Slay and Associates St. Louis Public Relations (PR) and Marketing Communications » Missouri Education Reform Council

Abundant Missouri Education Reform Council Coverage Already in 2010

koneil — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:17:12 +0000

The Missouri Education Reform Council, which advocates ideas such as open enrollment and state vouchers to attend private schools, has become a crucial voice in the education reform movement.

Joe Knodell, a former school superintendent and coordinator for MERC, said the potential benefits of helping students do better in school is too great not to try. Knodell said competition between schools can prompt improvement.

MERC is quoted in:

Kansas City Star – (Newspaper + Website)
School choice movement pushes for open enrollment in Missouri – 1/3/210

Columbia Missourian – (Newspaper + Website)
Missouri considers parental choice for school districts - 1/4/10

Education Week – (Magazine Website)
Missouri considers parental choice for school districts – 1/4/10

Product Design and Development – (Magazine Website)
Missouri considers parental choice for school districts – 1/4/10

Southeast Missourian – (Newspaper + Website)
Missouri considers parental choice for school districts – 1/4/10

St. Joseph News-Press – (Newspaper + Website)
Missouri considers parental choice for school districts – 1/5/10

CronWatch – (Online News Forum)
Missouri legislature to consider parental choice for school districts – 1/4/10

Jefferson City News-Tribune – (Newspaper + Website)
State considers parental choice for schools – 1/5/10

Springfield News-Leader – (Newspaper + Website)
Kids’ hour-long school ride leads mother to action – 1/5/10

Columbia Daily-Tribune – (Newspaper + Website)
State education panel eyes open enrollment - 1/5/10

Three Rivers Publishing – (Newspaper + Website)
School choice should be for good education - 1/7/10

Examiner.com – (Online New Site)
Mo. considers parental choice for school districts - 1/4/10

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Open Enrollment Top Reform Issue as Legislature Returns

Missouri Lawmakers Take Good First Steps Toward Education Reform

koneil — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:17:11 +0000

The following is an op-ed about education reform from Joe Knodell, a retired Missouri superintendent and consultant for the Missouri Education Reform Roundtable Foundation.

The 2009 legislative session hopefully marked the start of bringing real education reform to the state of Missouri. Key legislators seem to realize that Missouri must move forward on school reform so that our students can compete with those from other states and countries. For example, in the field of information technology, we do not have enough graduates to fill all of the positions available. As a result, a large number of immigrants from the Far East are filling them.

Indeed, many high-tech, high-paying jobs are going to people from other countries who are well educated and ready to live the American dream.

Education Week just published a story noting that Missouri is one of only four states that has not signed on to adopt rigorous standards in math and language arts. These standards were recommended by the National Governors Conference and Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Hopefully, Missouri will sign on soon. There media has well-documented other examples of how we trail other states and countries. That probably explains why the Missouri Legislature is seriously considering some reasonable reforms.

The best indicator that the legislature is ready to act was the passage in the last session of Senate Bill 291. Among other things the bill calls for a study on open enrollment by the Joint Committee on Education. SB 291 also included measures involving charter schools, teaching standards, transparency, virtual schools and a parent’s bill of right. All should move us in the right direction.

Sen. Rob Mayer of Dexter, introduced a bill on open enrollment that received a considerable amount of support in the Senate. But senators decided to study the matter first and reconsider the matter next year. Sen. Mayer, who is chairman of the Senate Education Committee, should be commended for his forward thinking.

We live in a world where kids know more about technology than most adults and many teachers. We cannot continue to educate children the way we were educated years ago. We must use the technology that is available and encourage talented people to become teachers. A well educated workforce is the key to prosperity. Kudos to our legislators who grasp this fact.

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Open Enrollment Top Reform Issue as Legislature Returns

VIDEO: MERRF Highlights Benefits of Open Enrollment Legislations

koneil — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:08:05 +0000

Parents would be able to send their children to neighboring public schools under a bill filed in the Missouri General Assembly this year.

Under current state law, families are prohibited from choosing certain public schools – even ones close to their homes – because of outdated boundary lines and strict enrollment policies. Bills now being considered in the House and Senate would allow public school students to attend a school in a different district under certain conditions.

Those pieces of legislation are highlighted in a video being released today by the Missouri Education Reform Council. In the video, a lawmaker, former superintendent and a parent tout the benefits of open enrollment, which would ultimately foster parental involvement and boost performance of public schools by creating competition.

“We think competition is a good thing because in business and even in higher education, we see competition and it creates for a better school experience, better school systems,” said Senate Education Committee Chair Rob Mayer, a Republican from Dexter.

The legislation also targets the fact that neighboring schools are not only closer for some families, they also might perform as well or better than in-district schools.

For instance, children now attending New Madrid School within the New Madrid County school district have little choice if that school does not best fit their academic needs. Currently, those families can choose to transfer to Lilbourn Elementary, which is the closest school in the district’s boundaries despite being 12.6 miles away, but New Madrid Elementary children can’t attend Portageville Elementary, just 5 miles away, because it’s not in the same district.

Portageville Elementary outscores both Lilbourn and New Madrid on Missouri Assessment Program test scores. Last year, 25.2 percent of Lilbourn fourth graders were at grade level or above in communication arts, significantly less than the 60.7 percent of Portageville Elementary fourth graders scoring proficient or advanced. And 62 percent of Lilbourn fourth-grade students were proficient or above in math, compared to 68.9 percent of fourth graders at Portageville Elementary.

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The mission of Missouri Education Roundtable Council (MERRF) is to promote improvment in Missouri’s K-12 educational system, including increaseing performance, accountability and transparency.

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Open Enrollment Top Reform Issue as Legislature Returns