Lindbergh and Mehlville are among more than 300 Missouri school districts that have earned the state’s Distinction in Performance Award on the basis of their academic achievements and progress during the last school year.
In all, 330 school districts — compared to 295 last year — earned the coveted award, which is presented annually by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Of the state’s 523 school districts, 278 K-12 districts earned Distinction in Performance while 52 K-8 districts received the honor.
This is the eighth consecutive year that Lindbergh has earned the Distinction in Performance Award.
This marks the third consecutive year that Mehlville has received the honor and the fifth time in the past seven years that the district has achieved recognition for Distinction in Performance.
“We are gratified by the steady increase in the number of districts meeting the high standards for this award,” Stan Johnson, DESE assistant commissioner, stated in a news release.
“Teachers and school officials throughout the state are definitely focused on meeting these standards, and we are seeing the results of that effort. To earn this award, a district must be doing well, or making consistent progress, in all areas of academic performance. Parents and patrons should be proud if their school district has earned this honor,” Johnson added.
The Distinction in Performance award is based on the 14 academic performance standards that are the basis of the state’s accreditation program for all school districts. The standards are based on scores from the state-mandated Missouri Assessment Program tests, graduation rate, attendance, ACT scores and other indicators.
To qualify for the award this year, K-8 districts had to meet six of the seven performance standards that apply to these districts, including all of those based on the results of MAP tests. K-12 districts had to meet 13 of 14 standards, including all of the MAP-based measures.
Both Lindbergh and Mehlville met all 14 standards.
Under the state’s accreditation program, each district is evaluated at least once every five years. Because it is based on the same standards as the accreditation program, the Distinction in Performance award provides an annual confirmation of a district’s status and state-level recognition of its overall performance, the release stated.
