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The St. Louis Board of Education will hold two Board Meetings on Tuesday, October 3, 2006 at the Administrative Building, 801 N. 11th Street. A Special Board Meeting will begin by moving into closed session at 6:45 PM. The Administrative Meeting of the Board will be held at 7:00 PM in Room 108 and is open to the public. The agenda is as follows:
SPECIAL BOARD MEETING AGENDA 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Motion to move into closed session 4. Legal Matters 5. Motion to return to open session 6. Resolution on Benefits 7. Motion to adjourn
ADMINISTRATIVE MEETING AGENDA 1.1 Call To Order / Roll Call 1.2 Placement of Items on the October 10, 2006 Regular Board Meeting Agenda a) Call to Order/Roll Call b) Pledge of Allegiance c) We Are Up To Good Things d) Public Comments e) Approval of Minutes f) Superintendent's Report i) Finance Report ii) Consent Agenda g) President's Report i) Board Member Travel ii) Retirement Board iii) By-Law Changes h) New Business i) Information/Request j) Announcements 1.3 Adjournment
An article in yesterday's St. Louis Schools Watch e-newsletter states that "the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has approved five more charter schools for St. Louis". According to a DESE spokesman, that is not true.
In April, the State Board of Education approved Missouri Baptist University (MBU) as the sponsor of the Ethel Hedgeman Lyle Academy, which had been sponsored by Harris-Stowe University. MBU is a new sponsor, but the school is not a new entity.
Earlier this month, the State Board of Education authorized the opening of a new charter school, the Imagine Academy of Environmental Science and Math, which also will be sponsored by MBU. This school is slated to open in 2007-08.
"There are no other applications for new charter schools pending with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education," wrote Jim Morris, a DESE spokeman, in an email to PUB DEF today. He said he hopes this misunderstanding is corrected so it does not continue to be repeated in the community.
This morning St. Louis Public Schools released information stating that in the first four weeks of the school year they hit 99% of projected enrollment and that a majority of schools made their attendance targets: 90% for highschools, 92% for middle schools, and 95% for elementary schools.
What was glossed over in the press release, but was obvious in the detailed attachment was that this performance target was missed by nearly 30% of the schools. Here is the detailed data:
HIGH SCHOOLS (90% ATTENDANCE TARGET) 8 OUT OF 17 HIGH SCHOOLS MEET OR EXCEED GATEWAY HIGH SCHOOL NOTTINGHAM CAJT CAREER ACADEMY CLEVELAND NJROTC METRO HIGH SCHOOL - 98.52% ATTENDANCE SOLDAN INTERNATIONAL STUDIES MEL CARNAHAN SCHOOL OF THE FUTURE NORTHWEST TRANSPORTATION AND LAW ACADEMY
MIDDLE SCHOOLS (92% ATTENDANCE TARGET) 12 OUT OF 18 SCHOOLS MEET OR EXCEED BLEWETT MIDDLE SCHOOL BUSCH ATHLETIC & ACADEMIC MIDDLE SCHOOL CARR LANE MIDDLE SCHOOL BUNCHE INTERNATIONAL STUDIES MCKINLEY CLASSICAL JR. ACADEMY FANNING MIDDLE SCHOOL HUMBOLDT MIDDLE SCHOOL – 98.77% ATTENDANCE RATE LANGSTON MIDDLE SCHOOL L'OUVERTURE MIDDLE SCHOOL COMPTON-DREW ILC STEVENS MIDDLE CEC GATEWAY 7-9 PREP SCHOOL
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS (95% ATTENDANCE TARGET) 45 OUT OF 57 MEET OR EXCEED ADAMS ELEMENTARY – 99.81% ATTENDANCE RATE BADEN ELEMENTARY BRYAN HILL ELEMENTARY BUDER ELEMENTARY AMES ELEMENTARY CLARK ELEMENTARY CLAY CEC COLE ELEMENTARY COLUMBIA CEC COTE BRILLIANTE ELEMENTARY DEWEY INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DUNBAR ELEMENTARY KOTTMEYER ECCIII EUCLID MONTESSORI FARRAGUT ACCELERATED FORD CEC FROEBEL ELEMENTARY GATEWAY ELEMENTARY HENRY ELEMENTARY HICKEY ELEMENTARY HERZOG CEC HODGEN ELEMENTARY JEFFERSON ELEMENTARY KENNARD CJA LEXINGTON ELEMENTARY LYON ABI MALLINCKRODT ABI MANN ELEMENTARY MARK TWAIN ELEMENTARY MASON ELEMENTARY MITCHELL ELEMENTARY MULLANPHY ELEMENTARY OAK HILL ELEMENTARY EARL NANCE SR. ELEMENTARY PEABODY ELEMENTARY SCRUGGS ELEMENTARY SHAW VPA-CEC SHEPARD ACCELERATED SHERMAN CEC STIX ECC I WALBRIDGE ECC-ACC WOERNER ELEMENTARY WASHINGTON MONTESSORI WILKINSON ECC I WOODWARD ELEMENTARY
The 27 schools (29%) that missed their targeted goals are not listed in the release.
