Athletes Make Improvements to BHS Fieldhouse

Long Lane School Gets New Sign and Equipment

Mens Choir Competes at State Competition

Buffalo High Pilots the Smarter Balance Exam in Mathematics

Dallas County R 1 Schools Spring Report

FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS CONTINUE

DISTRICT MAKES TOUGH BUDGET DECISIONS FOR 2014-15

The Dallas Co. R1 School Board has been very focused the past few years upon continued improvements to all of the buildings and grounds included in the Dallas Co. R1 School District. Taking pride in our existing facilities and striving to make improvements over time have been one of the many goals of the Board of Education. Input regarding the facility improvements has been gathered by the Board of Education from a Community Advisory Committee, as well as the staff and administration in order to prioritize annual facility projects. Some of the projects from past years have been numerous and included such things as two FEMA shelters, parking lot renovations, refi nishing the fi eld house gym fl oor, renovations on the

Vocational Agriculture building (roof, exterior work), electrical upgrades, security doors/windows, security camera addition at Mallory, awning addition at Mallory, painting, tile work, replacement of sidewalks, interior and exterior door replacement at BPMS, additional security lighting and emergency lighting, and new intercom/fi re alarm system at DCTC & Mallory.

This summer the Board has approved a few more projects to continue our facility improvement efforts. (1) The fi eld house roof has been approved for a restoration project awarded to Stiles Roofi ng Company. After approximately twenty years, this roof is badly in need of

some work. (2) Several exterior doors will be replaced at BHS, BPMS, and Mallory campuses. (3) The Board is reviewing

the options for restoration on the exterior Dry-Vit material that

covers the majority of the high school.

All of these projects will be completed with use of Capital

Projects Funds. These funds are limited in amount by the rules governing school fi nance in the

state of Missouri. With recent loss of funds to the district, maintaining our facilities will begin to be a challenge since we will need to keep as much of our revenues available for paying the operational expenses of the district. It will be important for the

community and school district to work together to determine if a local bond issue could be considered for passage in order to continue maintaining our facilities in an appropriate manner.

With grant funding from the United States Department of Transportation we will be constructing over $200,000 worth of new sidewalks and walking trails on the Buffalo Prairie Middle School campus and new sidewalks on the Buffalo High School campus. These projects will begin con-struction in June and should be completed by the start of the school year in August. We feel these new sidewalks will make our campuses much safer and they will be a great resource for the entire community as a safe place to walk for exercise.

doors/windows, security camera addition at Mallory, awning addition at Mallory, painting, tile work, replacement of sidewalks, interior and exterior door replacement at BPMS, additional security lighting and emergency lighting, and new intercom/fi re alarm system at

This summer the Board has approved a few more projects to continue

campuses. (3)the options for restoration on the

exterior Dry-Vit material that covers the majority of the high school.

completed with use of Capital Projects Funds. These funds are limited in amount by the rules governing school fi nance in the

state of Missouri. With recent loss of funds

Preparations for the 2014-15 school year began last October (2013) as the Board of Education and Administration faced a situation similar to many other rural schools in Missouria short fall in revenue to support operations of the district. There are many reasons that the Dallas Co. R1 School District is struggling to fi nancially support the basic operational expenses and facility needs in the District. Taking a look at some of the factors affecting the fi nancial stability of the district may be helpful to patrons seeking to understand the fi nancial challenges of our district.

(1) Local Revenue StagnantApproximately 39% of the revenue for the Dallas Co. R1 School District comes from local property taxes and Prop C Sales Tax. This is much lower when compared to an average of 58% collected at the local level from other districts throughout Missouri. The local tax rate ceiling for our district is $3.35which we reached in the 2010-11 school year. Our district has one of the lowest tax levies in the area. The local tax rate and the assessed valuation of properties in our school district determine the amount of local revenue collected for the district. Because we have had little to no increase in property valued (assessed valuation) and no increases to the local levy (has stayed at $3.35 for the past three years), this means that we have seen stagnant revenues at the local level against rising expenditures.

