St. Louis Schools Watch: Archive

Legislature Watch

By Susan Turk February 27, 2012—St. Louis—At present there are 2 omnibus education bills working their way through the Missouri legislature, a house and a senate version. Omnibus bills combine several bills dealing with the same subject into one large bill. Both bills have been voted out of committee and can come up for a floor vote at any time. The two bills vary from each other. They are...

Feb 27th

School Choice = No Choice for Public Schools

By Susan Turk February 12, 2012—St. Louis—A motley crew of politicians around the country, governors and the like, proclaimed January 22-28, 2012 National School Choice Week. Events promoting school choice were held in many cities. St. Louis’ took place Wednesday, January 25 at Loyola Academy. The event was sponsored by the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, an institution...

Feb 14th

SLPS to Sponsor Charter Schools

By Susan Turk February 3, 2012—St. Louis—Last week, January 22-28 was National School Choice Week. Superintendent Kelvin Adams surprised SLPS parents by taking advantage of the timing to ask the SAB to approve resolutions asking the State Board of Education to allow the SLPS to sponsor two elementary level charter schools for the 2012-13 school year. Adams has been talking about...

Feb 6th

1 note

Board of Education Update

November 6, 2011—St. Louis—This issue is being dedicated to the elected Board of Education. First, a correction, the last edition of the Watch published an incorrect date for the next public meeting of the Board of Education. The correct date is this coming Tuesday, November 8, at 7 p.m. at Carr Lane VPA Middle School, 1004 North Jefferson. Free parking is available in the gated...

Nov 7th

SAB Approves Labor Contract in Spite of Teachers'...

By Susan Turk St. Louis—October 11, 2011— Local 420 President Mary Armstrong addressed the Special Administrative Board during the public comments segment at their Tuesday, October 11 meeting. She reported that on Sunday, October 9, AFT Local 420 members voted to reject the last and final policy statement, aka contract, they and Dr. Adams offered. The members then voted unanimously...

Nov 2nd

The Sweet Perfume of Money

By Susan Turk St. Louis—August 5, 2011—Bertha Gilkey Bonds was in the audience for the May 5, 2011 SAB meeting. The last time she attended, March 10, the SAB awarded the Missouri Chapter of the Black Alliance for Educational Options two sole source contracts. For the past few years, Gilkey Bonds, a charismatic, former tenants’ rights activist, has served as the Missouri State...

Aug 6th

Anniversary Greetings to the SAB

By Susan Turk June 15, 2011-St. Louis—Today marks the 4th anniversary of the removal of accreditation from the SLPS and the imposition of the transitional school district and its appointed Special Administrative Board to govern the St. Louis Public Schools. The Watch will mark the anniversary by noting a few of the SAB’s accomplishments. The district has been governed by 3...

Jun 16th

1 note

Charter School Operations

Friday, May 27, 2011 2:59 PM From: “Chad Beffa” c.beffa@sbcglobal.net This is to advise all those who are responsible for charter schools and their applications, that currently the city of St. Louis has fewer than 350,000 inhabitants as determined by the latest official census count. Under current state statute MRS 160.400, charter schools are only allowed to operate in...

May 29th

HB 1017: A Good Bill

By Susan Turk May 2, 2011—St. Louis—Thanks to State Representative Jeanette Mott Oxford (D-St. Louis), HB 1017 has been filed. HB 1017 revises RSMo162.1100, the statute which created and defines the transitional school district governed by the special administrative board (SAB). The transitional school district was superimposed onto the St. Louis City school district when accreditation...

May 2nd

2 notes

2011-12 Budget

April 27, 2011—St. Louis—Dr. Adams presented his 2011-12 budget to the SAB tonight in snap shot form. Far from the highly detailed reports which were presented to the public when elected boards governed the SLPS, this budget presentation consisted of 22 PowerPoint slides which costed out his Creating Great Options district plan with a little additional information about staffing...

