District Credentials

2009-2010

The Warrensburg R-VI School District is fully accredited, with "Distinction in Performance" for high academic achievement.

Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education officials announced that the Warrensburg R-VI School District earned the state's coveted "Distinction in Performance" award for high academic achievement. The Warrensburg District met all 14-performance standards and qualified for Distinction in Performance for High Achievement by earning high status points. Fewer than 15% of the K-12 districts in Missouri earned the high distinction designation. The district was recognized in 1998-99 and 2001-02, 2003-04 and 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09. Superintendent Deborah Orr said, "This recognition is earned through the hard work and dedication of our staff, our students and our community. The district's primary focus continues to be high student achievement. We accomplish this through a concentration on continual professional development, high-quality teaching strategies and attention to our curriculum. In addition, our staff members provide the support each student needs to succeed. We are fortunate to have an outstanding school board who believes in the importance of high student achievement. Everyone associated with the school district deserves recognition for this distinction."

The annual recognition is based on school districts' performance on MAP test scores, ACT scores, attendance rates, college placement and other measures of academic performance during the last school year (2007-08).
"Earning Distinction in Performance is a significant accomplishment and a prestigious honor. A school district must be performing at a high level in all areas of academic achievement. This award is a point of pride for students, teachers, administrators and the entire community," said Commissioner of Education D. Kent King.
To qualify for the recognition this year, K-12 districts had to meet 13 out of 14 performance indicators at a prescribed level.
Under the state's accreditation process, known as the Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP), each school district is evaluated at least once every five years. The Distinction in Performance award is based on the same criteria used in the accreditation process, but it provides an annual confirmation and recognition of a district's consistent performance.

" Accreditation with Distinction in Performance" is the highest level of accreditation from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). To be accredited, a school district must meet eight of eleven criteria in performance. To qualify for distinction, a district must meet ten of eleven criteria in performance with no major concerns in either resource or process standards. The scoring guide for accreditation used by DESE and the MSIP review team consists of three sections. The first involves district resources and includes such areas as the ratio of students to teachers, counselors and administrators, and staffing of libraries. The district met or exceeded all resource areas.

The second area considered by the team concerns curriculum, instructional strategies, special education, guidance, at-risk, media centers, governance, support services, professional development and safety. The district met or exceeded all process standards.

The third area is performance and is considered the most crucial. It is this area that the district met or exceeded standards in ten of eleven criteria.

  District Demographics

The R-VI District covers 121 square miles in central Johnson County. The population of the district is well educated with almost 38% possessing a college degree of some type. Overall the population is heavily inclined toward youth with 73% under age 39. Of the 526 school districts operating in the state, only 60 were larger than the R-VI. The economy of the area is quite diversified. The University of Central Missouri is the largest area employer, however, manufacturing at such plants as EnerSys Products, GE Harmon Electronics, Stahl's Specialty and Swisher Mower and Machine is very important. The median home value in the district is approximately $70,000. Economic and population forecasts indicate strong, continued, and stable growth.