Missouri

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St. Louis skyline

State Demographics

  • Schools
    Total Enrollment 910,386
  • Total Enrollment
    Schools 2,424
  • Economically Disadvantaged Students
    Economically Disadvantaged Students 51%
  • Students with Disabilities
    Students with Disabilities 14.4%
  • English Language Learners
    English Language Learners 3.8%
  • Students attending Urban Schools
    Students Attending Urban Schools 18.5%
  • Students attending Rural Schools
    Students Attending Rural Schools 26.6%
  • Graduation Rate
    Graduation Rate 88.3%

Data source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Common Core of Data (CCD). Graduation Rate data are from 2016/17; all other data are from 2017/18.

State Story
District Stories

State Story : March 2020 – April 2021

March 2020

School Closures

Dr. Margie Vandeven, Missouri's appointed Commissioner of Education, was sitting in a meeting on March 11th talking about COVID "what-ifs" when the global pandemic was announced in the meeting. Within two days, the Governor declared a state of emergency and schools were closed.

Initial Decisions and Approach
Summary
  • Focused on taking care of the Whole Child as well as LEA and SEA staff.
  • Provided social and emotional support.
  • Addressed educational access and the Digital Divide.
SEA and LEA Role Delineation
Summary
  • The SEA role was to provide support to LEAs, in some cases by removing policy barriers.
  • Barrier removal meant reviewing state statute and applying for waivers in some cases.
  • A well-structured state system with connected departments helped the state implement a coordinated response.
Supportive Partners or Resources
Summary
  • Governor’s office activated a coordinated cross-agency state response.
  • Supportive state partners included the state’s school board, educators, state legislators, and business leaders.
  • Leaned on other state chiefs as thought partners.
Margie Vandeven
Dr. Margie Vandeven Missouri Commissioner of Education

"The immediate response was thinking about how will these kids be fed, how do we make sure that they're getting the resources that they need to be able to engage in any kind of educational opportunity, and so just this really quick and deep understanding of how much our schools really do and how much our families count on us to deliver and making sure that we're taking care of our children."

— Margie Vandeven , Commissioner of Education

July 2020

School Re-Opening

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education provided LEAs with a health and safety-related guidebook.

Re-opening Approach
Summary
  • Emphasized the need to reach every child to ensure they were both safe and learning.
  • Acknowledged that LEA leaders were “stretched very thin.”
  • Encouraged communities to support their local leaders as they grappled with challenging decisions related to re-opening.

"If you make a decision to open in-person, there's a whole slew of people that are unhappy that you did that. If you make a decision to open remote, there's a whole bunch of people that are unhappy. If you make a decision to do a hybrid, almost everybody is unhappy because you haven't met everybody. I just support them [local education leaders] to the core. They're doing amazing work out there, but they are in a heck of a position right now."

— Margie Vandeven , Commissioner of Education

What Comes Next

Next Steps
Summary
  • Continue meeting LEA needs now and after the virus is gone.
  • Tackle tough issues like assessment, equity, and educational access.
  • Provide “grace” through policy adjustments.
  • Address budget gaps.

"I told the superintendents at this year’s virtual administrators conference that ‘pivot’ was the key word for the last 6 months: pivot, pivot, pivot. The new word, I think, is going to be ‘re-imagine.’ We have to understand what worked, what didn't work, re-imagine it to a degree and really just make the best out of what was not a good situation and grow from it."

— Margie Vandeven , Commissioner of Education

August 2020 – December 2020

Re-Opening Plan Implementation

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, along with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, released re-opening guidelines for schools in early August 2020. The guidelines contained clear virus mitigation strategies but did not include mandates for re-opening. Re-opening decisions were left to local school boards and local jurisdictions.

Status of School Models
Summary
  • Many schools began the year "in-person."
  • There was widespread concern about student engagement and learning loss.
  • Leaders were focused on adjusting to a "new normal."
Margie Vandeven workign with a student in a classroom

"I do not see online education replacing the classroom. I do not see that happening in the future. I do see it enhancing what's happening in the classroom. I do see it presenting all sorts of opportunities for our students that may have not existed previously."

