R-II District draws support from groups
Becky Albrecht
In Missouri, public schools are supported by a wide variety of professional and advocacy organizations aimed at promoting, protecting, and improving public education.
If you aren’t in the education business, you may not be aware of these groups and their impact. A few, but certainly not all having direct connections with Maryville R-II, are Missouri Association of School Administrators (MASA), Missouri Associations for Elementary & Secondary Principals (MAESP & MASSP), Better Schools for Missouri, Missouri Association of Rural Education (MARE), Missouri School Boards Association (MSBA), Missouri State Teachers Association (MSTA), and Missouri National Education Association (MNEA).
MASA is dedicated to serving central office administrators, primarily superintendents. Total membership exceeds 600, but the state group is subdivided and organized regionally into smaller groups which meet monthly.
Its counterparts for principals are MAESP and MASSP.
Maryville is part of the northwest region, which meets monthly in St. Joseph. Meetings of all these organizations focus on news, updates, legislation, and related professional development.
The programs include presentations and discussions. They are attended by members, and also by representatives from area colleges, attorneys, area DESE supervisors, legislators, and school business officials such as accountants, financial advisors, insurance agents, and others.
The Maryville R-II School District belongs to MARE and MSBA.
Both offer services such as policy assistance, board consulting services, legal hotlines, staff and board trainings, and administrator search assistance.
MARE is dedicated to the unique needs and concerns of rural education.
MSBA is dedicated to public school and school board operations.
MSTA and MNEA are both advocates for public schools, students, and employees.
They offer multiple services to their members: legislative advocacy, training and workshops, insurance, and legal assistance.
Both offer membership to support school support staff, as well as certified staff. Most teachers in Missouri belong to one or the other of these groups.
While these groups are varied in membership and demographics, they are united in one cause: improved educational opportunities for kids in Missouri.
Because Maryville R-II shares this goal, we value the support and assistance of these groups.
If you would like more information on any of them, it is only a quick Google search away, as all have websites. Most are also connected with Facebook and Twitter.
If you’d like more information on Maryville R-II, our website www.maryville.k12.mo.us is a great sources.
The district also sponsors many Twitter feeds related to specific programs. Follow me @beckymalbrecht for tweets on school related news and information.
