Joplin Schools rebooting Academic All-Stars event
JOPLIN, Mo. – In celebration of students achieving academic growth and excellence in Joplin Schools, the Joplin School District is rebooting annual Academic All-Stars recognition ceremonies.
The events will be held at six separate ceremonies from April 3 through April 13. Students in fourth through eighth grades who earned Advanced, Proficient, or growth scores on Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) tests in the previous academic year have been invited to ceremonies based on their grade level and attendance zone.
The events are invite-only, and will consist of a dessert reception followed by an awards ceremony. High school students whose End-of-Course (EOC) assessment results demonstrate Advanced or Proficient scores will be recognized in a different format at Joplin High School later this year.
The presenting sponsor for Academic All-Stars is TAMKO Building Products. Missouri American Water, Mid-Missouri Bank, and Liberty Utilities are also sponsors.
TAMKO Chairman and CEO David Humphreys said, “A good education is vitally important as a foundation for lifetime success and to the formation of the educated citizens we need to sustain our democracy into the future. TAMKO is proud to help honor the academic achievements of these young people. TAMKO has a long history of support for education and honoring hard work as these directly reflect TAMKO’s core values. We congratulate all these students who have worked diligently to achieve this success.”
Academic All-Stars in Joplin Schools were last held in 2013. With this year’s reboot, district staff said the events are planned to continue for the foreseeable future as several of Joplin Schools’ strategic goals include an emphasis on encouraging and celebrating student growth.
“We are very excited for our students to be recognized for their achievements on the state tests,” said Dr. Sachetta. “These kids work hard to do their best, and that deserves to be celebrated, and not just for proficient or advanced scores. Every student begins at a different starting place on their learning journey. By highlighting their ability to grow their scores from one year to the next, more of our students can be celebrated as Academic All-Stars.”
Students being recognized at the ceremonies will receive a certificate and a medal, and can be joined by up to two guests each. Nearly 1,400 students are expected to be awarded Academic All-Stars recognition this year.
“We definitely expect to see that number increasing each year,” said Joplin Schools Assistant Superintendent of Learning Services Dr. Sarah Mwangi. “Our teachers and principals have placed a really strong emphasis on growing kids’ MAP and EOC scores as part of their continuous improvement plans, and our collaborative teams are coming alongside those commitments with guaranteed and viable curriculum plans to get us where we want to be.”
MAP assessments are taken annually each spring by third through 8th grade students. EOC assessments are also taken annually each spring by high school students in Algebra I, Algebra II, English II, Biology, and Government courses. Both sets of assessments are important measures of student and district success, and are useful in helping identify which areas are academically strong, and which areas offer opportunities for improvement.