Springfield Public Schools

Registration for children who will enter kindergarten in August 2012 will be held March 8-16. A child must be 5 years old before Aug. 1 to start kindergarten. Parents should register their child at the school where the child will attend. View a schedule of dates and times registration will occur at each school. Children must also complete a kindergarten screening before they start school. Other early childhood developmental screenings are also available.

From the District: SPS students will be dismissed two hours early today Springfield Public Schools will dismiss classes two hours early Friday, Jan. 29. This decision was made to allow buses to avoid rush-hour traffic and to give them extra time to complete their afternoon routes. Individual schools will dismiss two hours before their regular dismissal time. Middle schools will be the first to dismiss at 12:45 p.m. Parents should be aware that traffic and road conditions may cause buses to be late in dropping off students.

Springfield Public Schools aren't making the grade when it comes to standardized tests. The results of the 2011 Adequate Yearly Progress and MAP tests released Thursday morning show district levels below the proficient level for the state. Nearly a quarter of the schools didn't meet the state standard in 2011. Of those schools, 75% weren't up to par the year before. But parents we talked to agree with Superintendent Norm Ridder, the tests do not reflect student growth.

Springfield Public Schools is doing its part to make sure kids get enough to eat over the summer. The district's Summer Food Service Program kicks off Monday. Any child younger than 18 can get free breakfast and lunch at eight Springfield Public Schools locations. Children do not need to be enrolled in summer school to participate but they must be accompanied by an adult. Eligible disabled adults may also qualify to participate in the meal program.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2012 will be held by Springfield Public Schools' five high schools Monday, May 21, and Tuesday, May 22, at JQH Arena on the campus of Missouri State University. Graduation Schedule at JQH Arena Monday 5:00 p.m. - Glendale 7:00 p.m. - Parkview 9:00 p.m. - Central Tuesday 5:30 p.m. - Kickapoo 8:00 p.m. - Hillcrest    

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Foundation for Springfield Public Schools and Kum & Go will partner for the third year in a row to bring Gallons for Growth on Thursday, July 12th. Gallons for Growth is a 24-hour fund raising event to benefit the students of Springfield Public Schools. Kum & Go will donate 3 cents from every gallon of gas sold on July 12th to the Foundation. Since its beginnings in 2010 Gallons for Growth has raised $15,000 for Springfield Public Schools. "Through Kum & Go's support and the efforts of our community, this event has made a big impact on our students," said Natalie Murdock, Development Director for the Foundation.

Springfield kids who are eligible may be able to get their immunizations for free, just in time for the start of school. Springfield Public Schools will offer free immunization clinics at several schools beginning Wednesday. Here's who needs shots: All incoming eighth-grade students must have a Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis) vaccine unless they have received a Td booster within the last two years. Incoming kindergarten and first grade students are also required to have two Varicella vaccines unless there has been a chickenpox disease.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Springfield Public Schools is currently hiring bus drivers for the 2012-2013 school year. Applicants may apply online anytime at www.spsjobs.org or in person today, July 9th during a job fair. To participate in the job fair, job seekers should go to the district's transportation office, 1600 E. Chestnut Expressway, between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday. They should bring with them information required for the job application, including employment history and e-mail addresses for references.

A group of minority business owners are criticizing the Springfield Public Schools policy on construction projects. We take a closer look at this week's Springfield Business Journal report. Out of the 41 voter approved bond projects awarded to contractors since 2006 no minority-owned businesses were selected to manage those projects. Now Springfield based minority owned contractors, architects and designers say they are not getting a fair chance. As a result, according to one business owner, several local minority-owned businesses have had to shut down.

Walmart will present a $25,000 check to Springfield Public Schools to support the implementation of the Springfield Learning Model.    Walmart representatives will present the check at Wednesday's PTA meeting at Truman Elementary School beginning at 9:15 a.m.    The Springfield Learning Model puts a focus on criteria which will ensure student and workforce success in the 21st century. The criteria of...