Apr 30th

1 note

Gambling With Children

By Susan Turk April 25, 2011—St. Louis—Although, individuals under the age of 21 are restricted from gambling by law, there are few laws preventing individuals over the age of 21 from gambling. When gambling was limited to Las Vegas and Atlantic City casinos, it was a less pervasive recreational activity. With the advent of riverboat gambling it has become a regular form of...

Apr 26th

2 notes

Plans

By Susan Turk April 16, 2011—St. Louis—On Wednesday, January 19, SLPS Superintendent Dr. Kelvin Adams attended the monthly Parent Assembly meeting. He presented a brief preview of the plan for the district which, he would present at the subsequent evening’s SAB meeting. Among the initiatives he announced were the intent to provide free Pre-K for all city three and four years...

Apr 17th

Special SAB Meeting Tomorrow, Saturday, January 22

January 21, 2011—St Louis—There will be a rare opportunity for most readers to attend an SAB meeting tommorow, Saturday, January 22 at 1 p.m. The Thursday January 20 meeting was cancelled due to weather conditions. They postponed the meeting until tomorrow. It will be held in its usual setting at 801 N 11th Street in room 108. Parking is available in the lot to the north of the...

Jan 21st

Donna Jones and Bill Haas Re-elected to Board of...

November 3, 2010—St. Louis—The final results are in. Calendar November 15, Monday, regular monthly meeting of the Board of Education, 7 p.m., Carr Lane VPA, 1004 N. Jefferson, dance studio November 16, Tuesday, regular bi-monthly SAB meeting, 6 p.m., 801 North 11th Street, room 108 November 30, Tuesday, regular bi-monthly SAB meeting, 6 p.m., 801 North 11th...

Nov 4th

Pertaining to the School Board Election Campaign

By Susan Turk October 26—St. Louis— On Friday. October 1, the Watch sent a request to all school board candidates registered for the November 2 election asking them to send a brief biography and to answer a series of questions which would enable voters to make an informed choice in the election. With the election less than one week away, only two have responded, William Haas and Donna...

Oct 28th

1 note

A letter from Board of Education Member Peter...

October 27, 2010—St. Louis—A letter to the community from Board of Education Member Peter Downs. Peter is retiring from the board at the end of his term on November 2. Dear Friends, With an election less than a week away, I’d like to address your attention to two items near the bottom of the ballot: Proposition A and the St. Louis School Board election. There has been a lot of...

Oct 28th

Bunche Being Phased Out

By Susan Turk October 24—St. Louis—Noticing that Bunche International Studies Middle School was not listed in the 2011-12 St. Louis Magnet Schools guide and that Soldan International Studies HS, the school with which Bunche was consolidated for this school year, was not listed as a grade 7-12 school in the same guide, the Watch asked a few questions. We learned that parents at the...

Oct 26th

School Board Candidates Debate

By Susan Turk On October 6, 2010 the Green Party held a school board candidate forum at Legacy Books. Donna Jones, Bill Monroe, Doug Petty, Bill Haas, and Derek Craft are the five people running for two seats on the school board in the November 2 election. Donna Jones is currently serving on the board. Haas served on the board from 1997-2005. Monroe, Petty, and Craft, a district...

Oct 19th

SAC to Bd of Ed: Die, Die My Darling!

By Susan Turk October 8, 2010—Harris Stowe State University, St. Louis— The Special Advisory Committee on the SLPS held their final short and sweet public meeting at 2 p.m. today. It lasted a mere 45 minutes. The purpose of the meeting was to present, review and approve their final report. They approved it by a unanimous vote without discussion. The report contains 9...

Oct 9th

School Board Election, November 2

By Susan Turk It’s going to be a long ballot November 2. In additional to congressinal and state legislative races, judicial retentions and several propositions, there will also be 2 seats on the St. Louis Board of Eucation which will have to be decided. As part of the legislation which enabled the end of federal oversight of the SLPS, the Board of Education was downsized from 12 to 7...

Oct 8th

SLPS Watch

“And might makes right, And till they’ve seen the light, They’ve got to be protected, All their rights respected, Till somebody we like can be elected.” (With apologies to Tom Lehrer) That pretty much sums up the theme of the Special Advisory Committee on the SLPS which met Monday, September 13th at Harris Stowe State University. A quick summary would be...

