R-5 construction on central office and other projects nears completion

Friday, September 14, 2007

Wednesday evening, Superintendent Craig Noah opened what may well be the last Nevada R-5 Board of Education meeting held in the current offices. If everything goes as planned the administrators, in early October, will move out of the offices which will then undergo remodeling to make three classrooms. The classrooms are needed to house new classes to help the district meet new core curricula standards mandated by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Noah updated the board on the construction projects still under way. The elevator is on schedule to be finished by the middle of September, at which time the chair lift will be removed. The central office is nearing completion and ownership of the building should be turned over to the district in the next few days. The football concession stand/restroom facility is nearing completion and was far enough along to be used during last Friday's game. Noah said he had received many compliments on the new building.

"I have received a lot of compliments, as I'm sure all of you have, on the new facility," Noah said. "The new building is close enough to the stands so it isn't too far to walk and the people really like it."

Barbara Gordon, director of special services, gave a presentation on the special education program and the gifted program. The special education program has 357 students in it with 26 teachers and 31 paraprofessionals. The gifted program has 56 students and two teachers. Board member Dr. Warren Lovinger asked why there was such a large discrepancy between the student-teacher ratio of each program.

"A large portion of our special education offerings are mandated by state or federal programs," Gordon said. "That's not the way it is for the gifted program."

Assistant Superintendent Christi Peterson updated the board on the ACT and Missouri Assessment Program tests. Nevada students did well on the MAP tests, meeting or exceeding DESE definitions of high achievement in seven of 14 areas.

"Once again our students and our staff have performed very well on the MAP and ACT test," Noah said. "As the requirements for all students to score at the advanced/proficient stage increases yearly for the MAP test, we continue to make strong strides in the classroom. We know that our staff will do all that they can to ensure that each student reaches their maximum potential in the classroom."

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