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

The Hickman Mills C-1 School District is fighting for accreditation from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), a battle the school district has been in for over a decade.

Superintendent Dr Yaw Obeng says the district is now on track to end the fight with the latest improved scores.

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

In math, science, social studies, and literacy, Obeng believes that math, science, social studies, and literature test scores will show significantly improved results, enough to meet DESE standards.

“We believe in you, we know you can.”

That’s what Obeng tells his staff and students.

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

It speaks of the state, signaling the time for full accreditation certification.

“It’s a long time coming,” he said.

The district claims they met the same state standards that KCPS did when they were reaccredited in 2022 and again now with the state’s modified measurement framework in MSIP6.

“We were kind of wary of what was going to happen,” Obeng said. “But at the same time we ran the tests, the scores came in, and looking at the scores, whatever metric they want to use, whether it’s the old framework, the traditional MSIP guidelines, or the comScore changes, whatever whatever combination they do, we’ve scored enough to meet all our standards and hopefully they’ll recognize that sooner or later.”

On October 31, 2024, Obeng wrote a letter urging the state board of education to vote for full accreditation of the school district at the next board meeting in December.

READ | Request for full accreditation vote for Hickman Mills C-1 School District

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

“We had to jump through hoops, we did the work and we hit the marks,” he said. “It’s not a question of if, but when.”

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

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