English Bulldog Puppies for Sale in Independence, MO

The latest round of student test scores show fewer Missouri public school districts and charter schools in jeopardy of losing accreditation, though this year’s data won’t immediately affect how schools are graded.

Based on annual performance report scores released Monday for the sixth iteration of the Missouri School Improvement Program, or MSIP6, there were 343 districts and charters that improved when compared to an average of their scores over the previous two years.

A total of 71 districts and charters scored in the provisionally accredited range, and four charter schools scored below 50%, which is the unaccredited range.

“It’s something that we’ve been waiting for. Ever since the pandemic, we have looked at scores (and seen declines),” Commissioner of Education Karla Eslinger told reporters in a press conference. “Finally… we’re starting to see the fruits of our labor. We’re starting to see where we are making progress.”

MSIP6, which launched in 2022, has been lauded as “more rigorous” and descriptive than prior versions of the program. Previously, many districts scored above 90%, whereas now their scores are more evenly distributed along a bell curve.

The score is a snapshot of student performance in end-of-course exams and statewide standardized tests along with an assessment of district continuous improvement plans.

Latest testing data show K-12 student performance dropped dramatically across Missouri

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education originally planned to base classification decisions on scores this year but will instead make decisions from three-year composite scores. Districts’ accreditation cannot be lowered from MSIP6 scores until 2026.

Based on composite scores for the three years of MSIP6 data, two charter schools are in the unaccredited range. The State Board of Education will determine accreditation status based on other factors, like superintendent qualifications and financial health.

Lisa Sireno, assistant commissioner of the Office of Quality Schools, told reporters the department switched to composite scores for classification this spring.

“They’re more stable measures as they contain more data,” she said. “They are less susceptible to extreme changes from year to year.”

For smaller districts, a composite can protect them from volatility while the individual score gives a look at the last school year’s work.

Craig Carson, assistant superintendent of learning of the Ozark School District, said it is “autopsy data.”

“This is data that tells you about where you’ve been,” he told The Independent. “The data we really use are the day-to-day data inside our classrooms.”

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Ozark is part of the Success Ready Students Network, which is a group of school districts compiling alternative methods of accountability. This year, the districts are showing the first draft of their plan, in the form of informational dashboards available on their websites.

“We are using a descriptive (report) that is found on our website, and it gives so much more information to our public about how our students are doing in the day to day, and it really emphasizes growth,” Carson said.

He believes that the next iteration of the Missouri School Improvement Program will spring from work the Success Ready Students Network is doing.

“We are now building the momentum we need to really involve real-world learning with competency-based education and make sure that every student leaves being success-ready,” he said. “The excitement around that and the synergy of those school districts are creating, that will eventually turn into what MSIP7 will be.”

Similar to Carson, Maplewood Richmond Heights School District Superintendent Bonita Jamison reiterated that the scores are a limited look at a district.

“That data only tells one story, and there are stories that are not seen and reflected in those numbers, where the impact on the lives of children and their families are profound,” she said.

Benchmark assessments serve the district better to see needs and fill them quickly, she said.

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Maplewood Richmond Heights is one of the top-scoring districts this year, amassing 97% of points possible. Just three others fared better.

She points to “shared accountability and ownership” from the entirety of the district’s staff — including a custodian who doubles as an attendance monitor to encourage parents to get children to school.

She has theories why other schools didn’t score as well, mainly a teacher recruitment and retention crisis hitting poorer, urban schools hard.

Eslinger, in last week’s press conference, told reporters that teacher vacancies “make performance and improvement challenging.”

“We know that with fewer educators, more and more courses across the state are being taught by student teachers and by folks that are substitutes that maybe have not really been trained on the specific content area,” she said. “We’ve got work to do there.”

In 2024, 37% of Missouri educators in their first year of teaching were inappropriately certified for the course they were teaching and over 10% over courses were taught by someone inappropriately certified.

This story has been updated to include a map of scores and clarify accreditation ranges.

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INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (KCTV) - After nearly 60 decades, the Twin Drive-In Theater in Independence is officially closed for good.

Families and friends piled into their cars Sunday evening for a chance to be part of the historic moment.

