The School District

Since its founding in the 1870s, the Aurora School R-VIII District has established a proud heritage of service to its community. A leader among area schools in academics and in student activities, the district earned the state's "Distinction in Performance" award in December of 2003. The home of the "Houn' Dawgs," Aurora has had recent state championships in football (1999) and in FFA (1999-2003). Band, speech/debate, and business have been successful in state competition in recent years and the High School has achieved and maintained its status as one of Missouri's "A+" school.

The district serves an area of approximately 90 square miles in Barry and Lawrence Counties of Southwest Missouri. It is home to nearly 10,000 residents, with 6,700 living in the city of Aurora. The District's four campuses are all within the city limits of Aurora, located 35 miles west of Springfield.

The school's greatest asset is a caring and dedicated staff. The faculty averages 15 years of teaching experience and one third of the faculty have advanced degrees. Several are leaders in professional associations and some have held state offices. The Aurora Education Association provides a $2,000 scholarship annually to Aurora graduates pursuing teaching degrees in Missouri colleges and universities.

The district's primary concerns are the education and welfare of our students. Over 2,100 students are enrolled in grades K-12. Aurora students consistently score above state and national averages on standardized tests. The graduation rate (84%) and pupil attendance rated (94%) is at state averages. The overall student-teacher ratio (all faculty included) is 14 students per faculty member. Schools have personal computers and Internet access in each classroom and there are 8 computer labs integrating technology into the curriculum. Web sites that are obscene or harmful to minors are blocked on the school's computer network. To protect our students, staff, and property, video surveillance cameras monitor the interior and parking lots at all four main buildings and on the district buses All the schools' buildings are fully air-conditioned.

The district has on an operating budget of over 13 million dollars, with over half our revenue from state sources and a third from local taxes. Expenditures per pupil were $6,007 in the 2002-03 school year. The local tax levy ($3.32 per hundred dollars of assessed valuation) is consistently below the Missouri average ($3.68/$100). The district employs 170 full and part-time faculty members and 120 support staff.
The best sources for district information on the Internet are at the Aurora School's Web Page and the Missouri Department of Education's School Profiles page (located here). Visitors and patrons with questions are always welcome to call or come by the district office at 409 Locust (phone 417-678-3373).

in its last evaluation by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the district was "Accredited with Distinction for Improvement in Student Achievement" (1999).