Six former employees have filed a lawsuit against St. Louis Public Schools for breach of contract. They say they were terminated without cause by former Superintendent Creg Williams. They say they received no prior notice or a hearing and that they were escorted out of the building by armed security guards after they received terminiation letters, making them feel like criminals.
One SLPS employee at the last meeting of the St. Louis School Board suggested the often bickering board members sit in assigned seats. "Sometimes it doesn't look like the people on the board are really working for the children," said the woman. "Special seating works in the classroom to building cooperative learning groups and maybe it would help here too."
Teachers' Union President Mary Armstrong expressed Local 420's frustration with its recent negotiations with SLPS. And teacher Beth Faust asked the board to do something about overcrowding in so-called "split" elementary classrooms, in which more than one grade occupy the same room.
At its last school board meeting, St. Louis Public Schools honored three teachers as the top three Teachers of the Year for 2006. They were among 92 teachers who were honored in May for their outstanding work in the classroom. The teachers are Svetlana Nikic, a Blow middle school teacher; Patricia Brown, from McKinley Classical Junior Academy; and Hollie Russell West, a principal intern in the Lead program.
At its last school board meeting, St. Louis Public Schools honored three teachers as the top three Teachers of the Year for 2006. They were among 92 teachers who were honored in May for their outstanding work in the classroom. The teachers are Svetlana Nikic, a Blow middle school teacher; Patricia Brown, from McKinley Classical Junior Academy; and Hollie Russell West, a principal intern in the Lead program.
Svetlana Nikic has been teaching for seven years. She currently teaches computer technology at Blow. She received her Bachelors of Science degree in Mechanics from the Institute Polytechnic Traian Vuia in Timisoara, Romania. She earned her masters degree in Information Management from Washington University and is currently working on her PhD in technology education from the University of Missouri, St. Louis. She has taught on the college level in St. Louis and Zrenjanin, Serbia. On her application form, Svetlana wrote, "When I stepped for the first time, on American soil, there was nothing for me to hold onto but a desire to succeed."
When Hollie Russell-West was selected as Teacher of the Year, she taught special education students at Webster Middle School. She is now at Carnahan High School of the Future and is a member of the New Leaders Program, a program that trains successful teachers to become successful principals. She has a bachelors of arts degree in communications from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She holds two masters degrees, one in Education Administration from Lindenwood University and a masters in special education from Fontbonne University. Hollie said she was inspired to be an educator by the great teachers she has had. She said that at every level of education, she remembers special teachers who inspired her to work hard, dream big and persevere.
Patricia Brown is a technology teacher at McKinley Classical Junior Academy. She received her bachelor's degree in Business Information Systems and Business Education from Tennessee State University. She received her master's degree in education from the University of Missouri at Columbia. Patricia said she considers herself a role model and enjoys working on community projects that involve young people. She was selected to participate in the St. Louis Regional Professional Development Center Teacher Academy. She said she believes in imparting knowledge to her students and is excited to help young people make healthy choices in their lives.
The following was posted to the SLSWatch email list by Chad Beffa:
September 21, 2006 -- At a quiet, public meeting Tuesday the St. Louis school board got to work on some of the major problems facing the school district.
The issue that generated the most discussion at the meeting was finances.
Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer Enos Moss reported that the budget prepared under former Superintendent Creg Williams did not allocate enough funds for several areas. He did not report how much was needed to fill those gaps, but said he would do so at a later meeting when he had solutions to offer.
Assistant Superintendent of Operations Deanna Anderson reported that transportation alone was underfunded by between $10 million and $12 million. She said it was not the case that the true costs weren't known before, she was director of transportation under Williams, it was just that Williams and former Chief Financial Officer Cedric Lewis ignored the costs and budgeted a much lower amount.
Moss said one of the areas not included in the budget at all was transportation for homeless students, even though state law mandates that the district provide transportation to and from school for homeless students.
Board member Bob Archibald expressed concern about the finances and wanted the board to reject the bus routes, arguing that the board could not approve bus routes without knowing how to pay for them. State law requires that school boards approve school bus routes and submit them to the state by October, but St. Louis had ignored that regulation in recent years. The school board did not approve last year's bus routes until June, nine months after the approval was due.
Board member Peter Downs also expressed concern about the finances, but his concern was that the board had unknowingly approved a budget that did not meet the legal requirements of the State. He asked whether budget reports could be changed to show the whether the board was meeting state or judicial requirements for funding programs and how much spending was at the board's discretion.
The motion to approve the bus routes passed 4-3.
Downs also asked about the process for recommending air conditioning contracts. Anderson brought to the board a recommendation to take the contract for air conditioning Shaw School away from one contractor and give it instead to Murphy Co. She had explained to the board last week in its administrative meeting that the change was necessary, because the proposal previously recommended to the board did not meet the requirements for air conditioning Shaw. The original contractor had, in fact, already submitted changes orders to raise the contract price even though it had yet to begin work.
Anderson recommended giving the contract to Murphy as the company that provided the lowest bid that actually complied with the specifications issued by the school district.
Downs asked what administrative processes were put in place to prevent that kind of mistake from happening again. Anderson said that now bids are reviewed by people familiar with the work that is needed, whereas before they weren't.
In other business, the board reviewed drafts of school report cards that the administration is preparing with the intent of providing the board a means to review school progress every quarter. The board also accepted Superintendent Bourisaw's report recommending that the district give up Williams' scatter shot "strategic plan" for the district and instead adopt a focused approach to meeting the demands of the State of Missouri and the accreditation process.
Bourisaw also announced that she is putting a group in place to promote magnet schools better, and she is going to see if money can be moved in the budget to restore some of the cuts made in magnet programs. She mentioned that she will be going to the state education department with data that shows that African-American students in city magnet schools outperform African-American students who transfer to county schools under the desegregation agreement.
As its final piece of business, the board authorized the superintendent to contact planning companies to make public presentations to the board about school district planning. Archibald was the only board member opposed to the motion.
Although a productive start was made on rebuilding the school district from the damage done to it over the previous three years, much remains to be done. Speeches by the teachers' union president and vice president underscored that work.
Mary Armstrong and Byron Clemons said management had been very disrespectful to the union in a labor-management meeting the week before. Armstrong said the union had taken 12 issues to the table and management refused to discuss them. The union officials said the union would not return to meetings with management until management was ready to actually "confer" on issues.
In 2002, the SLPS were provisionally accredited. If it had not been for the impending end to the desegregation program within the district, the district would have been unaccredited at that time, but instead was given an additional nine years to meet the requirements for accreditation. 2011 is the target date by which the district must meet those state requirements, and for which Building Towards 2011, a strategic plan, was developed by the previous district administration. Since taking office, the current Superintendent, Dr. Diana Bourisaw, had promised to review the strategic plan, which she has done and has made her recommendations to the school board.
At the school board meeting last Tuesday, the Superintendent said, "The immediate goal for all of us should be accreditation for our district. As such, we will focus on the performance standards established under the Missouri School Improvement Plan (MSIP), including academic achievement for all students, career preparation, graduation rates, and attendance rates."
Dr. Bourisaw's presentation noted several key areas where the strategic plan is deficient:
None of the initiatives were fully funded for the 2006/2007 school year. It would require an additional $71.4 million this year alone to fund the many programs.
The total cost to implement the plan between now and 2011 exceeds $528 million.