(2) Declining State RevenueApproximately 46% of the revenue for the Dallas Co. R1 School District comes from the state foundation formula. This is much greater than the average of 33% collected by other Missouri school districts. Because our district depends greatly on state aid, this has been a large factor in our declining revenues over the past few years. The state foundation formula is based primarily upon the average daily attendance of students enrolled in the district. This means that the numbers of students and their attendance determines the amount of state funds the district receives. In 2005-2006, the enrollment of the Dallas

Co. R1 School District was 1909. This year (2013-14) our enrollment is 1706. The district has lost 203

students over the last eight years. Less kids means less

state revenue. Less revenue against rising expenditures

results in diffi culty creating a balanced budget.

(3) Declining Federal RevenueApproximately 15% of the revenue for

the Dallas Co. R1 School District comes from the Federal Government. This is greater than the average of 9% col-lected by other Missouri school districts. During the last few years school districts have received many cuts and re-ductions in federal funding streams. Sequestration has also affected revenues and resulted in reductions. Our third and fi nal source of revenue has also been declining in the face of rising expenditures which has contributed to the fi nancial diffi culties of our district.

(4) Rising ExpendituresThe Dallas Co. R1 School District have seen rising expenditures in many areas during the last few years. Some of these rising costs include: retirement benefi ts, insurance benefi ts, utilities, fuel, food, and buses just to name a few.

When declining revenues are paired against rising expenditures, then tough decisions must be made regarding a balanced budget for the school district. The bottom line is that either expenditures must be cut or another source of revenue must be found in order to meet the operational and facility needs in the district. The Board of Education approved a budget for 2013-14 school year with a $1.3 million dollar defi cit. While the district has balances to absorb this defi cit, balances will drop to 16% by the end of the current school year. Financial advisors and auditors advise that districts keep balances in reserve of approximately 20-25%, which amounts to three months of operating expenses for the district. Strong balances are recommended in order to maintain the fi nancial stability of the district should any unforeseen expenditures or revenue reductions occur. Therefore, this level of defi cit spending can not continue if we are to preserve the fi nancial stability of the district.

District Superintendent Robin Ritchie projected approximately a $2 million dollar defi cit based upon current expenditures for the 2014-15 school year. Recommendations for signifi cant cuts to the expenditures were presented to the Board. In December 2013, the Board of Education made $1.6 million dollars worth of reductions to the budget for the Dallas Co. R1 School District in order to try and close the gap between the declining revenues and rising expenditures of the district. These cuts included Career Ladder, Summer Athletic Stipends, 13 teaching positions, 3 full time classifi ed positions, 3 part time classifi ed positions, and reductions to purchased service, supply, and library book accounts. A vertical and horizontal salary freeze for 2014-15 was also approved by the Board.

The Superintendent is hopeful that the remaining $400,000 defi cit will be closed with the increases to state aid being currently proposed by the governor for next year.

Until the Missouri Legislature makes its fi nal state budget decisions later this year in May, the amount of state funding will be uncertain. In the Superintendents Budget Message for the current school year, Mrs. Ritchie stated the following: There is no doubt that unless there are increases to revenue at the state and federal level, which do not appear to be forthcoming, that the District will either have to ask the folks to raise the levy for operational purposes if the District wishes to continue funding at the levels anticipated over the next few years. If no increase in local levies occurs, then substantial cuts will need to be made in order to keep the district fi scally sound. Even with the possibility of increased funding from the state level, the fact that the district has stagnant local revenue and a trend of steadily declining student enrollment, more budget cuts/reductions will undoubtedly be necessary in the next few years unless levy increases are passed by local patrons.