— Margie Vandeven , Commissioner of Education

January 2021

Recover and Rebuild

As Missouri saw progress in virus mitigation, schools continued to make local decisions about in-person learning. Commissioner Vandeven learned about the diverse needs of the state’s 555 LEAs through frequent communication with nine State Supervisors of Instruction. Through those communications, the Commissioner identified a need to focus on the whole child, equity, retaining and supporting teachers, assessment during the pandemic, and the thoughtful investment of relief funds.

Recover and Rebuild Section Two

Priorities (January 2021 – End of Year)
Summary
  • Continued focusing on the Whole-Child.
  • Examined data to understand impact of digital divide on student engagement.

"This is just such a hard thing to accept, but it’s reality. Some of our kids are absolutely thriving in this new environment and some have not had an educational experience since last March. When they come back, it will be our obligation as educators to make sure that they're fully prepared for the next phase of their lives."

— Margie Vandeven , Commissioner of Education

Recover and Rebuild Section Three

Retaining and Supporting Teachers and Staff
Summary
  • Addressed teacher retention and burnout.
  • Supported teachers and counselors.
  • Protected time for teacher and staff self-care.

"Teachers are doing everything they can to reach children, but it's drastically different when all of a sudden, you are thrust into an online environment versus in-person. Even in-person right now is different when we're trying to maintain social distancing…so typical interaction has shifted."

— Margie Vandeven , Commissioner of Education

Recover and Rebuild Section Four

Rethinking Assessment
Summary
  • Planning for a spring assessment.
  • Extending testing window to allow schools to offer remote or in-person formats.
  • Identifying priority learning standards to maximize instructional time.
  • Examining results to understand the relationship of delivery models and technology access to students.
Investing Relief Funds
Summary
  • Ramping up COVID-19 testing and vaccines for teachers.
  • Addressing classroom spacing requirements.
  • Funding PPE and additional cleaning procedures.
  • Addressing acceleration of learning.

"Early on, I said ‘we need information going forward.’ When it became clear that the pandemic was going to last for an extended period of time, [we knew] we needed answers. The important thing to do is always know what questions to ask and what information to get. So we sat down early on and said ...'Okay, what will we need to know?'"

— Margie Vandeven , Commissioner of Education

Recover and Rebuild Section five

Assessment and Accountability
Summary
  • Identify key questions you want answered as early as possible to understand what data to collect and analyze.
  • Understand that while formal state-level accountability may be suspended during a major disruption like a pandemic, the general public may continue to hold schools accountable for student performance.

"The other expression I keep saying to our superintendents is, ‘How far can you run into the woods?’ And it's a trick question because eventually you’ll be running out. But hopefully we’re running out of the woods, and it is just going to be so important that we’re prepared for that and greeting every child and making sure that we meet them where they are and take them to where they need to be."

— Margie Vandeven , Commissioner of Education

April 2021

Planning for Summer and Next Year

Reflecting on In-Person Learning
Summary
  • Reopening looked different across Missouri’s 555 local education areas (LEAs) as it is a diverse, local control state. While needs across LEAs varied, safety and well-being were a primary focus for all.
  • Vandeven expressed concern about the great social-emotional needs found across the state.
  • Even though COVID-19 still exists, Vandeven asserts there is “Light at the end of the tunnel” due to the availability of vaccines.
Diverse group of creative professionals are sitting at table in modern board room for training or staff meeting. Hispanic man is leading discussion.

"The last week of March our superintendent group met together for their annual conference. It was the first time that they actually brought people together in person. I was able to attend that event. Just the amount of energy that we were able to garner from being together again was fascinating."

— Margie Vandeven , Commissioner of Education

Planning for Summer and Next Year Two

Identifying Funding Needs
Summary
  • Working across multiple stakeholder groups to identify funding needs.
  • Focusing on system inequities like Social Emotional Learning (SEL), mental health, broadband access, and strengthening the teacher workforce.

"I actually have been quoting Secretary Cardona who stated…“Every decision we make with this [ARP funds] will either help close the gap or exacerbate it.” I take that one very close to heart because everything we have been talking about with this pandemic has been how it has really shined a light on some of the inequities that do exist. One in large you’ve heard me talk about the digital divide over and over again. That remains very real for us and our state."

