 79% is not good enough, it is in within the range of the top 25-30 districts in the state. We can be proud of 79% and work toward being one of only a handful better than 85%.

New Accountability Model

The new accountability standards proposed by MDE will certainly change the game for all districts. One significant change is that the model rewards districts for those "advanced" students and should serve as an incentive to help more students move from proficient to advanced. In running the numbers, it will be challenging for any school to reach the top 2 levels without having almost 80% of the children scoring proficient or advanced. Although the MCT2 scores from last year won't be used to determine our new rankings, it is easy to calculate the QDI based on the 2008 scores. Find the detail at the MDE site, www.mde.k12.ms.us.

A high school can't reach the top 2 levels without a graduation rate 75% or better. The bar has been moved and it is HIGH and will go up again for the next 2 years. We can expect that almost all our schools will move down a level, maybe 2, from where we were the last time we were rated. This won't be easy to accept, but it is time we raise expectations and compare ourselves to the rest of the world.