Canaan Sams was there with his mom and her boyfriend where they watched the classics, “The Goonies,” and “Jurassic Park.”

“This is such a great place to be right now. I wish more people knew what was ending,” he said. “The outdoors, the stars, and everything – it’s just a totally different experience.”

Logan Kirkland was there with friends and family too, enjoying some popcorn before the movie started.

“It’s kind of sad because I’ve been going here for a while,” he said.

Trish Gillette was there with her two daughters and were the first in line, getting there at 3:30 p.m. after seeing the large line of cars Saturday night.

“We got here at 3:30 to make sure that we got in and we got a great spot,” she said.

READ MORE: Independence’s iconic Twin Drive-In Theatre closing after nearly 6 decades

Grace Shoupes was joined by her friends in their comfortable pajamas getting ready to see Elf and Christmas Vacation.

“My first time here was with my whole family and we went to see ”Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice" and it was very cool," she said.

Gloriana Smith shared her experience as well alongside Shoupes and the gang.

“I remember riding the top of the roof of a friend’s suburban from this side to that side. I was like 15 or 16.”

Generations of family members were also parked on that side of the parking lot as Lyric King was all ready to see the movies.

“We can have them at our own house but it won’t be the same,” she said.

Since 1933, drive-in theaters in the United States have changed the movie viewing experience. People pile in the car, safely, and pay by the car to park and watch. People bring their food, blankets, chairs, and even tents.

One person came in from Arizona to watch a movie at the Twin on Sunday night.

It’s a tradition unlike anything else and now that is gone in Independence.

“It’s a treat for all of us to go and to be able to pay by car, you can’t beat that. It’s going to be few and far between that I can take everybody to the movies,” said Gillette. “It is sad.

Jeremy Walker went on a first date 16 years ago at the Twin and that date led to a marriage. He was joined by his daughter McKenzie at the finale Sunday event.

“It’s emotional because I’ve been coming here ever since I was little with my family,” said McKenzie. “No matter what happens to the twin, we’re all still going to be family.”

More than 1,500 cars piled into the lot off Missouri Highway 291 over the weekend 1,027 of them being on Saturday alone.

According to B&B Theaters that operate it, they were unable to reach a feasible agreement with the property’s landlord.

Boulevard Drive-In Theatre in Kansas City, Kansas, is set to reopen for its 75th season in April 2025.

Copyright 2024 KCTV. All rights reserved.

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (KCTV) - In just over two weeks, Kansas City and the City of Independence will be on the big screen for the new movie, Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.

Two Independence women were behind the scenes this summer, helping the movie magic come to life for the town.

“I was actually screenshotting like parts because I could see my house in the background when they’re sitting outside in the magic happens in the snow comes down. And I was probably a crazy person. I think I watched it like 12 times yesterday, trying to see all the things that I know,” said Angie Judy, whose home was used as set in the film.

We first met Judy back in August after she and her family went through a few days of filming chaos.

“I literally got to watch the whole thing be made. And then now it’s just like amazing to see what they have put together for the trailer,” said Judy. She added, “So I have a funny t-shirt that was given to me about my Christmas wish is to live in a Hallmark movie, and I get to so I love it. So it’s so fun. Yeah, my wish came true.”

Also Read: Watch party planned at Independence Square for new Chiefs Hallmark movie

Cindy McClain owns over a dozen businesses in Independence Square.

She got the nickname ‘set mom’ during filming as she had a key to every building in use.

“It was kind of the cast and crew type thing. I don’t know that anybody else knew it,” said Independence business owner, Cindy McClain.

She said she is still fascinated by the moving-making process.

“It’s like everything everywhere, cameras and booms and all the things,” said McClain. She added, “The tracks for the camera and you see it, but to actually stand by it while it’s happening. It’s so smooth and it’s so cool. And so to actually understand now how those long shots moved through the street was just really cool.”

Now that the trailer is out, the two women and many others are excited to see the full film.

“I want to see more of the conversations like that happened in this room. I think that will be really fun to see. Because I didn’t I didn’t come into this set because I wanted to respect what they were doing, and I respect their craft and that they’re actually working. They’re not playing and trying to get things done. So I didn’t come in and watch them, so I’m anxious to see what they actually did in this,” said McClain.

