dweebe, a letter in the P-D from a Saint Charles resident noted that Saint Charles School District would be a great candidate for receiving transferring students as they have an overall good system but declining enrollment and even have had to consolidate schools. Makes sense to me.dweebe wrote:don't a number of the Francis Howell schools have crowding issues where they have to resort to odd schedules and "temporary" trailers for additional classroom space?
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Instead of playing a game of district versus district, the goal with all these transfers should ultimately be school systems that look like the whole metro - racially, economically - such that the ridiculous premium placed on a handful of districts and thus the neighborhoods/towns they represent due to socioecon polarization, disappears. If receiving schools could establish enrollment targets based on regional demographics, maybe that would be helpful to concerned parents.
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PBS film crew working on a national segment about public school segregation is looking for parents and students from Francis Howell and Normandy school district to participate in a small group interview to discuss the recent transfer decision and its consequences. The filming will take place Saturday July 20 at 3PM (location To Be Determined). We're looking for students and parents to talk about their expectations, fears, challenges, and overall opinions about incoming transfer students and the situation at large.
Interested parties should contact the producers at the email address below with a brief explanation of their grade (if student), school attended, and some brief thoughts on the issue.
info@intelligencepictures.com
info@intelligencepictures.com<mailto:info@intelligencepictures.com>
Interested parties should contact the producers at the email address below with a brief explanation of their grade (if student), school attended, and some brief thoughts on the issue.
info@intelligencepictures.com
info@intelligencepictures.com<mailto:info@intelligencepictures.com>
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Post-Dispatch has a couple of articles up that are giving a clearer picture of where things stand with transfers.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/educ ... fdace.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/educ ... c015b.html
Takeaway is that Riverview Gardens and Normandy are poised to lose a significant chunk of $$ even though the large majority of students will be staying put. While Francis Howell and Mehlville have been chosen by parents to receive the most students, there are significant numbers going to a slew of others as well. It looks like the stagnant FHSD will be able to absorb most if not all all of the transferring Normandy students while the more at-capacity Mehlville district will not be able to take the majority of Riverview Gardens students who want to transfer there. Seems like at least Mehlville is getting a pretty good deal... an influx of $$ while deciding not to pay for new teachers, etc.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/educ ... fdace.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/educ ... c015b.html
Takeaway is that Riverview Gardens and Normandy are poised to lose a significant chunk of $$ even though the large majority of students will be staying put. While Francis Howell and Mehlville have been chosen by parents to receive the most students, there are significant numbers going to a slew of others as well. It looks like the stagnant FHSD will be able to absorb most if not all all of the transferring Normandy students while the more at-capacity Mehlville district will not be able to take the majority of Riverview Gardens students who want to transfer there. Seems like at least Mehlville is getting a pretty good deal... an influx of $$ while deciding not to pay for new teachers, etc.
It's a little disappointing to see the class size limits that Mehlville is putting into place. The district can do as they wish, but to cry foul over crowded class rooms with those sorts of numbers are a little silly. My Clayton class sizes were larger than those and I like to think I turned out okay...
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^ I was a bit confused at the numbers, but what I think is going on is that those were only the targets that they were working towards but in actuality they have a high student to teacher ration, which is part of the reason their tuition is so low compared to others. I think it was something like 9,500 hundred for Mehlville and 19,500 for Clayton. It just looks like Mehlville is extremely reluctant to hire new teachers, and this policy is a way to try to avoid mass transfer that would force them to do just that.
New York Times takes a look at the transfers:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/01/us/in ... l?hpw&_r=0
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/01/us/in ... l?hpw&_r=0
school space problem?
In Florida you toss a few trailers in the parking lot and hire some subs and it's done!
In Florida you toss a few trailers in the parking lot and hire some subs and it's done!
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http://fox2now.com/2014/01/08/normandy- ... rom-state/
Normandy says it will be bankrupt by April 1 without emergency funding from the state. Based on House Speaker Tim Jones's comments at the opening session today, I'm not sure that they're going to get the money. In a bankrupt NSD scenario, MoDESE will probably go forward with its plan to set up a statewide district that operates unaccredited districts. Another possibility is that the GA will cap tuition payments with a Turner fix and let NSD bounce along until MoDESE dissolves it into a neighboring district.
Normandy says it will be bankrupt by April 1 without emergency funding from the state. Based on House Speaker Tim Jones's comments at the opening session today, I'm not sure that they're going to get the money. In a bankrupt NSD scenario, MoDESE will probably go forward with its plan to set up a statewide district that operates unaccredited districts. Another possibility is that the GA will cap tuition payments with a Turner fix and let NSD bounce along until MoDESE dissolves it into a neighboring district.
Made the national news. Embarrassing.
AP - Missouri school board that previously rescinded anti-racism resolution drops Black history classes
https://apnews.com/article/black-histor ... 39caec6337
AP - Missouri school board that previously rescinded anti-racism resolution drops Black history classes
https://apnews.com/article/black-histor ... 39caec6337
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Looks like the school board reversed course...
Francis Howell school board reinstates Black History, Black Literature courses after blowback
Francis Howell school board reinstates Black History, Black Literature courses after blowback
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/francis-howell-school-board-reinstates-black-history-black-literature-courses-after-blowback/article_c63bac4a-9b8f-11ee-867d-3b7fe758aa9f.html#tracking-source=home-top-storyAdvocates for diversity in education said they will not back down after the Francis Howell School Board reversed its decision to eliminate Black History and Black Literature courses.
Students can enroll in the elective courses at the district’s three high schools next fall as long as the board approves a new curriculum “that is rigorous and largely politically neutral,” reads a statement Thursday from Adam Bertrand, board president, and Kenneth Roumpos, superintendent.
Last week, the school board’s conservative majority approved eliminating the courses from the district’s three high schools because the curriculum standards were developed by the civil rights group Southern Poverty Law Center. The move garnered national media attention and pushback from students, parents and groups including the NAACP. More than 3,350 people signed a student-led petition calling on the board to reinstate the Black History and Black Literature courses. Opponents of the board’s decision said they are skeptical about their sudden turnabout. “The board has repeatedly declined to discuss their rationale,” said Jamie Martin, president of Francis Howell Forward, a political action committee focused on equity in the district. “We urge them to participate with the public and we urge them to heed the public’s concerns.”
The NAACP organized a meeting Thursday night for Francis Howell students and parents to make plans for protesting the board’s decision.
Heather Fleming, founder of the Missouri Equity Education Partnership and a Francis Howell parent, questioned the need for a new curriculum that the board must approve.
Sounds like some heads should roll
StlToday - Francis Howell mismanaged construction of high school, wasting millions, state audit finds
StlToday - Francis Howell mismanaged construction of high school, wasting millions, state audit finds
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/edu ... 531e4.htmlThe cost of building the new Francis Howell North High School nearly doubled in cost due to poor communication and clumsy planning, a state audit released Wednesday found.
The report from Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick gave Francis Howell School District the lowest rating of “poor” after numerous findings indicated the district mismanaged projects financed by a $244 million bond issue passed in June 2020.
The audit also flagged the school district’s inadequate performance of safety drills and claims school staff in three schools overstated student attendance by over 3,000 hours for two years, leading to $11,500 in excess state funding.
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Was glad to hear the far right wing school board candidates in FHSD went down to defeat this week.
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^ Per the MO subreddit, there were quite a few that were defeated throughout the region and even the state. Important victories.