There is a lack of information on how the strategic plan will improve attendance and graduation rates, two areas that have been ignored in recent years.
The Superintendent, in her presentation, proposed the following areas for focus: achievement standards based on improved MAP scores, scholastic preparedness based on ACT scores, and educational persistence as measured through graduation rate and attendance rate. You can view the Superintendent's entire report here.
On the evening of Thursday September 28, at 6 PM, the St. Louis Public Schools district, in partnership with the Alliance to Save Cleveland High, will be holing a townhall meeting at Cleveland High School, located at 4352 Louisiana Ave, for the purpose of discussing with the community the "whats and hows of rennovation and rebuilding our beloved Castle," according to a release by the Alliance. The district's Building Commissioner, Deana Anderson, and her staff will be on hand to give details about the school's state and answer questions about rennovation efforts.
Clint Eastwood said it best. "A man's got to know his limitations," said "Dirty" Harry Callahan in 1973's "Magnum Force". Well indeed a man does. For that reason I have asked frequent commenter Travis Reems to help out with this here watchdog web log. And much to the delight of those that miss seeing me at dinner, he has accepted.
Look for Travis to help me play catch-up over the weekend and then start fresh next week with trying to keep this site updated as regularly as PubDef.net, which has taken up most of my time recently.
As always, if you have a press release, news tip, or rumor to share, send an e-mail to editor@pubdef.net or call our 24-hour Tip Line at (314) 518-2364. Tips are always 100% confidential.
One more thing: All you SLPS employees, parents and students, tell your friends and colleagues about this site. The more eyes watching STLSchools.org, the more eyes watching St. Louis Public Schools.
The School Board will meet tonight at Carr Lane VPA Middle School, 1004 N. Jefferson Avenue. Among the agenda items are a presentation to the "Teachers of the Year" and a vote on a resolution by board member Peter Downs to contract with a firm to create a "master plan" for St. Louis Public Schools.
The Executive Session will begin at 5:00 p.m. and is closed to the public. The Open Session will be held at 7:00 p.m. in the school auditorium. Here are the agendas:
EXECUTIVE SESSION AGENDA
1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Motion to move to Closed Session 4. Approval of Executive Session Minutes 5. Legal Matters 6. Real Estate Matters 7. Personnel Matters 8. Motion to return to Open Session 9. Recess
OPEN SESSION AGENDA
1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Pledge of Allegiance 4. We Are Up To Good Things Teachers of the Year Recognition 5. Public Comments 6. Approval of Minutes a) Regular Board Meetings July 18, 2006 b) Special Board Meetings July 11, 2006, July 14, 2006, August 15, 2006 and August 18, 2006 7. Superintendent's Report a) Business Items - Information Only i) Financial Report ii) School Score Cards b) Consent Agenda 8. President's Report a) Board Member Travel b) Approval of Board Meeting Schedule for 2006/2007 c) Status of Performance Audit d) Approval of sub-committees 9. New Business a) Resolution by Mr. Downs to authorize the St. Louis Public Schools to contract with a Master Planning Firm to assess the District and its needs 10. Information/Request 11. Announcements
The State Board of Education is planning to meet in St. Louis on Thursday, Oct. 5. We're told the agenda is still tentative, but plans include a visit to the Wellston School District -- which is currently under state control -- and a tour of the Missouri School for the Blind. The primary business meeting will be at the Drury Inn-Union Station.
At the last meeting of the St. Louis City School Board, the board majority surprised many by voting to drop the word "interim" off the title of new Superintendent Diana Bourisaw, effectively making her the leader of the district for the foreseeable future.
The 4-2 vote, which happened in a closed meeting, occurred after some stern objections from the board's minority -- most notably from board member Ron Jackson who stormed out of the meeting before the vote was taken.
Jackson sat down with PUB DEF this afternoon to talk about that vote, the current state of St. Louis Public Schools, and why he thinks the state should step in to take over the district.
Part 1: Why were you upset by the actions of the board majority this week? (approx 4 mins)
Part 2: Do you agree with fellow board member Bob Archibald that school boards should not be elected by the public, but rather appointed by governors or mayors? (approx 8 mins)
Part 3: Is this all just "sour grapes"? Would you and Archibald be calling for a state takeover if you were still in the majority? (approx 2 mins)
Part 4: Can you see why some people may be fearful of a takeover of SLPS by this governor's administration? (approx 1.5 mins)
I must start off by saying that I am very disappointed in the School Boards decision last night to make Diana Bourisaw the permanent Superintendent?