— Margie Vandeven , Commissioner of Education

Planning for Summer and Next Year Three

ARP Funds Decision Making
Summary
  • Balancing local control with a coordinated effort.
  • Ensuring strategic investments while adhering to a short time-frame.
  • Distributing non-public school dollars is a new process for all states.

"Just learning every day where to invest, how to invest, and what we keep saying is when we look back 3 years from now, what real changes have we made to recover from this? Did we invest in that wisely? In my mind, we can do that better if we have a statewide focus. Local control, state and local superintendents and school boards will have the authority to decide that for their best use in their communities. But a coordinated effort always seems to work better, very thoughtful, strategic thinking."

— Margie Vandeven , Commissioner of Education

Planning for Summer and Next Year Four

Learning Recovery and Acceleration
Summary
  • Focusing on learning acceleration; primarily during the school day.
  • Identifying focus standards and considering competency-based learning.
  • Capitalizing on what worked well for students over the last year and keeping expectations high.

"In thinking about the summer, every time I meet with our teachers, I say 'What do they [the students] need? They need academics, do they need play or do they need both?’ And primarily the response I get from educators is both. There is some concern that if we don’t jump right in with some of the academics that we’ll start off the fall a little bit behind. But then we get a lot of that feedback from people, ‘Behind in what? Let’s let our kids play. They missed the socialization. They need to be together.'"

— Margie Vandeven , Commissioner of Education

District Stories : March 2020 – July 2021

In Missouri we spoke with educators across two districts, including a district superintendent, two principals, and a district education specialist. Interviewees were asked to speak candidly about their own experiences and views, which are not necessarily shared by or representative of the schools and districts in which they serve.

March 2020

Schools Close Suddenly

On March 11, Dr. Margie Vandeven, Missouri’s appointed Commissioner of Education, was in a meeting to discuss the implications of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic. Two days later, Missouri Governor Mike Parson declared a state of emergency. Dr. Vandeven’s immediate concern was the health and welfare of state education agency (SEA) and local education agency (LEA) employees and students, and she worked to provide guidance and support to LEAs in a local-control state.

Educators described anxiety among teachers and staff in the week leading up to the national emergency declaration and subsequent school closures. Leaders noted that their teachers and staff were often doubly concerned about how the pandemic would reshape not only their classrooms, but also their home lives and their responsibilities as parents.

"We were planning for a nice relaxing spring break. We were definitely aware of a potential stop in school, but we had no idea it would be as significant as it was. Things happened really quickly."

— District Superintendent

"I’ll be brutally honest—we were not prepared for a virtual anything. We just did not have the infrastructure system-wide to support that."

— District Superintendent

"In my building, it was a little surreal. A lot of staff members were anxious about what was to come, and the uncertainty of what it was going to look like."

— Principal

"Once we realized the closure would be longer, we switched from getting two weeks of material together to getting a whole quarter’s worth of programming together. It was a matter of making learning still happen, giving all students the opportunity to learn, but also not making more barriers than we have to."

— Curriculum Specialist
A man looks at his laptop while conducting a virual interview

Priorities

When schools first closed in March 2020, Commissioner Vandeven prioritized students’ and families’ most basic needs. That priority was reflected at the local level, where teachers and leaders had to adapt to help students; often, teaching and learning was second to survival. Many districts focused on distributing food to students and families, designing pickup programs at schools and bus stops.

The pandemic exacerbated existing equity issues, and teachers and leaders struggled to connect with vulnerable students. In several cases, districts were unable to reach some students for 2 to 3 weeks, and in rare cases, for the entire fourth quarter of the school year. One district superintendent conducted more than 80 home visits over the course of a few weeks in an attempt to reestablish contact with students.

Existing inequalities impacted educators’ support of students and their focus on teaching and learning. Educators we spoke with described the additional challenges and barriers students from low-income backgrounds faced in the move to remote learning. They observed that these students were more likely to need to manage childcare responsibilities—like taking care of siblings—when their own caregivers were essential workers.

"You can’t be well if you’re hungry. And you can’t learn if you’re hungry, so basic needs are an essential factor. For many of our families, school was the only place they got a meal. If parents are struggling, they’re losing their jobs, they’re worried about when their next check is going to come, I don’t want them to worry about what they’re going to feed their kids."