Despite these cuts, Superintendent Ritchie reminded the Board of Education during last Decembers meeting that the staffs services to children would not waiver. Ritchie stated that our ministry to students is not a jobbut it is a service. She went on to state that the staff she works alongside will continue to go above and beyond to help students and their families. Ritchie added that the staff that work in the Dallas Co. School District next year will continue to offer quality services to students without Career Ladder, or without as many supplies or purchased services, considering that the school is not made up of stuff but is made up of these peoplewith our staff being the districts greatest resource. Ritchie reminded the Board of Education of the following statement shared with her by a staff member: We are all in this together. You are not in this alone. We are with you. Ritchies fi nal comments to the Board were that despite necessary cuts that would have to be made, the Board could rest assured that this district will continue to make progress and that we would continue to move forward because the staff will make sure of it. Ritchie stressed that This is what professional do.

Superintendent Ritchies fi nal comment to the board was as follows: I fear that this is only the beginning of the hard decisions you will have to make this yearbut I am confi dent that we can make them by shouldering them together. This proved to be true later this year in February when the Board approved no increases to insurance benefi ts, as had been customary in the past. Only time will tell what other tough decisions the district will be facing, but there is no doubt that a supportive staff, administration, board and community will be required to keep the district moving forward.

year (2013-14) our enrollment is 1706. The district has lost 203

students over the last eight years. Less kids means less

state revenue. Less revenue against rising expenditures

results in diffi culty creating

The idea started with the Lady Bison basketball team to make improvements to the girls locker room by adding some fresh paint. The students began the project in the fi eldhouse locker room on one of many snow days. Amber Austin says, Its really looking good. They enjoyed the time working together as a team, not just on the court. They added school colors, black and white with some red emphasis.

When the new locker room color boosted the team spirit, they decided to expand the project to the hallways around the fi eldhouse. Some members of the team and a few friends spent their spring break painting the east hallway. They discovered the project was much more time consuming than anticipated. Morgan Henderson said, This project is really sweet. I wished we had started it sooner. There work really brings out the bison pride.

Junior students at Buffalo High School will be piloting a new exam in mathematics. The exam is the fi rst for Common Core State Standards in Missouri. The exams will be administered online March 31 and April 1. Many other schools will also be piloting exams in math and English language arts. The tests are developed by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium which includes

Missouri and 23 other states.Teachers have been involved in professional

development to prepare for the assessments. The tests will include multiple choice questions, constructed response questions, and performance tasks to measure critical thinking and problem solving. Students will participate in two testing sessions. One session will include the non-performance questions

(multiple choice) while the second session will include performance tasks. The pilot will help test the online assessment system and provide information to fi ne tune questions in effectively assessing student achievement. The standards and assessments are designed to measure student preparation for college and career readiness. The pilot tests will also show parents, staff, and community members

how the new assessments will work.Student are encouraged to be in attendance

on their scheduled day of testing, get plenty of rest the night before, eat a healthy breakfast, and do their very best on the tests. Students giving their best effort and being in attendance on their test date will be rewarded with a special lunch planned after test administrations are completed.

Communication with parents and the community was enhanced this year with the installation of a new sign in front of the Long Lane campus. This changeable sign was purchased by the PTO with funds from the schools yearly carnival. The sign allows us to keep both our families and the community apprised of events that will be happening during the school year.

Another project underway at Long Lane is the replacement of the basketball goals on the play area in front of the building. Thanks to a generous donation of four new backboards and hoops from the Dallas County YMCA and the 21st Century grant, we will be improving the basketball court. This play area is used often during the winter season when our playground is too wet.

Long Lane students and staff would like to thank both these organizations for their generous donations to help improve our campus.

For the fi rst time that can be remembered by staff and former staff, Buffalo High School will have a Mens Choir competing at state competition. There is only one competition in the state of Missouri for choirs. The group will compete at Camdenton High School Saturday, April 5. The 16 members of the Mens Choir are also members of the Mixed Chorus. They

will perform two numbers Tollite Hostias and Tell My Father. You can also see this group perform at the Spring Concert held in the Shewmaker Auditorium on the Buffalo High School campus Sunday, May 11 at 3:30 p.m.

