Nixa Public Schools outperforms regional peers, most of Missouri in annual report card

Claudette Riley, Springfield News-Leader
·4 min read

According to the new state report card, Nixa Public Schools has few peers in Missouri.

It was the highest-performing district in southwest Missouri for the 2022-23 year. Statewide, only a handful of districts — all of them smaller, most only serving through grade 8 — scored higher than Nixa.

Nixa scored 94% of the points possible on the Annual Performance Report released Monday, meaning it either met state expectations in every category — including test scores, attendance, graduation rate, and other measures — or showed enough progress to receive partial credit.

Nixa Public Schools was one of the top districts in Missouri in the newly released Annual Performance Reports. It scored nearly all the points possible in a range of areas the state evaluates to determine its accreditation level.
Nixa Public Schools was one of the top districts in Missouri in the newly released Annual Performance Reports. It scored nearly all the points possible in a range of areas the state evaluates to determine its accreditation level.

"If there was a state championship, we would be ordering rings right now," said Superintendent Gearl Loden, noting all the points earned.

"We are in the top 1%. We are excited for our teachers and our students."

The APR measures the progress of students, schools and districts toward a set of standards adopted by the state. The reports provide updates for parents and taxpayers on what is happening in public schools.

Earlier this year, Nixa's Mathews Elementary was named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. Nixa High School won the same award in 2013 and 2022.

Gearl Loden
Gearl Loden

"In our district, we are not chasing test scores. It is about working together in teams (with) a growth mindset," Loden said. "We do our best as an admin team, at the cabinet level, to serve the principals and meet their needs. Principals serve the teachers. Teachers make sure they're doing every little thing they can to take the children and meet their needs individually."

Loden said if the district works to help each student show progress each year, whether they are behind or they are ahead academically, the rest falls into place.

"It is just the fundamentals. It goes back to having good people, onboarding your new folks, learning together and keeping things simple and focused — and having a lot of fun along the way," he said.

Loden said teachers must adhere to state standards, which dictate what students should know in each subject area and grade level, but they have "a lot of autonomy" on how they teach the material.

"When things are working, they're able to celebrate," Loden said. "And when someone is having issues, they go back through and figure out how to re-teach and re-assess. They decide that."

Brigette Golmen
Brigette Golmen

Brigette Golmen, executive director of curriculum, instruction and assessment, said staff training and development is key.

"We go in-depth to really figure out what we want our students to know, be able to do," Golmen said.

She said teachers know the state standards, they assess student progress at various points and adjust strategies to keep them learning. "They either extend or remediate instruction tailored to the needs of individual students based on the data."

Jared Webster, executive director of secondary education, said parental support is another critical piece.

"We very much own the responsibility of high expectations and high achievement and we do expect our students will learn at very high levels," he said.

Jared Webster
Jared Webster

Webster acknowledged the approach means "a lot of work" for classroom teachers. "You are seeing the fruits of that consistency pay off."

He said despite the district's successes, challenges remain. He noted the district has a task force looking at ways to improve attendance.

"Right now we are working to identify where are those students, where are those gaps, where we don't feel we are reaching the levels that we want," he said.

"A lot of students are growing and learning ... but we definitely want to ensure that we are adding to that education and increasing the rate at which they learn."

Top APR scores for the 2022-23 year

Missouri school districts that repeatedly achieve a score of 95% or better on the Annual Performance Report may be eligible for accreditation with distinction from the state.

A look at top K-12 districts with an APR score of 90% or better. Many of these also offer preschool:

  • St. Elizabeth, Miller County − 95%

  • Nixa, Christian County − 94%

  • West Platte County − 93.7%

  • Bell City, Stoddard County − 93.2%

  • Braymer, Caldwell County − 93.1%

  • Brentwood, St. Louis County − 93.1%

  • Mansfield, Wright County − 92.5%

  • Blair Oaks, Cole County − 91.8%

  • Leopold, Bollinger County − 91%

  • Jefferson City − 90.7%

  • Kirkwood, St. Louis County − 90.4%

  • Lindbergh, St. Louis County − 90.3%

  • Festus, Jefferson County − 90%

Others that scored 90% or better, including two charter schools and districts that only offer K-8 or preschool through grade 8:

  • The districts: Livingston County, 96.1%; Thornfield, 96.1%; Shawnee, 96.1%; Hardeman, 94.8%; Franklin County, 93.8%; Altenburg, 93.1%; Mark Twain, 92.8%, Spring Bluff, 92.3%; Howell County, 92.2%; Laredo, 91.9%; and Green Forest, 90.7%.

  • The charter schools: Atlas Public Schools, 91.6%; and The Leadership School, 91.6%.

Claudette Riley covers education for the News-Leader. Email tips and story ideas to criley@news-leader.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Annual report card puts Nixa near top among Missouri school districts