— District Superintendent

"It was really a no-brainer for us—the food scarcity issue in our community was real. So we addressed that need."

— District Superintendent

"To me, what COVID has done is expose how outdated and antiquated the traditional educational system is. And hopefully, people will look back at this and do their research, and that will lay the foundation for us to just do something completely different because our children need something different."

— Principal
Two peope place cans of food in a box

Teaching and Learning

Remote learning presented teachers with new demands and challenges they would need to navigate. This included daily interactions with students, but educators also needed to find new ways to collaborate with colleagues, support each other from afar, and partner with caregivers to maximize student engagement. Just as Commissioner Vandeven described the need to “reimagine” teaching and learning in spite of a difficult situation, educators noted both the sheer size of the task and the need—and opportunity—for a reinvention of the system.

"Remote learning is completely different than in-person learning. It is a heavier lift to do this virtually."

— Principal

"We have to look beyond the brick-and-mortar traditions, because they’re not optimal for a virtual environment. It’s about being uncomfortable as teachers, as leaders, and understanding that we have to do things differently though we don’t know what ‘different’ is. We’re literally flying blind here because we’re so entrenched in these traditions that we’ve had no need to change until now."

— Curriculum Specialist

"Teaching and learning is definitely a partnership between home and school. Once home and school connected and we were all focused on teaching and learning, once we started partnering and sharing good news, that partnership took off by itself."

— Principal
A young student looks at his laptop while attending a virual meeting

Successes

At both the state and local levels, interviewees noted the importance of community partnerships in helping to meet student and family needs in an uncertain time. In coordinating their pandemic response, Commissioner Vandeven and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education worked with business leaders and advisory committees of teachers and district superintendents—an approach that allowed state officials to get direct feedback from community members and take a more localized approach in different regions of the state.

Districts and schools similarly leveraged existing community partnerships—or created new ones—to support students and their families. One district superintendent shared her community’s positive experience with local faith-based organizations and farms who pitched in to provide and distribute food to families in need during the crisis. One school created a community partnership committee to promote connections to the school, share resources, and promote academic engagement for students.

"Our faith-based organizations really came out to support us, but as the cases started to increase, some of them were older so they weren’t as comfortable helping. We’ve also partnered with local farms, and they donate fresh produce so our families get vegetables—carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, things like that."

— District Superintendent

"I have very involved parents, and a lot of parents would find science experiments—we would send them the idea, here are the standards we’re working on, and what we want the students to walk away with. And they would go and find stuff that we hadn’t even found."

— Principal
A woman hand a box of food to a person in a car

Challenges

The educators we spoke with said they felt that engaging and supporting students and families was more critical than academic instruction. In a similar vein, school leaders said they needed to focus on the social and emotional needs of their own teachers and staff before they could think about tackling pedagogy issues.

"It’s very unnatural to be an empathetic leader and collaborate and love on people when you’re behind a screen."

— District Superintendent

"The biggest challenge was morale: keeping morale up, and listening to teachers. I had teachers who would confide in me that it was difficult for them to be away from the building, because coming to work was their peace, the thing they looked forward to. Some of them were at home, alone."

— Principal

July 2020

Looking Ahead to a New School Year

The pandemic imposed a heavy burden on students, families, and educators. School and district interviewees spoke candidly about how personally challenging the pandemic had been for themselves and others, often in unexpected ways. By the summer of 2020, the educators we spoke with expressed a belief that these challenges would remain well into the new school year ahead of them.

"If any educator tells you this isn’t the most difficult thing they’ve navigated in their career, then they’re under a rock. This is the hardest thing that I have engaged in in my career, and I’ve dealt with some tough issues. This is life-changing."

— District Superintendent
Two peope place cans of food in a box

August 2020

Teaching and Learning in a Pandemic

Missouri schools reopened during August 2020 based on guidance provided by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. The guidelines contained clear virus mitigation strategies but no statewide health mandates, as reopening was a decision left to local school boards and local jurisdictions.