Members include, front row: Gabe Meraz, Phillips Canole, Kahl Gillispie, Michael Jenks, William Means, and Jeremy Hostetler. Middle row: John Smithson, Andrew Hyder, K.J. Harris, Thai Nguyen, Bailey Bilyeu. Back row: Sam Paro, Austin Hicks, Dakota Lorenz, Collin Crouch, and Ethan Lynch.

DCR1 Events CalendarApril 17- Kindergarten Jamboree 6 p.m. @ Mallory

April 18- No School- Easter Break

April 24- Dallas Co. Technical Center Awards 7 p.m. @ Shewmaker Cntr.

April 26- BHS Prom

May 2- BHS NHS Induction & Senior Awards 7 p.m. @ Shewmaker Cntr.

May 5-16- BHS End of Course Exams

May 8- Elementary Musical Performance 7 p.m. @ Shewmaker Cntr.

May 12-15- Elementary and BPMS M.A.P. Testing

May 16-17- 7/8th grade choir Beauty and the Beast Jr. musical 7 p.m. @ Shewmaker Center

May 18- BHS Baccalaureate 6 p.m. @ Shewmaker Cntr.

May 23- BHS Graduation 8 p.m.

May 29- BPMS Field Day

May 30- BPMS Talent Show and Awards Ceremony

June 2- Last Day of School (early release 1:15)

June 4-27- Summer School

400979cl

Buffalo Prairie Middle School News

Dallas County Technical Center NewsSkillsUSA is a United States career and technical student

organization serving more than 320,000 high school and college students and professional members enrolled in training programs in technical, skilled, and service occupations, including health occupations.

The organization helps to prepare students for work in many different industries. It also helps students to realize their leadership potential through opportunities to serve as offi cer, committee chairs and organize events in their local chapters as well as within the community.

Competitions are held in every capacity of the SkillsUSA educational plan. Members can showcase their skills, as learned in the classrooms as well as industry through job shadowing programs and internship opportunities. There are also competitions that help students work as a team. Opening and Closing competitions are very rigid and require a huge dedication from everyone on the team. Teamworks allows students to demonstrate the ability to read blueprints and utilize planning strategies to build a component of a home or business using the materials supplied and nothing more.

Other competitions require students to plan a presentation and present to a panel of judges. Students learn to face

stress head on and make important decisions based on the information they are given.

Many students that are members of SkillsUSA go to competitions; however, many others miss out on that opportunity. They do however get another chance to prove their abilities by participating at Nationals as a member of the Courtesy Corps Team. Without Courtesy Corps students and advisors many of the competitions would not be held. These volunteers spend nine days setting up, working and tearing down each and every competition. Courtesy Corps also works at the Awards ceremony and the SkillsUSA Auction.

The curriculum offered through SkillsUSA allows students a chance to develop professionally both in the organization and their lives. The programs are outlined as follows:

The Professional Development Program (PDP) teaches 76 workplace skill competencies in a series of hands-on self-paced lessons.

Student2Student Mentoring gives high school students a chance to mentor younger students.

CareerSafe is a credentialed 10-hour online training program developed in cooperation with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to provide students

with basic knowledge of safety and a credential desired in the job market.

The Career Skills Education Program (CSEP) contains 49 online lessons teaching basic employment and life skills to college/postsecondary students.

The SkillsUSA Work Force Ready System is a comprehensive tool to help students document entry-level skills as defi ned by industry and accepted by state education policy. Developed under a W. K. Kellogg Foundation grant, the Work Force Ready System will feature 47 industry-driven assessments.

Mallory Participating in Statewide Initiative For the last two years the teachers at

Mallory Elementary have been selected to participate in a statewide initiative called the Collaborative Work initiative. With a desired outcome of Improved outcomes for all Missouri students, the CW initiative is a collaboration between the Missouri Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (DESE), the Regional Professional Development Centers, and other schools across the state. Mallory was selected in the summer of 2012 because of our improved scores on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) tests over the last few years.

