How To Reach Us:
St. Louis Front Page
P.O. Box 1354
St. Louis, MO 63188
Voice: 314-771-0200
Fax: 314-771-0300
To submit news, contact:
editor@slfp.com
To advertise, contact:
advertising@slfp.com
|
|
|
ST. LOUIS NEWS TODAY - Sunday, March 19, 2006
|
Missouri Approved for Federal Disaster Relief
JEFFERSON CITY, (SLFP.com), March 19, 2006 - Missouri Governor Matt Blunt and U.S. Senators Jim Talent and Kit Bond have announced that President Bush has approved the Governors' request for a federal disaster declaration for affected Missouri counties after severe storms and tornadoes swept through the state March 11-13. Senators Talent and Bond sent a letter to the President this week requesting quick approval of the Governor's request.
"I am pleased the President responded to Missouri's call for assistance," said Governor Matt Blunt. "Eleven lives were lost to these devastating storms along with hundreds of destroyed homes, businesses and other properties. This financial assistance will help Missourians get back on their feet and rebuild their communities. I am grateful to the President and his administration for the compassion they have shown our state and to our fine congressional delegation for supporting my request for assistance."
"I'm very pleased that Missourians who were hurt by these storms will now have additional resources behind them," said Sen. Talent. "The storms and tornadoes devastated many areas of the state and this declaration will help provide new federal resources to help individuals and business owners recover from this disaster. Sen. Bond and I have been working all week with the Governor's office, the State Emergency Management Agency, local law enforcement and the Red Cross to provide assistance for Missourians who were affected by the storms and we are very pleased the President approved our request for additional help."
"For Missouri communities that have experienced the tragic loss of life and extensive property damage, the President's approval of this disaster assistance is welcome news," said Senator Kit Bond. "It will give communities and individuals the resources they need to start rebuilding their homes and their lives in the wake of these devastating storms."
The President's action makes Federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Christian, Hickory, Johnson, Monroe, Perry, Pettis, Randolph, Ste. Genevieve and Saline.
Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
Federal funding also is available to State and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis in the counties of Bates, Christian, Howard, Jefferson, Monroe, Montgomery, and Washington for debris removal and emergency protective measures.
State Board of Education Hears Proposal
To Replace High School "MAP" Tests
JEFFERSON CITY, (SLFP.com), March 19, 2006 - Missouri education officials are considering a plan under which the current "MAP" tests for public high school students would be replaced by a nationally recognized college-entry exam, such as the ACT or SAT.
A preliminary recommendation about the proposal was presented to the State Board of Education, March 16, in Jefferson City. The proposal was developed by an advisory committee that has spent the past year evaluating the state's current high school testing program.
Under the proposal, beginning in the spring of 2008, the state would pay for all eleventh-graders in public schools to take a standardized college-entry exam, such as the ACT or SAT. It would include a writing test.
The new exam would replace the current MAP tests administered in grades 10 and 11. However, the MAP science test would be retained, because the existing college- entry exams do not adequately cover the state's science standards. The MAP science test also would be given in grade 11.
Results from the new test would provide diagnostic and instructional information for students and teachers as well as the data needed to satisfy state and federal accountability requirements.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education estimates it would cost about $1.5 million more to adopt a college-entry exam for all students, compared to what the state now spends on high school MAP tests.
About 70 percent of Missouri high school graduates take the ACT exam on a voluntary basis each year. Illinois, Colorado and Michigan now require the ACT exam for all public school students. Other states also are considering the adoption of a mandatory college-entry exam as the core of their high school testing programs.
State education officials will hold a series of public meetings next month to provide more information and solicit comments about the testing proposals.
Department of Education officials emphasize that no decisions have been made about the plan, and they expect vigorous discussion of the testing proposals, said Stan Johnson, assistant commissioner of the Division of School Improvement for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Proponents of the plan believe students would take a college-entry exam more seriously and be motivated to try harder because such tests have greater credibility with parents, employers and higher education institutions. Critics of the plan believe it may intimidate some students or put too much emphasis on a "college-prep" curriculum.
"We believe there is strong alignment between what the MAP tests cover and what the college-entry exams cover, at least in the areas of communications arts and mathematics. In other words, they both test similar content. If necessary, we could supplement an existing national test to get the coverage we need in some academic areas," Johnson said.
"If we did not believe a college-entry exam was a suitable measure of what we expect all Missouri high schools to be teaching, this discussion would never have gotten off the ground. Educators in the field brought this idea forward because they think it would be more relevant for students, teachers and schools than the MAP tests," he said.
"We also recognize that Missouri educators have invested a tremendous amount of time and energy in creating the MAP testing program over the past decade. No matter what happens with this proposal, we will not turn our backs on that work nor on the philosophy that guided the development of the MAP," he said.
Johnson noted that a separate advisory committee, appointed by Commissioner of Education D. Kent King in 2004, also recommended replacing the current high school MAP tests. That committee's work paved the way for the adoption last fall of new minimum high school graduation requirements by the State Board of Education.
|
STL-News is owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group as a special feature of the Saint Louis Front Page for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan Saint Louis area. Text or graphics may not be copied, rewritten or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For more information, contact editor@slfp.com
All rights reserved world wide
© 1996 - 2008 Moore Design Group .
|
|
Click here for
AD Rates
Archived St. Louis News:
|
|