Priorities

The educators we spoke with shared that they observed an acute increase in the mental health needs of students and families dealing with the toll of the pandemic. Principals described taking steps to manage educator anxiety and workload, introducing morale-boosting activities, and making an effort to keep things in perspective. At the state level, Missouri moved to address teacher and counselor burnout and promote staff retention by protecting time for self-care.

"We’re seeing families who are not engaged for a lot of reasons just because they’re navigating life. We’ve had many students and staff members who have lost loved ones, which has an effect on their mental well-being. Education is a space that is very much about connection. Maybe more so at the high school level; they are craving connection with their peers and teachers."

— District Superintendent

"We know that our mental health needs have increased significantly as a result of COVID. So our priority is well-being—making sure that our students are well first."

— District Superintendent

"The biggest lesson I’ve learned is grace. That’s been a huge takeaway. Giving myself grace as a leader, as I have extended grace to my school community. It has truly reshaped my approach to leadership."

— Principal
A teacher and student draw on a piece of paper

Teaching and Learning

The district leaders we spoke with praised teachers for their creativity and adaptability under extraordinary circumstances. In some cases, they also shared their plans for rethinking things they had traditionally done, like changing their grading policies or how they support students as they transition from one grade to another.

"If given time and opportunity, our teachers are innovative, they are creative, they are resilient. And I think they have responded to the charge to reimagine the whole profession."

— Curriculum Specialist

"Top of mind for a lot of teachers is how to manage a concurrent teaching schedule. How do I engage my live students while also still engaging my virtual students who are tuning in on the screen?"

— Curriculum Specialist

"A kindergarten student who did not do their best in kindergarten this year, rather than retaining them next year, we plan to place that student in a kindergarten/first grade split class. So next year, there will be new kindergarten students who come in performing at a higher level in the same classroom as first grade students who still need learning support. That way, we can support kids who need remediation, but also enrich others who already have a knowledge base."

— Principal
A teacher holds a lesson plan up to her computer so students can read it

Successes

Commissioner Vandeven and statewide officials prioritized data analysis to better understand the effect of the digital divide on student engagement: how some students seemed to thrive in a virtual environment while others struggled. Our school-level interviewees shared similar stories and noted that unsurprisingly, virtual learning worked best when families could invest time and resources into it. Educators praised their students’ resilience, explaining that in the face of incredible obstacles, their limitless students persevered through a turbulent year.

"If we have parents who are all on board and they’re capable of investing a large amount of time during the school day to support their child, then we find that we don’t have the disconnects, and the students are not falling behind. However, if students are in a setting where they’re not able to get as much help and support, those are students who are really struggling."

— Principal

"What I hope is that my students can look back at this period and look at how well they persevered. One thing I can definitely say is that teachers used to think that students were too young to navigate through the technology. And this experience has taught us that it is not the children, it is the adults—the children can handle whatever you put in front of them. Children have no limit."

— Principal

"There have been so many challenges and so many opportunities for trauma to just really fester. I’d like to look back and say despite the multitude of challenges that students, families, communities have faced, with health insecurity, food insecurity, housing insecurity, and also a racial pandemic as well, our students are still showing up. Virtually, every day, they’re still engaged with their teachers, they’re excited to see their teachers. And they have done the best that they can."

— Curriculum Specialist
A father helps his daughter do school work on a computer

Challenges

The educators we talked with reported that their students’ virtual attendance declined in comparison to the spring of 2020, and became more inconsistent as the 2020-21 school year went on.

"I think it’s because they’re not in the school building. They’re not compelled to have to attend, they can opt in or out. I mean, obviously, there are rules about showing up to your virtual class. But ultimately, students are at home. Ultimately, they have the power to decide whether or not they’re going to attend or not, despite the rules."

— Curriculum Specialist

December 2020

What Comes Next for Districts?

Educators and leaders at the state and local levels observed that the pandemic exposed inequities that already existed—inequalities that would continue to show up in attendance and performance data as the school year continued. For some educators, it provided an opportunity to re-examine how they supported their students. And while our interviewees looked forward to the return of in-person instruction, many shared concerns about students’ sense of belonging, not only as they participate in virtual learning, but also when they return to in-person learning.