The CW initiative is designed so that Mallory teachers will be working in grade-level data teams to look at three areas: Effective Teaching and Learning Practices, Common Formative Assessments, and Data-Based Decision-making. Our school has received a grant of $7500 per year to help offset the expenses associated with the work.

Effective Teaching and Learning PracticesThis year, our teachers chose to focus

on the area of effective feedback in the classroom. Our teachers participated

in a book study led by Jana Loge from the Southwest Regional Professional Development Center over the book, How to Give Effective Feedback to Your Students. Through the study, our teachers were better able to understand the role of feedback and its impact on student learning. We also learned how to recognize the different levels of feedback and gained some strategies for implementing the use of effective feedback.

Common Formative AssessmentsAnother positive that has come from

our participation in the CW initiative is the increased and improved use of Common Formative Assessments. A common formative assessment is an assessment given by all teachers at a grade level or in a particular content area. Our teachers work together in their grade level teams to identify essential learning outcomes (ELOs) that the student must master before moving on to the next grade. They then create an assessment around that particular ELO.

The assessment is fi rst given as a pretest which enables our teachers to know which students have mastered the concept, which students are nearing mastery, and which students have a ways

yet to go. This information allows the teachers to better craft their lessons and interventions so that they are tailored to the specifi c needs of their students.

After the concept has been taught and practiced the teachers give another assessment in order to determine if progress is being made. This cycle can be repeated until all students have mastered the concept. It can also be used to identify if students need additional support outside of the regular lesson time to enable them to reach mastery.

Data-Based Decision-makingFinally, our teachers are making a

concentrated effort to make better use of the data that is available to them. Our teachers analyze a variety of different data sources including the STAR Reading and Math tests taken each quarter, common formative assessments, the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP test), and other classroom data. They use the information to improve the instruction that occurs in the classroom. They also use data to teach students to better understand their own learning progression and to set learning goals. The data also allows us to identify students who

will benefi t from additional support that can be provided in a variety of ways-small group or one-on-one tiered interventions, after-school tutoring, Reading Recovery, or special education.

ConclusionThis has been a rich and rewarding

experience for our students and our teachers. We are able to better measure student growth. We are better able to identify areas where students are struggling and analyze what the cause(s) of that struggle may be. Our teachers are better to evaluate the effectiveness of their own instruction because they have data to indicate when students are learning and when they are not.

The conversations that our teachers are having are much deeper and focused on student learning. They are able to share advice about teaching and learning from their own successes and can clearly communicate why it has been successful. Finally, the teachers have made a concentrated effort to improve the instruction in the classroom by focusing on practices that have been scientifi cally proven to have the greatest impact on student learning.

The BPMS Spring Musical is Beauty and the Beast, Jr.

Collaborative Work GrantAssessment Capable Learners

MAP Testing

Wyldlife

Summer School Classes

Student Led Vs. Teacher Led Classrooms Can it work?

Dallas County R 1 Schools Spring Report

www.BisonPride.org

Keep Informed About Your DCR1 Schools

Follow us on Twitter @ BisonPrideR1

Like our Facebook page @Dallas County R-1 Schools

Dallas County R-I Schools Central Offi ce 345-2222Buffalo High School 345-2223

Dallas County Technical Center 752-3491Buffalo Prairie Middle School 345-2335Dillard A. Mallory Elementary 345-2350

Long Lane Elementary 345-6897Bus Barn/Transportation 345-2899

Contact Your Schools

Buffalo Prairie Middle School Choirs is in fevered preparations to share our production of Beauty and the Beast, Jr. This musical is a perfect vehicle to showcase our talented students this year.

Beauty and the Beast is a traditional fairy tale that was first pub-lished in French in the mid-eighteenth century. Walt Disney Pictures released their version in 1991. This version was translated to the Broadway stage as well as having won Academy Awards

for Best Song and best Best Original Score.

