Jefferson City Public Schools' middle school students will have separate reading and writing classes starting this school year, but the time for more instruction on each of the subjects is intended to reinforce the other to improve students' reading abilities.
"The reading and writing instruction, it's a reciprocal relationship, where they won't work in isolation. There will be common plan time," JCPS Director of Secondary Education Gary Verslues said.
"There are going to be lots of times, we're hopeful, that it's going to be a combination of 'the things we're reading about are the things we're writing about,'" JCPS Chief of Learning Brian Shindorf said of collaboration among the teachers of both classes.
"Whatever writing standards they're working on, that will be tied to a reading selection that best fits the way to teach that standard," Verslues said, adding, "they'll go hand-in-hand."
The district's long-term goal is to have all of its students reading at or above their grade level or meeting their individual educational goals.
"We have seen, over the last couple years, pretty good progress with the elementary levels, and so we want to take the models that have been working well at the elementary level, like the professional development plans with the structures that we use, and we want to now embed those in middle schools, because the truth is we're not satisfied yet with the literacy achievement that's happening at the middle school level, so rather than just 'let's just wait and hope that elementary kids get there eventually,' we want to ensure that we're providing the best practices possible at the middle school level," Shindorf said.
He added: "We have invested over the past few years an incredible amount of time, energy, money and professional development at the elementary level because our belief has been the earlier we intervene, if we invest our resources earlier, then we don't have to do as much catch-up later."
"It's more minutes (available) to do both," Verslues said of having reading and writing split at the middle schools.
Verslues said students will have both classes every day, and the split in reading and writing applies to all middle school students, grades 6-8.
He said students' schedules will remain the same, with five core classes and two periods of non-core or elective periods.
Shindorf added something else on literacy improvement efforts he's excited about is the addition of a secondary school-level literacy trainer - a position that has had someone serving the elementary schools for the last few years, but not the middle schools, despite being a critical piece for staff development.
"The literacy trainer will be that position that connects all the dots - from the curriculum, instruction, professional development office suite to the administrators in the buildings, to the teachers, to the instructional coaches; that's the one constant" connecting all supports, Verslues said.
He said the secondary-level literacy trainer will focus on grades 6-8 in the first year, but in the future will work with grades 6-12.
JEFFERSON CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Superintendent: Larry Linthacum, [email protected].
Central Office contact: 315 E. Dunklin St., Jefferson City, 65101; 573-659-3000; jcschools.us.
School contacts:
Parents as Teachers program: For parents with children aged birth to kindergarten entry, and expectant parents - PAT offers free services to help children be ready to succeed in school and life. Learn more about the child development screening, parent education nights, family activities and personalized home visits the program offers at jcschools.us/pat or on Facebook at facebook.com/JCPSPAT.
Southwest Early Childhood Center: 812 St. Marys Blvd., 573-659-3026. Principal Sarah Wilding, [email protected].
Elementary schools
Belair: 701 Belair Drive, 573-659-3155, Fax: 573-632-3492. Principal Elizabeth Milhollin, [email protected].
Callaway Hills: 2715 Route AA, Holts Summit; 573-896-5051, Fax: 573-896-4054. Principal Todd Shalz, [email protected].
Cedar Hill: 1510 Vieth Drive, 573-659-3160, Fax: 573-632-3493. Principal Stacy Fick, [email protected].
East: 1229 E. McCarty St., 573-659-3165, Fax: 573-632-3489. Principal Ryan Day, [email protected].
Lawson: 1105 Fairgrounds Road, 573-659-3175, Fax: 573-632-3487. Principal Patricia Tavenner, [email protected].
Moreau Heights: 1410 Hough Park Road, 573-659-3180, Fax: 573-632-3495. Principal Suzanna Haugen, [email protected].
North: 285 South Summit Drive, Holts Summit; 573-896-8304, Fax: 573-896-4018. Principal Brandi Fatherley, [email protected].
Pioneer Trail: 301 Pioneer Trail Drive, 573-632-3400, Fax: 573-632-3420. Principal Scott Salmons, [email protected].
South: 707 Linden Drive, 573-659-3185, Fax: 573-632-3497. Principal Teresa Tillinghast.
Thorpe Gordon: 1101 Jackson St., 573-659-3170, Fax: 573-659-3514. Principal Christopher Schmitz, [email protected].
West: 100 Dix Road, 573-659-3195, Fax: 573-632-3496. Principal Heather Beaulieu, [email protected].
Secondary schools
Lewis and Clark Middle School: 325 Lewis and Clark Drive, 573-659-3200, Fax: 573-659-3209. Principal Deanne Fisher, [email protected].
Thomas Jefferson Middle School: 1201 Fairgrounds Road, 573-659-3250, Fax: 573-659-3259. Principal Shawn Kelsch, [email protected].
Capital City High School: 1650 Cavalier Drive, 573-659-3286. Principal Ben Meldrum, [email protected].
