IN THE COUNTY LEGISLATURE OF JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI
Title
A RESOLUTION congratulating Dr. Paul James, Superintendent of Fort Osage School District, upon his retirement as Superintendent of the Fort Osage School District at the end of the school year in June 2002.
Intro
RESOLUTION 13832, September 24, 2001
INTRODUCED BY Terry Young, County Legislator
Body
WHEREAS, Fort Osage School Superintendent Paul James is retiring at the end of this school year after nearly 34 years in the field of education; and,
WHEREAS, during his nine years as superintendent of Fort Osage School District, Dr. Paul James has seen everything from passage of multi-million-dollar bond issues to rising test scores and an increase in college-bound graduates. But he says he's the proudest of seeing the increase in student achievement; and,
WHEREAS, student improvements during Dr. James' tenure include:
Percent of students scoring above national average on ACT increased from 17.5% to 45%
Percent of students taking ACT having taken core classes increased from 30-64%
Percent of graduates enrolled in college increased from 26-50% in 1999
Results from Terra Nova assessment increased in every subject grade level at every grade level in 1998-99
Suspensions in and out of school decreased 40% in grades 7-12
Dropout rate decreased from 6-8% range to 3.5 - 5%
Drug and alcohol incidents down from a high of 39 to 14 in 1998-99
and,
WHEREAS, in a recent Examiner news interview about his retirement, Dr. James said: "One of the things we do is help kids dream bigger dreams, to think of doing things that they had never been exposed to. We continue to, and I feel good about that;" and,
WHEREAS, Board of Education President Carl Francka said Dr. James will be difficult to replace. "He has touched about every aspect of the school district, " Francka said. "He brought pride back to the district;" and,
WHEREAS, Fort Osage School District PTA Council ...
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