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ST. LOUIS NEWS TODAY - Sunday, October 21, 2007
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Public Charter Schools Increase Market Share and Raise Student Academic Achievement
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), October 21, 2007 - St. Louis had 15% of its public school students enrolled in public charter schools during the 2006-2007 school year, the eighth largest percentage of any major market community in the nation, reveals a new analysis from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
St. Louis is a new addition to the "Top Ten Communities by Market Share" list, which examined communities with at least 10,000 public school students. St. Louis increased its charter school market share from 11% last year, with charter school enrollment rising to 5,405 in 2006-2007 from 4,514 in 2005-2006.
A total of twenty-nine communities occupy this year's "Top 10" list (with many ties in percentages); that compares to 19 a year ago. Kansas City also was named to the "Top 10" list in 4th place. Statewide, Missouri charter students still account for just 1% of the state's public school students.
"The charter movement continues moving ahead in St. Louis," said Nelson Smith, President of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. "Growth and performance will both climb as more and more families choose public charter schools that offer students a real chance at high achievement."
In all, the analysis found that 29 communities had between 13% and 57% of their public school students enrolled in public charter schools during the 2006-2007 school year, placing them in the "Top 10" communities for public charter school enrollment. Eight communities had at least 1/5th of their public school students in public charter schools, an increase from six in the 2005-2006 school year.
"We're encouraged that the most recent research continues to confirm that charters are generating strong growth in student achievement, in many cases outperforming that of traditional schools," says Smith. "We hope that policymakers will take a good look at this evidence when considering how to meet the educational needs of American families."
For the 2007-08 school year, about 4,200 charter schools are operating in 40 states and DC, serving approximately 1.2 million students.
Missouri Department of Transportation's Adopt-A-Highway Program to Plant Missouri Wildflowers
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), October 21, 2007 - The Missouri Department of Transportation's Adopt-A-Highway Program, which involves volunteers picking up trash along state highways, is now offering groups the option of adopting roadsides solely to plant Missouri wildflowers.
While some groups have been planting flowers, trees and shrubs all along as part of their beautification efforts, this new option will encourage the growth of wildflowers native to Missouri, such as coreopsis and purple coneflowers. MoDOT is joining with Grow Native!, a program sponsored by the departments of Conservation and Agriculture, on the effort.
"The goal of the Adopt-A-Highway program is to keep our roadsides clean and attractive and what better way to do that than to plant native wildflowers along the way," said MoDOT Director Pete Rahn. "This option takes the program one step further and hopefully will spur new adopters to join the cause."
Over the program's 20-year history, more than 100,000 volunteers have picked up thousands of bags of litter, mowed hundreds of roadside miles and planted countless flowers, shrubs and trees. Currently, there are 3,772 groups in the program that have adopted 5,281 highway miles.
"If MoDOT had to do the work of these volunteers, it would cost about $1 million a year and keep our maintenance staff from doing other needed work," Rahn said. "That's money and resources we can put toward road improvements instead."
Texas started the first Adopt-A-Highway program in 1985, and Missouri was one of the next states to follow suit in 1987. Four groups that were among the first Missouri adopters are still in the program: Viva Cuba Beautification Committee, Kiwanis Club of Mountain Grove, the City of North Kansas City and the W.E. Sears Youth Center in Poplar Bluff.
"We adopted because it was a great opportunity for community service for our program," said Donna Nichols, facility manager for the W.E. Sears Youth Center. "We stayed in the Adopt-A-Highway program for 20 years because we made a commitment to keep our adopted section clean."
Businesses, civic groups, non-profit organizations, families and individuals make up the program's adopters. MoDOT recognizes the helpers by posting a sign with the group's name at each end of the adopted highway section.
Because MoDOT is responsible for maintaining 385,000 acres of roadsides along 32,000 highway miles, the agency is always looking for additional adopters, Rahn said.
"We have many active groups in our program, but we also have a lot of ground to cover, literally," Rahn said. "I challenge Missourians to double our current number of adopted miles and make Missouri an even cleaner, more beautiful state."
Anyone interested in adopting a highway can call MoDOT toll-free at 888-ASK-MODOT (275-6636) or visit modot.org.
Nixon Adds Identity Theft Incident Report to Web Site
JEFFERSON CITY, (SLFP.com), October 21, 2007 - Consumers who are victims or identity theft often face a frustrating and time-consuming process when trying to clear their name and repair their credit history. Attorney General Jay Nixon, whose office has a role in mediating consumer identity theft cases, is making it easier to expedite the process through a new feature on his Web site, the Identity Theft Incident Report.
The new form, which can be found at ago.mo.gov, is for law enforcement to fill out and submit to the Attorney General's Office when a consumer files an identity theft complaint with them. The information on the form can then be used by the Attorney General's Office when mediating an identity theft claim between a consumer and a business.
"When a victim attempts to have charges on a credit card that were run up by the identity thief removed by a business, the victim needs a police report and affidavit to substantiate the fact that they were indeed the victim of this crime," Nixon said. "We hope that having this convenient form on our Web site for law enforcement to access and send to us will expedite the process."
Nixon reminds consumers who believe they may have been victims of identity theft to call the Attorney General's Identity Theft Hotline at (800) 392-8222 to file their own report, or visit the Attorney General's Website at ago.mo.gov to download a complaint form.
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