Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Services Program Evaluations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board hears program evaluations on counseling, student health and special education
Summary
At its April 28 meeting the Cape Girardeau Board of Education received detailed program-evaluation reports on district counseling, student health services and special education, with staff outlining budgets, staffing ratios and improvement goals.
The Cape Girardeau Board of Education on April 28 reviewed program evaluations for the district's counseling, student health and special education programs as part of its Continuous School Improvement Plan.
Miss Keyes, speaking to the board as the program presenter, said the counseling program’s annual budget is $1,468,229.13 and described services that include classroom lessons, individual counseling, small groups and partnerships with outside providers. "MSIP 6 says that you should have a 1 counselor to 250 [students]," Keyes told the board, and she said several buildings currently fall short of that recommended ratio.
Keyes told the board the district supplements school counselors with three school-based therapists provided by the Community Counseling Center and a district-funded mental-health support counselor, Teresa Campbell, who serves a fluctuating caseload of about 25 students. Keyes said the district's arrangement with community partners reduces barriers related to insurance paperwork and transportation.
On student health services, Keyes reported a budget of $639,721.81 (not including a federally funded early-childhood nurse) and said district nurses have recorded 29,496 office visits this school year. She noted all district school nurses are registered nurses and that buildings now carry emergency albuterol and epinephrine; Keyes said that availability has reduced ambulance calls for asthma attacks.
On special education, Keyes said the district serves about 660 students with individualized education plans (IEPs) from early childhood through 12th grade. She reported strengths including an 82.4% four‑year graduation rate for students with IEPs and declining dropout rates; she also said the district continues weekly data collection on student goals and objectives to support parent conferences and IEP reviews.
Keyes and board members flagged areas for continued work: bringing counselor-to-student ratios closer to the MSIP 6 recommendation, increasing access to community mental‑health providers at affordable rates, updating the district counseling manual and suicide-prevention plan, and improving access for students with IEPs to general‑education curriculum so they can better prepare for state assessments. Keyes also noted demographic shifts: families with children who have more significant needs are moving into the district to access local resources, a factor she said can affect comparison with neighboring districts’ data.
Board President Casey Cook (not present at the meeting) and Superintendent Dr. Binion listened as Keyes and others fielded questions; the board did not take any formal action on the reports at the meeting.
The district plans to continue updating program materials this summer and pursue community partnerships to expand low‑cost counseling options for students.
