The timing of the first class at Dexter High School to graduate with the A+ program and the opening of Three Rivers College’s Dexter center couldn’t have been better for local students.
DHS A+ Coordinator Ann Polsgrove gave her report on the program at Tuesday’s meeting of the Dexter Board of Education. She said the coincidental timing of the two has been boost for the A+ program locally.
Polsgrove said more than 60 graduates of the DHS Class of 2011 are utilizing the A+ program with Three Rivers, both at the Dexter location and the main campus in Poplar Bluff.
“The opening of the Three Rivers Center here just couldn’t be better,” she said.
The Missouri A+ program provides scholarship program provides scholarship funds for students who participate in the program during their high school career. The scholarships may be used for full tuition at any of Missouri’s community colleges.
The Class of 2011 was the first class at DHS to complete and able to take advantage of the program. Out of 119 graduates at DHS this May, 64 were eligible for the A+ Scholarship. Polsgrove said at least 20 graduates are using the state-funded A+ scholarship at Three Rivers, and six are enrolled at Southeast Missouri State and utilizing an institution scholarship for A+ recipients. In addition, the four students from Dexter attending Truman University received a $500 scholarship from the university for being A+ students.
As of this semester, class participation in the program at DHS includes:
- 10th grade: 109 of 165, or 66.1%
- 11th grade: 73 of 128, or 57.0%
- 12th grade: 93 of 138, or 67.4%
Polsgrove said she is working on signing the 9th grade students for the program, and they will be required to sign the new Agreement and Guidelines before being accepted into the program.
Polsgrove said the state has revised some of the requirements of the program, including that students must now score at the Proficient or Advanced levels on the Algebra I end-of-course exam.
“Algebra I is our lowest math class that we offer,” she said. Said some of the students will now take the end-of-course exam as eighth grade if they take Algebra I in middle school, and if take the course at high school, the end-of-course exam would be taken after the freshman year.
The district will participate in a Veterans Day observance on Nov. 11 The Daughters of the American Revolution are hosting the program, and all students will attend the program, along with the community. The Nov. 11 program will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Bearcat Event Center.
Dr. Roger Alsup presented the nursing report on behalf of High School Nurse Candy Miller. All four health offices in the district are reviewing the school health forms and immunizations for compliancy. The nurses are seeing in excess of 200 students at each building each month, for a wide variety of cases.
“As ways it always busy,” Supt. Dr. Thomas Sharp said of the work of the district’s nurses.
In other business, the board -
- Appointed Dr. Roger Alsup as the district’s English Language Learned (ELL) coordinator;
- Learned the district Technology Committee will meet on Nov. 1;
- Received reports of the Missouri School Boards Association conference; five from the district attended the state conference;
- Welcomed Steve Wisdom to the meeting; Wisdom is with at the Holcomb R-3 district and was observing the meeting as part of his coursework for the Education Specialist degree at Southeast Missouri State University;
In closed Executive Session the board approved the addition of two to the district substitute teacher list, Courtney Copeland and Tamra Chancellor.
