Normandy, MO is the lowest performing district in both the region and the state.

After being taken over by the state in 2014 after receiving just seven percent of available points on its annual performance report, the Normandy school district is doing everything it can to help its students improve, according to the St. Louis-Dispatch.

According to the newspaper, only 24 percent of students passed the reading portion of the state’s standardized tests, and only 12 percent passed the math portion.

One of the changes the district is making to raise student test scores and achievement is to open school doors on Saturdays to provide struggling students with three hours of extra instruction.

"The Saturday sessions target students who have tested at basic and below basic levels on state standardized tests in math and English language arts,” the article says.

The sessions are called The Learning Lab enrichment program, and a six-week session began in October to provide extra assistance for second through 12 graders; another session will begin in the spring.

Teachers in the district are optimistic in helping boost student achievement and earn back the accreditation to the Normandy Schools Collaborative after it lost it three years ago.

So much so, that more teachers volunteered to help during the sessions than available spots.

To select from those who applied, “[a]dministrators wanted the ones with the most experience and success in moving children forward. The teachers then looked at what students were struggling with, and developed lessons to drive the concepts home.”

Read the full story.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

11/16/2015