Rolla High and regional technical center report on testing, graduation and career‑tech expansion; course catalog changes approved
Summary
Rolla High School and the Roark Technical/Regional career center presented updates on student performance, attendance, graduation goals and career‑technical programming. The district approved the 2025 course description book that includes new offerings and proposed PLTW/computer‑science expansions.
Administrators from Rolla High School and the district career technical center presented progress reports and proposed course changes to the school board, emphasizing data‑driven instruction, attendance efforts, graduation targets and expansion of career‑technical offerings.
Why it matters: The presentations outlined steps intended to raise state assessment outcomes, improve graduation rates and expand career pathways that include industry‑recognized credentials (IRCs) and Project Lead The Way (PLTW) programming.
Highlights from Rolla High School presentation
- Academic goals: Rolla High's stated targets include raising proficiency to 60% in math (biology and government were specifically mentioned) and 65% in English by the end of the 2028'29 school year. Administrators said recent state test data arrived more quickly this year, enabling targeted department work.
- Professional development and testing schedule: The district reported release time for teachers to collaborate on curriculum alignment and common assessments; the high school is evaluating testing schedules to give students the best window for performance.
- Attendance: High school attendance was described as holding steady and above state averages. Staff credited a community liaison and home visitation for tier 2/tier 3 attendance improvements and noted the 8‑day attendance appeal process for credit recovery.
- Graduation and learning center adjustments: The board heard a goal of a 96% graduation rate (four‑year cohort); current reported rate was 92.9%. Administrators described restructuring the learning center to increase capacity and new options to support students at risk of not graduating.
- Facilities and activities: Staff highlighted use of the new field house and auditorium for athletics, assemblies and community events, and described increased opportunities for band, choir and other student groups.
Highlights from the regional technical center (RTI/CTE)
- Curriculum and credentialing: RTI staff described a multi‑year push to develop written curriculum, align instruction to industry standards, and expand measures of workplace readiness. They reported 28 of 29 students in the CCMA (clinical) credential program earned national registry last year and that 14 students recently earned ServSafe credentials.
- Soft skills and workplace readiness: RTI described a formative assessment for workplace skills that instructors assess at least three times per week, and time station practices to monitor punctuality and work habits.
- Advisory and community engagement: RTI said it convenes roughly 200 community advisory members across programs to align curriculum with local employer needs and to support internships and work‑based learning.
Course description book and specific course changes (approved)
The course book approved by the board contains a mix of new courses and revisions, including: - A new advanced competitive speech and debate course to strengthen research and public speaking skills. - Revisions to creative sewing to add interior textile design content. - A new functional service careers course aimed at students with IEPs tied to transition programming and the Bulldog Cafe experience. - PLTW adjustments: deletion of two older engineering course entries (engineering design and development; engineering essentials) and addition of a PLTW Capstone course as a pathway capstone; district staff signaled plans to grow PLTW computer science offerings and train a teacher to deliver the course. - Proposed new Technical Career Shop 1 & 2, intended for ninth and tenth graders to provide early exposure to multiple pathways; staff said these courses could prompt a request for additional staffing if student interest supports it.
What board members asked and next steps
Board members asked detailed questions about how state testing cohorts are counted, how local assessments feed into growth calculations, and how programming expansions would be staffed. District leaders said they will continue to monitor enrollment, refine course scheduling, and return with staffing requests if enrollment meets thresholds for new offerings.
The course description book approval provides the curriculum office the basis for next year's master schedule and for notifying families about new and revised course options.
