Lee's Summit R‑VII board reviews CSIP midyear update and holds roundtable with staff

A work session of the Lee's Summit R‑VII Board of Education focused on a quarter‑three update to the district's Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP), during which Dr. Barger told the board the district is largely "on target" across its five strategic goals and then led board members through a series of 11‑minute roundtable discussions with staff implementers.

Dr. Barger said the meeting was designed as a data snapshot and dialogue rather than a detailed objective‑by‑objective review. "We are right on target," she said while summarizing winter‑to‑winter assessment comparisons and other progress measures. The board adopted the meeting agenda at the start after a motion to adopt "as presented" and a voice vote in which those present responded "I." (A board member made the motion and a second was recorded.)

Why it matters: The CSIP guides district strategy on student growth, school climate, operations, partnerships and workforce development; the midyear work session gave board members direct access to staff responsible for implementation and a mechanism to collect follow‑up questions for June's formal evaluation.

Key takeaways from Dr. Barger's summary included: she said every measured subgroup showed a percent increase on NWEA winter comparisons and the district remains "on target" for its overall achievement objective, though one subgroup (Black students) was at 49.9% against a 50% growth goal. For college‑and‑career readiness points, Dr. Barger noted the district earned five of 10 points on the most recent APR tied to the 2024 cohort and said the district has implemented a plan requiring seniors who have not taken the ACT or Accuplacer to take the ASVAB so more students leave with an assessment.

On school climate, Dr. Barger said favorable responses on belonging and emotional regulation were largely static year‑to‑year but that favorable responses to the question about worrying about school violence showed improvement. Participation in co‑curricular activities rose overall, driven in part by elementary increases, and most tracked discipline categories showed declines though some areas remain close to target.

On operations and finance, Dr. Barger reported the district's ASBR fund balance at the end of FY25 was 26.2%, above the 25% minimum operating reserve target set by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. She also reported the district's Center for Internet Security self‑assessment score at 42 versus a national average of 18.

On partnerships and pathways, Dr. Barger noted the district currently counts 112 partnerships tied to internships, apprenticeships and career experiences; she said several measures are finalized only after spring reporting. On workforce goals, she said the district continues to make progress on staff diversity and reported high favorable responses (about 90% for certified and classified staff reporting workplace belonging) and that the district remains in the top third for pay and retention compared with the Kansas City metro at benchmark steps.

The board then split into one‑board‑member‑per‑table rotations. Dr. Barger instructed board members to spend roughly 11 minutes at each staffed table (she said she might reduce rotations to 10 minutes if time required) and encouraged members to place any unanswered questions on poster‑mounted 'parking lot' post‑it notes; staff will gather those notes and provide consolidated answers after the session. Dr. Barger closed by thanking the staff teams for their work and turned the meeting back to Board President Myers.

The CSIP will return to the board in June for a formal update and any revision suggestions.