What sets Springfield schools apart? All 7 school board candidates give same answer

On the topic of what sets Springfield Public Schools apart from peers regionally and across Missouri, school board candidates were surprisingly unified.

All seven heaped praised on the district's "choice" programs, which have grown in number and size since the 1990s. Board support for choice was embedded in the strategic plan and Superintendent Grenita Lathan made new options and expansion of existing programs a feature of her entry plan.

There are magnet programs focused on health care, agriculture, fine and performing arts, conservation and science, technology, engineering and math.

Programs in older grades allow students to explore leadership skills and career paths, take more rigorous courses, gain college credit, learn on a college campus, and earn a pilot's license.

The seven candidates vying for three open seats include Landon McCarter, Susan Provance, Kyler Sherman-Wilkins and Chad Rollins and incumbents Scott Crise, Danielle Kincaid and Maryam Mohammadkhani.

McCarter, Provance, and Rollins are graduates of the district. They, along with Crise and Mohammadkhani, have had children enrolled in SPS schools.

"We provide an incredible opportunity to differentiate students depending on their passions and their interests and we inspire them because of these choices," said Mohammadkhani, a retired pathologist. "And we challenge them because of these choices. There is so much power to having choice."

Provance, a retired Springfield teacher and coach, said the programs allow the district to specialize and offer variety based on student interests.

"We are not cookie-cutter. We provide things that other school districts can't provide," she said. "Our size is actually an asset here."

McCarter, a business owner and entrepreneur, said choices give students an early start on college or career paths.

"That is true to the core tenet of the strategic plan, which is creating success-ready students," he said. "There are students that have the bandwidth and the aptitude to not just get through high school but to start taking steps toward what they want to do after high school."

Rollins, a pharmacist, noted many choice programs are the result of partnerships between SPS and businesses or nonprofits. He hopes that continues to expand.

"It not only helps academics and achievement but it helps our economy outside of the school. It can help students learn different schools to be ready to be in the workforce," he said.

Crise, manager of gas plant operations for Associated Electric Cooperative, said the district's participation in the new Alliance for Healthcare Education will give students a chance to earn an associate's degree or certifications that will lead to "well-paying jobs.

The board voted 4-3 to join the alliance with CoxHealth, Missouri State University and Ozarks Technical Community College. Of the candidates, Crise and Kincaid were in favor and Mohammadkhan was opposed.

"I don't understand how that isn't a win for everybody," Crise said.

In addition to choice, candidates highlighted other positive aspects of SPS.

McCarter and Provance highlighted athletics as a draw and noted extracurriculars focus on attendance, grades and citizenship. Activities such as choir, band, debate and drama also offer ways for students to engage, foster a sense of belonging, and learn life skills.

"Kids can find their niche," Provance said. "They don't go to school to go take a test. They go to school because they want to be with their friends. There is a reason that draws them there."

Kincaid, an attorney, said open enrollment allows students to enroll in a school away from their neighborhood that offers a program of interest.

"If you like the particular program at Field Elementary but you live in a different part of town, you can go to Field Elementary," she said.

Provance pointed to the Launch program, an online learning platform based in SPS that now serves students across Missouri, and high support for the $220 million bond issue approved in April 2023.

"We rally around our schools," she said. "Doesn't that show us that we value the education that we're getting here?"

Sherman-Wilkins, an associate professor of sociology at Missouri State, said another strength of SPS is the outreach, including SPS University and SPS Ambassadors, which allow leaders to learn about schools during tours.

He described them as ways to "meet parents and community members where they are and bring them in and teach them about the district. It is a large district, very complex."

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield school board candidates praise district's choice programs