"One thing that this pandemic has shown us is that the racial inequities in education have only been exacerbated. They were always there. But I think this has shone a spotlight on different expectations for students, different levels of access to learning, the digital divide."

— Curriculum Specialist

"I want us to reimagine what the status quo is. The traditions of high-stakes testing, of going to school 8-to-4 or 7-to-3. The social expectations, the economic expectations put on our students who come from environments they have no control over. I want them to feel like they belong, feel like they have a place."

— Curriculum Specialist

"We have children who’ve been with their families for an extended period of time, who are going to be placed into this sterile environment devoid of the colorful carpets that are in the classroom, devoid of the messages “hug your best friend” and “hug your teacher,” devoid of the closeness of the classroom. And you have to keep your face covered and everybody else’s face is covered in the building. I’m just anxious about the human interactions, how will they go? How do we meet the needs of the children and still keep a safe distance?"

— Principal
A young student sitting at a desk in a classroom wears a mask and writes on a piece of paper

January 2021

The Path to Recovery

Missouri’s education governance structure emphasizes local control, which leaves many recovery and reopening decisions to the school district level. At an annual conference in March 2021, superintendents from Missouri’s 555 local education agencies met in person for the first time since the onset of the pandemic. Joined by Missouri Commissioner Margie Vandeven, they discussed reopening timetables, safety, and student supports; some schools had been operating in-person since summer 2020, while others had yet to reopen in person at all.

By May 2021, the availability of COVID-19 vaccines enabled more districts to think about reopening to in-person instruction and activities. Throughout the spring, educators were already beginning to focus on expanded and retooled summer enrichment experiences: more hours per day, more weeks overall, and more students enrolled, with a focus on prioritizing enrichment and social engagement over pure academic seat time.

"We were able to have our students 12 and up get vaccinated, which was huge. We hosted two vaccine clinics for that. And then we were able to have an in-person graduation. So that was a win. I think we demonstrated that we could effectively open school with students being in school every day."

— Superintendent

"K-8 is less focused on remediation per se and more on enrichment activities and different pathways into learning that exist outside of the paradigm of ‘you’re in summer school because you didn’t do so well during the school year.’…I think we’ve kind of rethought, especially for our kids who are traditionally marginalized, our black and brown children, children in poverty, I think we’ve reconceptualized what it means to be behind. And I think because of that, summer school has taken on a new form, a form that should have been around for much longer than [just] this year."

— Education Specialist

"The basic premise behind [summer school programming] was to cause students to love school again, because being out of school for a year and a half, when you come back to school—or for some of our students, their first impression of school—was all of these restrictive movements. So the idea was to get children to love school, see schools as a safe space, as a fun space, and begin to get them acclimated to what we call normal now."

— Principal
Elementary school wear mask for protect corona virus are studying

Reopening and Reemerging

Missouri educators cited student and educator mental health and social-emotional needs as among their top priorities and concerns—concerns shared by Missouri Commissioner Margie Vandeven, who described the importance of social and emotional supports in recovering from the isolation and loss of a profoundly difficult year.

But even once in-person instruction was deemed possible, educators described the inherent tension and the need to maintain a focus on safety. Though COVID-19 cases were on the decline nationwide, they stressed that the pandemic was not over; by summer 2021, the novel coronavirus’ highly transmissible Delta variant had reached Missouri in earnest, leading to a surge in new cases.

"There’s the added piece of mental health and social-emotional wellness being at the forefront. Before, you know, as a principal you really thought a lot about the physical safety of students, and as you made your plans, you always kept the physical safety of students and staff in mind. Now, it’s that added piece of not just the physical safety, but looking at the decisions that are being made or the methods of communication that you’re going to be utilizing—how do they create not just physical safety, but psychological safety for students and parents and staff members?"

— Principal

"There was a lot of anxiety. I had to close schools, I had to quarantine classrooms. We literally held our breath until [the last day of school]. It was very, very difficult."

— Superintendent

"[Vaccines] have made it a little bit easier, but you’re still on edge. COVID is still real…Missouri is leading the country with the Delta [coronavirus] variant and one of the most vulnerable populations for the Delta variant is children 12 and under. We do not have a vaccine for them yet, and I have many children 12 and under in school. So it’s a little bit of anxiety right now."