Mrs. Veronica O'Brien, I emailed you this week on two separate occasions expressing concerns. I asked you why the new superintendent has not made a visit to Vashon High School? You stated and I quote, "As for Dr. Bourisaw, she is doing an excellent job and it is rare that we hear negative feedback regarding her performance. Most everyone has been pleased with her performance."
Who is most everyone, many parents and students at Vashon High School beg to differ because if Diane Bourisaw was so interested in making things better for the district, that she is now superintendent of, she would have made an attempt to visit Vashon High School and listen to our concerns.
School has been in session for three weeks and you and some of the school board members have decided that she is the perfect person for the position? What are some of Diana's accomplishments that warrant giving her this position because she has not been in the position long enough nor made any major accomplishments that justify making her permanent.
I also want to bring to your attention that you did not answer the direct question when asked, Why the superintendent has not made a visit to Vashon High School? It is becoming quite obvious that our new superintendent does not care so can you tell me where the school board stands on this issue?
Mrs. O'Brien, you mentioned in your email that the school board does not address specific school issues at each board meeting, which is understandable, but do you not feel the urgency to address the issues that have been going on at Vashon since the summer? What is really important to this School Board?
When I asked why neither the Superintendent nor the President of the School Board has addressed the concerns at Vashon, you stated, "For the record, for the past three years I have been one of the only board members that would even show up at a Vashon graduation. I also gave support to the school during time when the media portrayed Vashon as violent school out of control."
"I spoke up for Vashon and did visit the school. For me, it is difficult at this time to say I will sit down and visit with parents due to the anger that seems to be a bit out of control. I spend most of my time visiting with schools and families to listen, but not be screamed at and cursed out by the crowd. I am always willing to meet and listen with those can do so in a civil manner."
Veronica, whether it is you or Diana, we have been asking for a meeting since the first day of school and you have not obliged. If you were truly willing to meet, a meeting would have been scheduled by now.
I said this in a previous email and I will repeat myself by saying, the damage has been done and to try to rectify this situation and apply damage control, a committee can be formed of concerned parents and students of Vashon High School, people that the community trusts to present their issues, and a meeting should be scheduled so that all voices are heard and these concerned be addressed.
The St. Louis Board of Education tonight voted to make Dr. Diana Bourisaw the permanent superintendent of St. Louis Public Schools.
By a vote of 4-2 (board member Ron Jackson walked out of the meeting) the board voted in a closed meeting to drop the title of "interim".
"After viewing first-hand the abilities of Dr. Bourisaw, the board felt there was no need to look further for a new superintendent," said Board President Veronica O'Brien in press release handed out later at the regular administrative meeting, which was open to the public.
"We have the perfect leader right in front of us," said O'Brien.
Check back later for video from tonight's meeting.
UPDATE: School Board President Veronica O'Brien told reporters after the meeting that the board dropped the "interim" title so the superintendent could apply for grants for the district.
"We can't apply for some of the grants that she can go in and get with the name 'interim' on it," she said.
O'Brien also said that making Dr. Bourisaw the permanent superintendent helps provide stability for the district, which helps to attract higher quality staff.
"We did what was in the best interest of the district and I think were following the guidelines of what [State Education Commissioner] Kent King and the task force want us to do," she said.
The School Board will be meeting tonight -- twice.
The board will meet the first time in a closed executive session at 6:30 p.m. to discuss personnel matters. They will then meet at 7:00 p.m. for their regular monthly administrative meeting to set the agenda for next week's regular meeting.
Both meetings will be at the district's downtown office, 801 N. 11th Street. Click here to see the agenda for tonight's meeting.
St. Louis Public Schools has received nearly $6 million in new grant money for this school year.
$4.2 million comes from a federal Early Reading First grant. Another $975,163 grant is meant to help boost participation of low-income students in advanced placement courses and tests.
