Page gives update on R-5 progress

Dr. Richard Page, superintendent of the Neosho R-5 School District, gave a update on the progress made in recent years in the district at a gathering of elected officials, business leaders and a few members of the general public Monday at a review meeting of the Comprehensive Plan put together for Neosho in 2006.

That year a group of Neosho citizens sat down and hammered out a number of items they would like the city to perform in the next 15 years.

During Monday’s meeting, those in attendance heard updates on the progress made by three important pieces of Neosho — Crowder College, the Neosho R-5 School District and the city of Neosho.

Since the Comprehensive Plan was put in place, a bond issue was passed in April 2006 to fund the construction of George Washington Carver Elementary School, and renovations to the high school. George Washington Carver opened in January 2008, and renovations to the high school were completed in August 2008. With the construction of the new elementary school, overcrowding issues at the other elementary schools (Central, Field, Goodman, Benton and South) were alleviated. In 2004, Benton Elementary School had an enrollment of 575 students, but a capacity for 483; Central Elementary School had an enrollment of 268, but a capacity for 208; South Elementary School had an enrollment of 494, but a capacity for 292. In 2004, there were 23 temporary classrooms located in mobile units in the district.

In 2009, Benton’s enrollment was only four students above its capacity; Central’s enrollment only 14 above capacity; Goodman’s enrollment 40 above capacity and South’s enrollment 51 below capacity. In 2009, there are 11 mobile units — four of which are located on the high school campus, one on the junior high school campus, and two at the middle school — and only Central and Goodman were the elementary schools that remained with mobile units, two each.

A second bond issue — Phase II which would have funded the construction of a fifth and sixth grade center next to Neosho Middle School, and continued renovations to the high school — was turned down by voters in November 2008 and again in April 2009.

During his speech to those in attendance at the plan review meeting Monday, Page discussed how the graduation rate of 89.5 percent in 2007 is far better than the graduation rate of 75 percent in 1999. The highest graduation rate was 92.4 percent in 2006.

The district’s dropout rate has been up and down during the same nine-year period with a high of 5.05 percent in 1999 and a low of 1.90 percent in 2005. The state average is 4.8 percent, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

In his report, Page noted that in 2007 30.5 percent of graduates entered a four-year institution of higher learning, and 28.9 percent went on to a two-year college. He said 25 percent of graduates in 2007 entered the workforce.

Page said in 2009 more than 40 percent of graduates planned to attend a two-year college, a high mark in that category.

Page outlined various goals for the district in the future, including that the district is considering the development of a “school within a school” concept called the Neosho Academy.

The academy concept is to raise the level of rigor on students who are college bound and/or want to be challenged within their high school career.

Students in the academy will be given an international experience through in-service workshops, guest speakers and research.

Page said the high school has increased the dual credit and advanced placement (AP) classes over the past two years, and has increased the science credits and math credits for all students, as well as added a personal finance class required before graduation.

In 2008, the district added an extra half-time counselor to work with students toward meeting graduation requirements.