— Superintendent

The American Rescue Plan

By summer 2021, state administrators and local leaders were developing plans for using American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding over the next 3 school years. Commissioner Vandeven described the state’s priorities for the more than $1.9 billion in ARP funding headed to Missouri, including investments in internet infrastructure, mental health supports, and closing the digital divide.

The superintendents and principals we interviewed cited an increased focus on literacy, numeracy, and social-emotional learning and the desire to use funds both to provide support and to assess the ongoing effectiveness of those supports. One superintendent said that their district would be able to leverage existing partnerships and expand trauma-informed supports to students and families both in and out of school; another educator discussed adding more teachers to bring class sizes down. Multiple educators said they were already thinking ahead to what would happen when the ARP funding period came to an end, and how to potentially sustain these new levels of support.

"[My district] is planning to use those [relief] funds to make sure the school is staffed with social workers, behavior analysts like those people that can support the social-emotional side of the school, and then anticipating any of those gaps in achievement. They're ensuring that there are instructional coaches to support the teachers, reading specialists for working with students. And then also math specialists, which is something I think is very unique, to work with students as well. We've seen in our region, a decrease in math achievement across multiple school districts within the same area…they're actually adding math specialists to work with small groups of children as you would with a reading specialist."

— Principal

"We’re hiring social workers, and we will now have one social worker in all of our buildings. We’re expanding our contracts with our therapeutic partners to provide in-school therapeutic counseling, but also offsite therapeutic counseling."

— Superintendent

"A fair amount of grant money in my district has been spent on class size reduction, which means hiring more teachers to reduce class sizes. Of course, that’s for several reasons; one is, of course, social distancing...in addition to class size reduction, I can see the money being used for other personnel like reading specialists, and other instructional supports for children, because we have the money now to hire more human capital."

— Education Specialist

"I can see us hiring more counselors, social-emotional supports in our schools, to navigate traumas and navigate a difficult school year. Because difficult times aren’t ending just because the pandemic’s over. But I think we put a spotlight on it."

— Education Specialist

"The challenge is always, when you use [relief] money, is sustainability. When you put things in place, and you see that they are being successful, it becomes scary about the sustainability, when you know that you're using [one-time] funds. And so the challenge would be for the districts. If there's a measure of success, how do you make the necessary adjustments to your general operating budget, so that you can then shift those positions from the Federal funds to your regular general operating budget, so that you could continue to see those gains?"

— Principal
Group of young female students sitting with their tutor outdoors in the sun

July 2021

Lessons for the Future

For many of our Missouri educators, the most important lessons of the pandemic were the value of the network of interpersonal relationships among stakeholders in a school, the importance of building on educators’ personal and professional strengths, and the need to preserve their mental health and well-being. Educators described the sheer fatigue of a long and tumultuous school year, and the need to depend on other adults for support. One interviewee said the pandemic was a reality check and a reminder to always keep things in perspective.

"My biggest lesson was just the value of people. Never underestimate the value of people, or the impact that you have on people, be it through intended or unintended methods, through your verbal or nonverbal means of communication. I think that what I walk away with is understanding the value of all the stakeholders in education…I think that we were in a space pre-COVID, where we took for granted stakeholders and some stakeholders took educators for granted as well. And then we realized that neither one of us could do our job without the other. We were all interdependent, and COVID just exposed how interdependent we all were."

— Principal

"Know that if the adults aren’t well, we can’t expect for students to be well, so we have to focus on the well-being of the adults. We have to know that our children are going to have increased social-emotional needs, and schools need to be prepared to respond to those needs."

— Superintendent

"One lesson that this has taught us is that everything really is relative. We're not going to implode because we don't have state tests one year. The world's not going to, America’s not going to explode…we’re not just going to disappear into oblivion. We’re going to be okay...even though there are things that are going to be out of our control. State testing is coming back, it already came back, things are going to try to go back to normal. But I think that [COVID-19] allowed us to see that as teachers, as principals, in our own sphere of influence we can actually do things differently and be okay. Especially if those things we do differently are in the service of children."

— Education Specialist
Portrait of smiling professor in the amphitheater

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