Mon Jun 11 14:19:07 UTC 2018

 School board to vote on language credits, budget
Most Popular
Never Miss A Story

Subscribe to Columbia Daily Tribune
Our Picks
By Roger McKinney <rbmckinney at columbiatribune.com>
@rmckinney9 <http://www.twitter.com/rmckinney9>
Posted Jun 9, 2018 at 3:46 PM
<http://www.columbiatribune.com/#facebook>
<http://www.columbiatribune.com/#twitter>
<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcolumbiatribune.com%2Fnews%2F20180609%2Fschool-board-to-vote-on-language-credits-budget&title=School%20board%20to%20vote%20on%20language%20credits%2C%20budget>

A new feature on Columbia Public Schools students’ transcripts will allow
them to get college credit for being bilingual.

The Columbia Board of Education on Monday will vote to establish a “Seal of
BiLiteracy” for CPS students who are proficient in English and another
language. The seal is included on the student’s high school transcript and
diploma.

Kristi Shinn, CPS director of curriculum and instruction, said native
English speakers who take world languages can qualify, as can students with
a native language other than English who become proficient in English.
Students who receive the seal also are awarded 12 to 14 hours of foreign
language credit at Missouri State University, Evangel University,
University of Central Missouri, Truman State University and Missouri
Southern State University.

Thirty-seven school districts in Missouri already have adopted the Seal of
BiLiteracy for 2018-19 graduates.

“We are a more global society now,” Shinn said of the usefulness of the
seal for students.

“We want kids to be prepared for an unpredictable world,” said
Superintendent Peter Stiepleman.

The meeting is at 6:30 p.m. at the Columbia Public Schools administration
building, 1818 W. Worley St.

*Budget vote, suicide policy*

The board will also vote on a 2018-19 budget with operating fund spending
of nearly $222 million.

The spending is a 5.56 percent increase over operating fund spending in the
current budget. The 2018-19 estimated operating fund revenue total is about
$225 million, a 2.5 percent increase.

The board also will vote on a new Suicide Awareness and Prevention Policy.
A state law approved in 2016 requires every district to have such a policy
by July 1, 2018. The action comes on the heels of two celebrity suicides:
designer Kate Spade and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain. The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention lists suicide as the second leading cause of
death for people ages 10-24.

“Suicide is a leading cause of death among youths in Missouri and is a
public health concern impacting all Missouri citizens,” reads the beginning
of the policy. It outlines a response plan with steps to take when a
student may be at risk of suicide or may be having a suicide crisis.

It also says when a student suicide occurs, the superintendent is to meet
with a counseling response team and other community resources.

“The CRT and the superintendent or designee will determine appropriate
procedures for informing the school community of an attempted suicide or
death by suicide and the supports that will be offered,” the policy reads.

CPS Chief Equity Officer Carla London said the policy will help schools
identify students who may be considering suicide and protocols for
responding to suicide.

“We have a really good counseling program,” London said. “We also work with
the Boone County Mental Health Coalition. Mental health issues are a very
serious concern.”

He said sometimes students just need to talk.

“Young people live right now — in the moment,” London said. “What seems
like a crisis right now might not be a crisis tomorrow. It’s heartbreaking
the inability for young people in the midst of crisis to see beyond the
crisis.”

London said staff training also will be developed after approval of the
policy. The policy also calls for age-appropriate information for students,
beginning by fifth grade.

There also will be discussion of a possible donation by the Columbia
Housing Authority of the Park Avenue Center, across from Douglass High
School, to CPS. It would require the district to to allow Head Start and
preschool programs operated by Central Missouri Community Action to
continue there.

*rmckinney at columbiatribune.com <rmckinney at columbiatribune.com>*

-- 
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

-------------------------------------------------
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/lgpolicy-list/attachments/20180611/35a5e9fa/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
_______________________________________________
This message came to you by way of the lgpolicy-list mailing list
lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu
To manage your subscription unsubscribe, or arrange digest format: https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/lgpolicy-list