Walkers beware-- more of you are are not making it from Point A to Point B safely.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just released a new warning for pedestrians.  In 2010 the number of people hit and killed by vehicles rose by 4%.   2010 is the newest data we have from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  The spike comes after the first nine years of the new millennium saw a double digit decrease in pedestrian deaths. ...

More people are criticizing Springfield Public Schools for their design project selection process. We take a closer look in this week's Springfield business journal report. Last week local minority-based business owners said SPS wasn't giving them a fair look. Now Springfield's architect community is also questioning the process. Several design firms say they typically are told exactly why they are not chosen, but say the districts officials are not being transparent. “It's a tough task for the School District.

A group of minority business owners are criticizing the Springfield Public Schools policy on construction projects. We take a closer look at this week's Springfield Business Journal report. Out of the 41 voter approved bond projects awarded to contractors since 2006 no minority-owned businesses were selected to manage those projects. Now Springfield based minority owned contractors, architects and designers say they are not getting a fair chance. As a result, according to one business owner, several local minority-owned businesses have had to shut down.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Overdue lunch money will now determine what type of meal your child gets at Springfield Public Schools. Any parent knows kids forget their lunch money, but at what cost to a school district with nearly 25,000 students? "Our charges had been in access of $78,000.  The district started working at what could be put in place to curb that," said director of Nutrition Services Wanita Watts. Currently, close to 500 students have outstanding lunch balances more than $50. Students who don't have money to pay for their lunch now only have a limited number of times they can charge it.  Elementary students who do not have money to pay for their lunch are only allowed to charge it two times.

Wednesday's Child Success Story   Amie and her teenage daughter Lexa are overjoyed with the decision to adopt Braiden year ago. Amie tears up thinking about the memory, "...he came into our lives and our hearts and nothing has ever been the same. " Nine years ago, Amie was eager to expand the family, and she turned to adoption through the foster care system. They met Braiden when he was just 4 weeks old, and it was pretty clear where he belonged. Amie says the experience of adoption was very exciting, and things seem to happen pretty quickly.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - If you live in Springfield, you'll be voting on two new members of the school board in April. If you or someone you know is interested in running for one of those spots, nomination paperwork is available beginning Monday at the school's office on E. St. Louis Street. Petitions for nomination must have 500 signatures from registered voters. Those can be turned in on December 11th.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - With school district funding running low and students' needs on the rise, a Springfield organization is trying something different to raise money.  They're letting you pick exactly where the money goes. Here's how it works; teachers write down what they need in the classroom like desks or books and then post it online.  From there, you the donor, can log on to the website and pick where you want the money to go. It's all a part of a new program called "Pick-a-project.

A Springfield family says their 13-year old is being teased, bullied, and threatened at school and they say school officials aren't doing anything to help. The family says a fight between neighborhood kids has moved into the classroom. They say it's gotten so bad; they were worried the young girl would take her own life. So they took action before that happened. 13-year old Nichole used to love playing basketball at school, Pipkin Middle. Now her street will have to do, she says she would rather die than go back.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A flurry of pink peppered the hallways of Springfield Public Schools as students supported breast cancer awareness. Kindergarteners to high school seniors wore a variety of shirts for the district wide 'Pink Out Day.' School officials questioned some of the shirts and in one school; students were told their clothing was offensive. 15 students at Pleasant View School who had shirts that read "Sack Breast Cancer" were given three options: cover the word breast with tape, turn the shirt inside out, or call parents to be picked up. Two students called their parents and went home.

A group of Springfield school principals spent Saturday morning sorting and packing food boxes for seniors and students. About 15 principals participated in the project at Ozarks Food Harvest. 17 Springfield Public Schools receive weekend food backpacks to help feed students in need. “Each month, we're distributing a little more than 4,000 weekend backpacks to local elementary schools and for the principals to come in today and assemble those backpacks...it's a program that's close to their heart, it's a big help,” said Ozark's Food Harvest, Jennifer Sickinger.