The musical runs on May 16th and 17th, 2014. The performances will be held at the Shewmaker Center on the Buffalo High School Campus. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students. Children 5 and

under will be admitted free of charge. Come share the magic of this classic tale with our very own Buffalo talent. We look forward to seeing you there!

Buffalo Prairie Middle School has had the opportunity for a couple of classrooms to change to student led classrooms with the implementation of common core. What does this mean and how has it changed student achievement? Mrs. Francis and Mrs. Lewis have implemented common core through hands on activities that students can extend into other classrooms. We have combined English and Social Studies creating an exciting script on point of view on the Boston Massacre. Students are creating comic strips about Greek Gods as well as doing research and presenting information to classmates. Science has been combined with English to create the fun and exciting Bison Pride News team that has an active Skype schedule.

We are using a combination of

technology and traditional project learning. How are the students reacting? They are focusing on learning targets and creating their own connections to other classrooms. Other teachers are seeing signifi cant drops in behavior and students are excited to come in and learn. We are seeing signifi cant growth in critical thinking skills, getting them ready for 21st century learning.

Every year, in the spring, all BPMS students participate in the states annual performance test called the MAP test. The MAP test stands for Missouri Assessment Program. This year the MAP test will take place at BPMS on May 13-15. Students are assessed on math, communication arts (English/Language Arts), and science. During the testing dates, we ask that parents do everything they can to make sure their kids are prepared. Some suggestions would be to make sure their kids get adequate sleep and breakfast. It is also very important that the kids are present on the day of testing. Studies indicate students perform much better when they get to test with their peers and not during make-up dates. It is also helpful if parents help us make clear to students that the MAP test is important, their scores will be used for both judge their knowledge and abilities and the quality of our schools.

Summer school is fast approaching at Buffalo Prairie Middle School. Our teachers are preparing classes that are fun, engaging and educational. Summer School at BPMS is offered to next years 5th -8th grade students. The dates for summer school at BPMS are June 4-27. The summer school hours will be from 8:00-3:00. Our summer school brochures will be sent home soon with the kids around the middle of April. Some of the classes that will be offered are found below:

One of the new clubs at the MS is a group that meets on a monthly basis called Wyldlife. The group allows students to get together to enjoy fellowship with each other. Games and activities are lead by adult sponsors of the club. All kids in grade 5-8 are invited.

Math Intervention (7-8) Buffalo Builds WallaceGross Me Out Flint (5-8) There is an App for That Hicks (5-6)Book It! Huff (5-8) Lifetime sports Dean (5-8) Crafty Creations Huff (5-8) Wonderful World of Hogwarts A. Potter (5-8) Math Camp (5-6) Design Squad-Wallace (5-8)English Language Arts Intervention Reeves (5-8)

A Splash of Art Bruton (5-8)Cooking through AMERICAN History Viets (5-8)Summer Games Potter (5-8) World at War and math strategies Mr. Wimberly and Mr. Potter- (5-8)Get in the Game (5-8) Rooker Outdoor Adventure Jackson (5-8)De Bonnes Vacances Flint (5-6) The X Factor Canole (5-8) Academic Bowl Academy Canole (5-8)

Throughout the school year, BPMS teachers have been focusing on professional development training called Assessment Capable Learners. Assessment Capable Learners is a process of allowing students to see where they are going in relationship to clear targets that have been established, where they are now (done through goal setting after pre and mid assessments), and the steps they should take to meet their goals. Through this process, teachers focus on the importance of the assessment process and use data to give feedback to the students and use the data for re-teaching and tracking. Assessments throughout the school year are often given on a daily basis to monitor progress. A formative assessment is an assessment that is specifi cally intended to provide feedback on performance to improve or accelerate learning. Formative assessments can be quizzes, in class assignments, projects, performances or surveys. Our teachers and students have all benefi tted from this professional development training. One of the valuable parts of the training is that it has been completely free! Through a Collaborative Work Grant, all trainings and substitutes have been paid for by this grant.

400981cl