Jefferson City High School: 609 Union St., 573-659-3050, Fax: 573-659-3153. Principal Bob James, [email protected].
Nichols Career Center: 605 Union St., 573-659-3100, Fax: 573-659-3154. Director Cody Bashore, [email protected].
Jefferson City Academic Center: 501 Madison St. (Miller Center), 573-659-2510. Principal Justin Browning.
Adult education
JCPS hosts the state-funded Adult Education Program at the Mid-MO Adult Learning Center. Free High School Equivalency Test preparation classes and free English as a Second Languages classes are offered.
Registration is required. More information is available at jcschools.us/adulted.
Registration
New students: Visit the district's Welcome Center at its Central Office. Summer office hours, effective through Aug. 2, are 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays and 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Fridays. More information is available at www.jcschools.us/Page/183.
Returning students:
All elementary schools (grades 1-5): Noon-7 p.m. Aug. 13, or 8 a.m.-3 p.m., Aug. 14, at students' elementary school.
All secondary schools (grades 6-12): Noon-7 p.m. Aug. 12, or 8 a.m.-3 p.m., Aug. 13, at students' respective buildings both days, except for JCHS - registration for JCHS will be held at Lincoln University's Jason Gym because of renovations.
Open house events:
Elementary schools (grades K-5): 4:30-6:30 p.m. Aug. 22, at students' elementary school.
Middle schools (grade 6): 5:30-7:30 p.m. Aug. 20, at students' respective middle school.
Middle schools (grades 7 and 8): 5:30-7:30 p.m. Aug. 22, at students' respective middle school.
High schools (grades 9-12): 5:30-7:30 p.m. Aug. 22. Both high schools are planning to hold their open houses onsite, as long as construction and renovation remain on schedule over the summer.
School times
Southwest Early Childhood Center: The morning session for Early Childhood Special Education will be 7:30-10:30 a.m. The afternoon session for ECSE will be 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Regular preschool will be from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Afternoon preschool will be from 11:45 a.m.-3 p.m.
Elementary schools (for grades K-5): 7:45 a.m.-2:45 p.m. Buildings will open for students at 7 a.m.
Middle schools (for grades 6-8): 8:50 a.m.-3:50 p.m. Buildings will open for students at 8:20 a.m. JCPS is planning to have before-school care options available for families beginning as early as 7 a.m., and those options are being finalized.
High schools (for grades 9-12): 8:40 a.m.-3:40 p.m. Buildings will be open for students at 7:30 a.m. Students may enter the building as early as 7 a.m. for approved purposes, such as club meetings, activities practices and rehearsals, meeting with a teacher, etc.
OTHER DETAILS
Calendar: Visit www.jcschools.us/Page/16791 for more information, including to access the upcoming events calendar.
First day of school: Aug. 27.
Winter break: Early release Dec. 20. No school Dec. 23 to Jan. 3. School resumes Jan. 6.
Spring break: March 23-27.
Last day of school: May 21.
Enrollment: Preliminary K-12 enrollment for the 2018-19 school year was 8,813, according to the state's education department. Enrollment for 2019-20 will not be reported to the state until September.
Average student/teacher ratio: 17-to-1 for the district.
Staff changes: Teresa Tillinghast will be the principal at South Elementary School, and Justin Browning will be the principal at Jefferson City Academic Center. Tillinghast was previously the administrative intern at Lawson Elementary School, and Browning is new to JCPS, from Columbia.
Facility changes: Interior painting, new mirrors in the bathroom and a new sidewalk at Callaway Hills; new stair lift at East; interior painting at Moreau Heights; new dishwasher and new tile in the entrance and kitchen at North; interior painting and a new intercom/bell system at Southwest; new stripes for the parking lot and playground at Thorpe Gordon; new fence on the west side of the playground at West; parking lot and gym lighting upgrade, interior painting and intercom/bell system/clock replacement at Lewis and Clark; intercom/bell system/clock replacement and interior painting at Thomas Jefferson. Adkins Stadium: new exterior for Weber Locker Room Building, and new scoreboard, turf and track.
Curriculum changes: High schools and middle schools will be on a seven-period schedule.
Eighth-graders who are interested in agriculture - including plant and animal science, technology and business - will be able to take an Exploring Agriculture course.
New Nichols Career Center courses include Agriculture Leadership; Broadcast Media II; Floral Design; Food Science; Landscaping/Turf Maintenance and Management; and Vet Science.
A new high school world history course integrated with an English course is available.
Goals for 2019-20: JCPS' short-term goals are to increase monthly attendance compared to the previous year; to increase the percentage of its students who read at or above their grade level, compared to the previous year; and to reduce monthly discipline referrals compared to the previous year. The district's long-term goal is to have all of its students reading at or above their grade level or meeting educational goals.
See the News Tribune's Back to School section for additional information about the 2019-20 school year at area schools.