Another $482,273 federal grant is intended to help enhance and improve the emergency response and crisis management for SLPS. According to the district, the goal of the project is to develop an effective emergency response and crisis management that will comprehensively address all five phases of crisis response planning: prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.
Unable to sellout a full stadium, the St. Louis Rams and their fans faced the possibility of not having their kickoff game for the 2006-7 season televised. A big Rams fan, U.S. Senate Candidate Claire McCaskill stepped in and bought the 100 remaining tickets, ensuring that all of St. Louis would be able to enjoy the first game of the season.
Earlier today, McCaskill raffled off 90 tickets to the Clyde C. Miller Career Academy to reward those students for having the highest attendance rate in the St. Louis Public School system and she will also give 10 tickets to George Washington Carver House, a crisis intervention center serving youth and their families.
"This is a great opportunity to reward students for working hard to get the most out of their education and allow Rams fans to see their home team kick-off the season," McCaskill said.
The St. Louis Board of Education will hold two Board Meetings on Tuesday, September 12, at the Administrative Building, 801 N. 11th Street, Room 108. A Special Board Meeting will begin with an Executive Session at 6:30 p.m. and it is closed to the public. The Administrative Meeting of the Board will be held at 7:00 p.m. in Room 108 and is open to the public. The agendas are as follows:
SPECIAL BOARD MEETING
1. Call To Order 2. Roll Call 3. Motion to move into closed session 4. Personnel Matters 5. Motion to adjourn
OPEN SESSION AGENDA
1.0 Preliminary 1.1 Call To Order / Roll Call 1.2 Placement of Items on the September 19, 2006 Regular Board Meeting Agenda
a) Pledge of Allegiance
b) Recognition of Teachers of the Year
c) We Are Up To Good Things
d) Public Comments
e) Approval of Minutes
i) Regular and Special Meetings July 11, July 14, July 18, August 15 and August 18, 2006
This letter was submitted to the Post-Dispatch by school board members Veronica O'Brien, Bill Purdy, Donna Jones, and Peter Downs in hopes it would be considered for publication on Sunday, September 3. They requested the editors give it prominence equal to that of their editorial "Children!" published on August 27.
While the Post-Dispatch editors were composing a demeaning editorial on the performance of the new majority that gained control of the St. Louis School Board in April from a former majority which was strongly influenced by the Black Leadership Roundtable and financially backed by Mayor Francis Slay, a true turnaround was taking place in the schools. It is one that is being designed to bring lasting and broadening reform, stability and academic gains for children.
A seasoned and experienced professional team of former Missouri Superintendents and former supervisors from the Missouri State Department of Education was assembled in late July after the full extent became known of the emergency created by the former majority and a succession of four superintendents it had hired starting in June of 2003 The prospects for the year starting August 28 were bleak.
Schools scheduled for reconstitution and reconfiguration had not been finally designed and checked for suitability in terms of capacity and conditions. The credentials had not been reviewed of many of the 1,000 teachers who were being considered for qualification under the former superintendent's criteria. Thousands of teachers had not been assigned to schools.
Several thousands of students did not know where they would be going to school, who their classmates would be or who will be their teachers. There was no plan to cut back reliance on unqualified substitute teachers and several principalships were open. Textbooks and supplies had not been ordered. Transportation schedules did not exist.
Professional development activities for all teachers scheduled to begin on August 16 had not been planned. The new small high school of the future at Carnahan existed only on paper. Property from Cleveland High School had not been moved to the new home at Pruitt.
Working on a crash basis, the new administration, supported by a majority of the school board accomplished these and many other tasks helped greatly by many former employees who returned to the system after having taken early retirement.
Hundreds of staffs and parents volunteered their time at three back to school rallies' and pitched in to help increase third day student attendance to a recent record high of 87 percent and schools were clean and functional.
We want to thank community members, some in the media, the parents, students and professional staff of the school district for the warm and friendly display of confidence being shown in the St. Louis School District. We especially want to thank Famous Barr Macy's, our newest partner for working with the district by taking kids on field trips, planting trees and much more.
The education of children must always be the focus of all of us. It is not about the adults. It is all about children!
School Board President Veronica O'Brien School Board Vice-Pres. Bill Purdy School Board Member Donna Jones School Board Member Peter Downs
