Hickman Mills believes new test results will pave the way for full accreditation

KSHB 41 reporter Megan Abundis covers Kansas City, Missouri, including areas on the city’s south side. Share your story idea with Megan..

Hickman Mills C-1 School District has been fighting for Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) accreditation, a fight the school district has been fighting for more than a decade.

Superintendent Dr Yau Obeng says the district is now on track to end the struggle and has improved in recent performance.

“It has been over 20 years since Hickman Mills has achieved over 70% of the required standards,” said Obeng of the Hickman Mills C-1 School District.

Obeng believes that test scores in mathematics, science, social studies and literature will show significantly improved results sufficient to meet the DESE criteria.

“We believe in you, we know you can do it.”

This is what Obeng tells his staff and students.

“I really want to take the time to congratulate our staff and our students for what they’ve been able to do, of course we’d like a third party to recognize that as well,” he said.

He speaks to the state, signaling the time for full accreditation certification.

“It’s about time,” he said.

The district says they meet the same state standards as KCPS when they were re-accredited in 2022, and now again with the state’s revised measurement system in MSIP6.

“We were kind of cautious about what would happen,” Obeng said. “But at the same time, we’ve taken the tests, gotten the scores, and looking at the scores, what metric do they want to use, whether it’s the old framework, the traditional MSIP guidelines, or the comScore changes, whatever it is. The combination they put together has given us enough points to meet all standards and I hope they recognize that sooner or later.”

On Oct. 31, 2024, Obeng wrote a letter urging the state board of education to vote to fully accredit the school district at the board’s next meeting in December.

KSHB 41 News asked DESE’s communications department a series of questions to get the latest test results, but today we were told the release date for those numbers has been pushed back. It’s unclear when they will be released, but the state says it has received a letter from the school district and will take it to the board for review.

“We had to overcome adversity, we got the job done and we achieved the grades,” he said. “It’s not a question of if, but when.”

If Hickman Mills receives accreditation, it will mean all KC Metro school districts will be fully accredited for the first time in nearly two decades.

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