“To see our streets look so alive. And just, you know, the amount of people that came up here and sat here and watched it from behind the scenes, we’ll get to see, like, how the magic actually happened,” said Judy.

Whether you catch the movie at home or at the one-time invite-only screening at Pharoh Cinema 4 in the Square, they hope this gives people a reason to be proud of the metro.

“My hope is that people will have that pride in Independence, that Independence deserves. I feel like sometimes we kind of get knocked, and I’ve never understood it as a transplant. I fell in love with it. I fell in love with the people,” said McClain. She added, “It will create these warm memories for people and that Kansas City pride that Independence pride that is just really cool that the Hallmark and Chiefs both hometown corporations’ franchises came together and created something that everybody can enjoy across the world.”

They feel their town was truly captured when Hallmark came to the Square.

“We hope that people come up and see what the magic was all about,” said Judy. She added, “It is so cool that everyone around the world will get to see a little slice of Independence.”

They are taking Christmas to the max this year in Independence with multiple events to celebrate the holiday season:

Uptown Holiday Market

Gingerbread Homes for the Holidays

6th Annual Living Windows

Private screening of Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story

You can watch the new Chiefs Hallmark flick on the Hallmark Channel on Saturday, November 30 at 8/7c.

Copyright 2024 KCTV. All rights reserved.

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Taylor Batson expected to wait to vote early in Blue Springs, but she let out an expletive when she saw the length of the line.

“Holy s---! But here we go.”

The Blue Springs resident was one of the approximately 170 people waiting two hours to vote Tuesday afternoon.

Jackson County residents from Raytown, Independence and Lee’s Summit and beyond cast their ballots at the Jackson County Election Board’s Blue Springs early voting location, one of two locations currently serving Jackson County residents who live outside of the limits of Kansas City.

From seniors sitting on their walkers to babies in parents’ arms, people of all ages braved the powerful winds to cast their ballots a week before the Nov. 5 Election Day in no-excuse absentee voting. 2024 is the first presidential election since Missouri expanded in-person absentee voting after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The wind was causing issues for Batson — the pages of her anatomy and physiology textbook kept getting rustled. Batson, who votes in every election, said she was motivated to go out on her free day because of “my rights, my women’s rights.”

This is a record-breaking year for early voting, said Tammy Brown, director of the Jackson County Election Board. In her more than 20 years with the organization, Brown said, “I have never seen this kind of turnout ever” before Election Day.

“I think it’s both parties saying, ‘Get out and vote early,’ and people are listening.”

On Friday and Saturday, voters waited up to four hours, and the election board had to add six voting machines for their satellite early voting location.

Approximately 170 people waited two hours to vote early in Blue Springs, Missouri this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/whgJfhUr9M

— Eleanor Nash (she/her) (@eleanorcnash) October 29, 2024

With 18 machines and 12 paper ballot stations, they are at maximum capacity at Fleming Meeting Hall, a Parks and Rec building that looks like a ranch-style house.

“We just don’t have any big buildings out here,” Brown said. With churches able to support or oppose questions like abortion, Brown said holding early voting at a church “didn’t seem prudent.”

While the Kansas City Election Board serves roughly the same number of voters, the organization has six locations compared to Jackson County’s two polling places operating at the same time.

More than 10,600 people had voted early in person in the rest of Jackson County as of Monday, Oct. 28. That’s around 3.8% of the county’s roughly 278,000 registered voters outside Kansas City limits.

Just over 63,000 people had cast their in person ballots so far on the Missouri side of the Kansas City area.

Brown said that both the Blue Springs and Independence early voting locations had similar waits, each taking around 100 people an hour.

She suggested voters come prepared with a chair, water and snacks, and be sure to dress for the weather. Help keep the line moving by writing down who you’re voting for and checking your name and address ahead of time on the Jackson County Election Board website.

The Jackson County Election board has three early voting locations for residents of Jackson County who live outside of Kansas City. For voters in other parts of the metro, look at The Star’s early voting guide.

If you wait until Election Day, more than 50 polling locations will open up around the county.

Have more questions about elections in the Kansas City area? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.

This story was originally published October 29, 2024, 5:57 PM.