Springfield Missouri Public Schools

If you are want to support SPS in innovative and impactful ways, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞. Introducing The Collective, a quarterly newsletter for our community partners. Each issue, we're providing updates to equip you with information about SPS that will help you be a positive voice and ambassador for SPS. The Collective is for: 🟢 Community partners currently serving SPS. 🟢 Local leaders who want to champion SPS programs. 🟢 Business leaders looking for ways to support SPS. 🟢 Citizens who want real data and facts about hot topics. The Collective is curated by Dr. Grenita Lathan to share information you can use, as well as an invitation for how you can continue to support SPS. SUBSCRIBE TO THE COLLECTIVE: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/g9TrB4Xr

“I sold my business in the fall of 2021 and was looking to volunteer my time at a school in Springfield. I was contacted by Rountree and started helping out there in 2022. Mrs. Ramsey offered me a paraprofessional position for the 2023-2024 school year. I really did not know what I would be asked to do each day, but quickly found out this work was exactly what I needed in my life. I never imagined how great it would feel to turn a student’s day around, and see them be successful in the classroom. Being a paraprofessional has been the most rewarding new career path I could have ever taken. Behavior intervention was all new to me when I started at Rountree. I soon discovered the need to implement Conscious Discipline to help regulate certain students. Teaching students to self regulate is important for them to realize what caused them to be upset. I have been able to help students find success at Rountree by being consistent in a behavioral plan and by having open communication with teachers. Implementing strategies to teach the twelve executive function skills by strategically playing different games has been well received. Helping students to be successful and gain self confidence is my goal every single day. Teaching them techniques to control certain emotions is a continuous job. Every student reacts in a different manner to the guidance we provide. By using the 5 steps of Self Regulation, the Safe Place, breathing techniques and positive reinforcement from Conscious Discipline, we are giving each student the tools to succeed in the classroom. My wife, Angie, recently began her second career as a paraprofessional at Rountree as well. We’ve enjoyed working together and being a part of the Rountree community. Education is for everyone, and this role is exactly what I want to do. If you want to make a difference in a child’s life, in your community, being a para, being a bus driver, these jobs are a way to have great satisfaction in your life and great benefits. I love my job. I’m grateful for this opportunity.” - Troy Sumpter, Paraprofessional at Rountree

SPS Hall of Fame inductee: Dr. Denise Fredrick, 1972 graduate from Hillcrest High School. 🏆 From her first day of school at Fairview Elementary, Dr. Fredrick has cultivated a love of learning and teaching that has influenced her path. Her teachers were role models who inspired her to make education the focus of her life’s work. Even after retiring from a lengthy career in public education, Dr. Fredrick wanted to continue supporting students and teachers so she joined the Springfield Board of Education. #SPSProud

SPS Hall of Fame inductee: Billy Gene Cooper, 1968 Central High School graduate. 🏆 Throughout his life, Mr. Cooper has helped others overcome challenges and reach their full potential. Whether it was through his job or his many volunteer roles, he wanted to be the person who said “yes” when someone needed a helping hand. #SPSProud

Every year, Springfield Public Schools adds new graduates its Hall of Fame list. This year’s honorees have dedicated their lives to nurturing others and elevating their community, both in their professions and in their volunteer work. 🏆 Tomorrow, we induct Dr. Denise Fredrick (Hillcrest '72) and Billy Gene Cooper (Central '68) to the Hall of Fame. Read more in this month's 417 Magazine https://lnkd.in/gnDgHmd8 #SPSProud

Our schools wouldn't be places to learn and thrive without you, custodians. Happy National Custodian Appreciation Day, #TeamSPS.

Happy National Principal Month, #TeamSPS!

GHS business teacher Aundrea Hill was awarded the 2024 Missouri Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) Marketing Educator of the year. 🏆 This award recognizes the finest marketing teachers at the middle/secondary school level who have demonstrated innovation in the classroom, commitment to their students and dedication to the improvement of CTE in their institutions and communities. “I feel strongly that a high-quality CTE program starts with a rigorous curriculum. In my years at Springfield Public Schools, I have written and led curriculum writing through four different adoptions, with a major focus on writing school-based enterprise activities into marketing courses," Hill wrote in her application for the award. "I truly feel that teaching students to work together for a common goal by succeeding in the day-to-day operations of a real world business, challenges them to do more than learn the basic coursework. It inspires them to plan, execute, problem solve and celebrate their learning in a collaborative environment, which is why writing curriculum for CTE is some of the most meaningful work I have done in my career.” Hill has also served as a DECA Advisor for over 20 years. The first and most notable effort led by Hill is starting one of Missouri’s first Gold-level School-based Enterprises called The Nest. In 2012, Glendale marketing students and DECA members started this in-school SBE. And in 2018, they created www.glendalenest.com and sold merchandise online. This experience has allowed students to use targeted advertising, select merchandise, and find solutions to financial and staffing problems. In 2021, Glendale DECA members worked on a DECA Startup Business Plan and proposed the first Bass Pro Tournament of Champions SBE, the TOC Store. This store is the sole provider of apparel and accessories for the highest attended high school basketball tournament in the United States. “From concept to completion, we planned, implemented and executed a three-day store with a $20,000 startup budget,” said Hill. “Every detail from the design of the merchandise to the setup and layout of the store space, was decided by the students. I love to lead CTE by having practicum students observe and hosting student teachers. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to teach, lead and grow with the next generation of educators.” #SPSProud

Let's do it again, Springfield. #SPSreadtosucceed

Former Gray student 🤝 Current Gray Parent 🤝 Gray Principal for a Day Today, City of Springfield, MO Councilmember Matthew Simpson served students as Principal for a Day at his old elementary school. Together with Gray principal Angie Carder, Simpson participated in a data-driven meeting with a learning coach, observed a letter-writing lesson and participated in a discussion in his son's third-grade classroom about marine biology. "I wanted to serve as Principal for a Day to learn more about how learning strategies and data are implemented for learning," he said. "I attended Gray in the 1990s, and it's so different than today. Our teachers are focused on decisions grounded in data, and that work is often not visible. I wanted to see it." Across the district, more than 50 community leaders, business owners, CEOs and executives joined SPS principal at every school for a half-day job shadow experience like no other. “We believe that informed community leaders become impactful advocates for public education,” said Dr. Grenita Lathan, superintendent. “This was a day for you to see the real, exceptional work of our team of educators and then tell the story of the learning you see.” #SPSLeads #spsprincipalforaday