Springfield Public School musicians from all five high schools played, cheerleaders welcomed in Springfield Public School staff and encouraged them from the floor, and people won prizes — all part of the SPS Back to School Kickoff on Tuesday.
Ron Clark Academy teacher Michael Bonner shared a keynote speech on the Audacity to Believe.
New Missouri State University President Dr. William "Biff" Williams talked to the crowd gathered on campus about his start in education and how, even though he thought he was ready, when it came down to it, teaching PE to kindergartners was harder than he expected.
SPS Superintendent Dr. Grenita Lathan reminded teachers, custodians, bus drivers and other staff that "at SPS our doors are open wide for students to dream big, to grow, to find their place and their passion, to choose the path that's right for them."
She said the goal is for every student to graduate from high school "success ready."
Lathan took time to point out what she said were successes of the 2023-2024 school year. Attendance last school year was 91.78%, which she said, if she was everyone's teacher, she'd round up to 92% — the cut off for an A — to which she received applause. Last week, the superintendent allowed students at McGregor Elementary, which had the highest attendance in the district, to pour a bucket of Powerade on her head — a promise she'd made at the start of the school year. That attendance rate was higher than in FY22, when the rate was 91.1% but below the rate for FY21, which was 93.9%.
Lathan said, last May, more than 1,800 students in the SPS District earned a high school diploma, and that graduates were awarded more than $25.9 million in scholarships. The graduation rate was 94.4%.
She pointed out several programs and career-focused courses that have been added in the district and thanked the community for supporting Proposition SPS, which has allowed for new school buildings to be constructed. Construction has started on the new Reed Academy, and the design of the new Pipkin Middle School is on track to be developed this year.
The top 10 focus areas for the next school year, she said, will be:
- Superintendent Solutions for Parents and Teachers.
- Family Communication Tools
- Boundary Changes
- Food Lunch Program
- Support for Focus Room, Impact Classroom and ISS Spaces
- Behavior Management Flowchart
- Aligned Teacher Performance Standards
- Revised Building School Improvement Plan
- Standard Based Report Cards for Elementary
- District Branding
She said they will continue to look at ways to use buildings more efficiently. The Board of Education approved closing Robberson and Pershing Elementaries with the goal of improving efficiency. Students who attended Robberson will begin attending Boyd Elementary this year. Once Pershing Middle School is renovated, elementary students at Pershing will move to Field and Wilder.
Lathan praised the implementation of Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS) across K-12. Dr. Lathan also introduced the "Read to Succeed" initiative, a districtwide challenge aimed at increasing English Language Arts scores by 2%.
They'll continue to work to offer nutritious meals, including vegetables and whole grains, she said, and they'll serve breakfasts with less added sugar next school year (to which she received a round of applause).
School starts back up on Monday, August 19.
