Dr. Grenita Lathan’s contract at Springfield Public Schools has been extended for another year. The SPS Board of Education made that announcement Wednesday following their annual evaluation of the superintendent. This was the fourth contract extension of Lathan’s SPS tenure.
In a statement, board president Danielle Kincaid said, "Dr. Lathan’s outstanding focus on academic achievement, robust professional development opportunities for staff, and collaboration with stakeholders" is key to achieving the strategic vision of SPS being Missouri’s district of choice.
As part of its consensus, the SPS Board of Education acknowledged the following strengths during the evaluation period - from January 2024 through January 2025, according to the district in a news release:
"Improvement in Academic Achievement: For the third consecutive year, SPS has increased its overall score on the Annual Performance Report from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
- Sixteen SPS schools achieved a double-digit increase in total points over the prior year.
- In the area of academic proficiency, SPS showed improvement in all three main areas tested: English Language Arts increased by 0.5 percent, Mathematics increased by 1.4 percent, and Science increased by 1.9 percent.
- MAP and End of Course results indicate that SPS students achieved improvement over the previous year’s scores as follows:
- In English Language Arts for students in fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh grades, and in English II;
- In Mathematics for students in fifth and seventh grades, and in Algebra I, and Algebra II; and
- In Science for students in fifth and eighth grades, and Biology.
- For the second consecutive year, SPS earned 100 percent of points possible for monitoring Kindergarten Readiness and completion of eighth-grade planning for the pathway to graduation.
- For the fifth consecutive year, SPS celebrates its highest graduation rate. The 2024 graduating class of 1,922 students achieved a graduation rate of 97.4 percent, compared with 96.5 percent in 2023.
Professional Development Opportunities: Ongoing, robust learning experiences are provided to SPS leaders, educators and support staff. Principals and other administrative staff participated in targeted professional development opportunities aimed at increasing awareness of the underlying causes of student behaviors and ensuring the consistent application of the District’s discipline scope and sequence. Examples of recent professional development include Learn Lead Succeed, Lead Forward Institute, Teach Forward Sessions, Leader Curriculum Academy, Teacher & Leader Effectiveness Training, Special Education Learning for Leaders, Data & Dessert, Understanding Student Behavior Training, Hannigan Behavior Solutions Training, Focus Room Staff Training, and Quarterly Substitute Training.
Collaboration with Stakeholders: Dr. Lathan’s work to expand opportunities for stakeholder engagement includes Principal for a Day, SPS University, Superintendent Solutions (for educators and parents), Let’s Talk Live, Let’s Talk Office Hours, and Gather with Grenita (for staff). In each of these encounters, participants are invited to speak directly with the superintendent and/or other district leadership. With each interaction, information is provided and patrons are invited to ask questions or share what is on their mind."
The announcement comes during a time when the board is considering cuts to staff. There are 142 suggested position eliminations that would result in a savings of $10.5 million.
