Mexico Public Schools officials gathered with school officials and the public May 1 to discuss the continuous school improvement plan, the second public meeting in the school year regarding the CSIP. 

“The state of Missouri requires every district to have a continuous school improvement plan,” Mexico Public Schools Superintendent Troy Lentz said at the beginning of the meeting. “So we want to do that to be in compliance with state regulations, but also it’s just a good idea - it’s a best practice. I think all of us would agree that our kids deserve the best. I think everybody understands that people put forth a tremendous effort and we have a lot of talented people in the district, but I don’t think we ever want to say this is the best we can do. I think we always want to be able to try harder, strive better, and give our kids the best learning environment that we can.”  

Just a handful of people attended the May 1 meeting at the Mexico Public Schools building, where attendees could share their views on seven topics or revision areas. Fifty people attended a meeting in November to discuss the CSIP, whose revision areas were:

• Leadership
• Teaching & Learning
• Collaborative Climate and Culture
• Data-based Decision Making
• Alignment of Standards, Curriculum and Assessment
• Equity & Access
• Safety

The May 1 meeting included examination of these areas as well as review of the district’s Annual Performance Report and the climate and culture survey results administered in December. District officials discussed and distributed copies of the results of the community survey and the district’s Annual Performance Report from both 2023 and 2024. The district does not have results yet from the 2024-25 school year, as they will be released from the state to districts in the fall. 

“In reviewing the APR report from DESE, we see improvement during the 2023-2024 school year,” Lentz said later in an email, referring to Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. “Our goal is to continue to build on the improvement. I believe our staff and students worked hard to prepare for the spring 2025 testing schedule, and we look forward to reviewing the results when they are released by DESE in the fall.”

The district seeks a revised CSIP plan to present to the board in June. 

Attendees at the May 1 meeting shared their views of the Stakeholder Climate and Culture Survey Overview, which was administered in December and sought feedback from district parents, staff and students in grades four through 12. The district received 259 responses from parents, 133 responses from students in grades four and five and 763 responses from students in grades sixth through 12. Additionally, there were 96 responses from certified staff and 41 responses from support staff. Each of the group responses included celebrations, or positive ratings, as well as areas of improvement.

In the parents portion of the survey, on the celebrations component, parents commended the district on having a positive school environment and safety, strong communication and updates and respect and academic expectations. On areas of improvement, parents listed student voice and engagement, community feedback and transparency and support for at-home learning, with, on the last measure, some parents thinking they need more guidance on how to “support their child’s learning at home effectively.”

Among the findings on the student surveys, for the students in grades four and five, large majorities said they find strong teacher support, as it pertains to feeling respected by their teachers and thinking their teachers believe they can learn. On an area of improvement, while many students feel challenged by their work - 64.88% - this is lower than other categories, the survey said, noting that about 35% of students “either disagree or strongly disagree that they are challenged, which suggests a need to enhance engagement and rigor.”

For grade 6-12 students, many students - 80.1% - said their school is preparing them well for life after high school and they express confidence in their reading (88.2%) and writing (85.6%) abilities. On areas for improvement, under peer relationships and school climate, although students feel respected by adults, only 63.3% feel respected by other students and “only 67.7% feel like they belong at school, which indicates room for improving peer culture and inclusivity.” 

Attendees at the May 1 meeting heard about Link Crew, which is a new orientation program for high school freshmen that began this school year and is a program that has seniors mentoring freshmen. The school district will bring that concept to the middle school for a program called Where Everybody Belongs, which will have eighth graders mentor sixth graders, beginning this fall.

For certified staff, a large majority of teachers - 96.9% - said they love teaching, but under areas for improvement, while 75.4% feel intrinsically rewarded for their work, just 30.2% feel recognized when they do good work. “Additionally, staff morale (particularly among teachers and support staff) could be improved,” the survey stated.

And for support staff, a high percentage of staff said they belong at their school/building and are supported by their colleagues, but for the areas of improvement, under training and professional development, while many feel supported, “responses indicate a need for more targeted training to help staff improve in their roles.”