MHS exceeds improved state graduation rate

TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
Maryville R-II Superintendent Becky Albrecht is shown in her office Wednesday morning. While U.S. Department of Education statistics show improved graduation rates for high school students statewide — 87.8 percent at the close of the 2014-2015 academic year — Albrecht noted that the R-II diploma-completion standard lands consistently in the mid to high 90s.

The office of Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon this week released data from the U.S. Department of Education showing that Missouri’s high school graduation rate increased to 87.8 percent at the close of the 2014-2015 school year, up from 87.3 percent in 2013-2014.

Those numbers mean the Show-Me State’s graduation rate is significantly above the 82.3 percent national average and ranks within the top 10 nationally.

A governor’s office release further noted that since the 2010-2011 school year, Missouri’s graduation rate has risen nearly seven percentage points, from 81 percent to 87.8.

“Missouri’s top 10 in the nation graduation rate is another solid indication that the work we’ve done to support public education is having a positive impact on students and families across our state,” Nixon said in a prepared statement.

“Behind these numbers are thousands of students who are graduating from high school and going on to pursue college degrees and rewarding careers. I want to thank all of Missouri’s public school teachers, administrators, and board members who work tirelessly each day to build a brighter future for their students.”

But while the improved diploma rate is being hailed as good news by state officials, R-II Superintendent Becky Albrecht said prior to Wednesday night’s School Board meeting that Maryville High School consistently exceeds the state benchmark by as much as 10 points.

More than 98 percent of MHS seniors successfully completed graduation requirements during the 2015-2016 school year, Albrecht said, an improvement over both 2014-’15 (95.8 percent) and 2013-’14 (97.3 percent).

Like most high schools these days, MHS has implemented a number of programs designed to help students at risk of failing academically get back on track, but Albrecht said the R-II District’s success has more to do than people might think with the quality of instruction at both Maryville Middle School and Eugene Field Elementary.

“I think too many people connect high school graduation rates solely with the high school,” she said, “and obviously high school is very important, but our teachers work very hard in preschool and elementary school to get kids off to a good start.”

Albrecht added that elementary teachers “don’t always get the credit that they deserve,” both for teaching multiple subjects and keeping students “on target and progressing as expected.”

It is not at all unusual, she said, for positive — or negative — learning experiences in the early grades to “dictate that student’s future down the road.”

Once young people arrive at MHS, however, Albrecht said a number of initiatives are in place to help those who, for whatever reasons, begin falling behind.

The Spoofhound Academy, for example, allows students who have failed a course to retake it online for credit under the guidance of academy director Paul Snow, who is available to answer questions, provide one-on-one assistance, and review work.

A second initiative, Missouri Options, gives students for whom traditional instructional methods just aren’t working out a chance to acquire work experience while preparing to pass the HiSET exam leading to a high-school equivalency credential.

Missouri Option students spend three hours in school each morning studying for the HiSET than leave in the afternoon for work at a wage-paying job.

Other options for at-risk teens enrolled at MHS, Albrecht said, include tutoring and a summer school program that has been beefed up academically in order to emphasize “credit recovery” related to failed classes.

Finally, the superintendent acknowledged that considerable credit for student success at MHS goes to “a very supportive community” and a small-town culture in which parents are “invested in their kids’ education.”

“That home-school relationship is super important,” Albrecht said. “Parents having a personal connection (with local schools) goes a long way toward kids being successful.”

Not only is R-II posting graduation rates well above the state average, it’s doing so at less expense.

Albrecht said that the average cost of sending a child to a public school for a year statewide is about $10,600. In Maryville the price tag comes to a little more than $9,900.

“The outcomes we’re getting are better than most,” she said,” and we’re spending less money to do it. I think we’re spending the taxpayers’ money efficiently.”

About 74 percent of Maryville R-II’s $19 million annual operating budget comes from local tax revenues. The district currently serves approximately 1,440 students, 470 of which attend Maryville High School.