Oct 1st

The St. Louis Elected Board of Education clarifies...

On Wednesday July 28, 2010 the Elected Board of Education held a special meeting at the Carpenter Branch Library and approved the following resolution: RESOLUTION ON THE PROPOSED SCHOOL BOND ISSUE ON THE AUGUST 2010 BALLOT Whereas, SAB member Richard Gaines has implied that the elected St. Louis Board of Education supports the school bond issue on the August 3 ballot; and Whereas, the...

Aug 3rd

1 note

Transition Report

This edition of the Watch is given over to the Transition Report which the Board of Education will submit to Danforth Freeman Special Advisory Committee. The Board of Education requests feedback from readers prior to finalizing the report. Please read it and contribute your thoughts. June 15, 2010 Dear Parents, Students and Citizens of St. Louis, The future control of the St. Louis Public...

Jun 24th

1 note

7 tags

Back to the 3 Rs for 14 Schools

June 8, 2010— St. Louis—According to a May 6 email to the 14 SLPS principals, whose schools are participating in the Rensselaer Institute’s School Turnaround program, SLPS Supt. Kelvin Adams “has okayed” a “resource alignment – in particular staffing, scheduling, and programs….Scheduling this year needs to include a minimum of 2.5 hours of math and 2.5 hours of...

Jun 9th

2 notes

7 tags

Full Speed Ahead on Bond Issue

May 20, 2010—St. Louis—The SAB ended months of speculation by approving a resolution tonight for a bond issue to be placed on the August 3 ballot that will allow the district to borrow $155 million for facilities improvements . At their May 13 meeting Board Attorney Allen Boston was instructed to write the resolution after a report from two members of a committee overseeing the...

May 21st

7 tags

No Charter for Central

By Susan Turk May 8, 2010—St. Louis—Central VPA HS staff were told last week that the school will not be converted into a SLPS district sponsored charter school after all. In order to qualify for federal School Improvement Grants, it was decided to assign Central to the transformation remediation model in stead. Many components of transformation had already been implemented at...

May 13th

8 tags

Charter Schools Value Principals

By Susan Turk April 23, 2010—St. Louis—Four St. Louis charter schools are eligible to apply for federal School Improvement Grants, because they are on the state’s list of lowest performing schools. The Watch has spoken with representatives from two of them to learn their plans regarding the grants. It has been repeatedly trumpeted that charter schools are superior to...

Apr 30th

2 notes

The Ax Has Dropped

By Susan Turk April 15, 2010—St. Louis—An unusual sight greeted people attempting to attend tonight’s SAB meeting, a line extending out of the door of the administration building. There must have been 50 people waiting for admittance and being barred from entering due to a lack of adequate seating in room 108. The SAB had not anticipated that a larger crowd than usual would...

Apr 16th

Dr. Adams, SLPS's Very Own Magician

By Susan Turk April 13, 2010—St. Louis—Between now and 6 p.m. Thursday, SLPS Supt. Dr. Kelvin Adams is going to perform a feat of prestidigitation worthy of the nimblest magicians. He is going to make a $57 million dollar budget shortfall disappear. I doubt even Siegfried and Roy could manage that. By comparing him to a magician, I am by no means devaluing Dr. Adams’...

Apr 14th

SLPS Advisory Committee Will Meet Today

The Special Advisory Committee on the St. Louis Public Schools will meet Tuesday, April 13 in St. Louis from 2:00-4:00 p.m., in the SW Bell Library at Harris-Stowe State University , 3026 Laclede. The tentative agenda for the meeting includes a presentation by Dr. Kelvin Adams, superintendent of the St. Louis Public Schools , and a time for comments by members of the public. The Special...

Apr 13th

Budget Frozen

by Susan Turk March 17, 2010—St. Louis—The SLPS General Operating Budget was frozen on February 26. On Monday, March 8, memos circulated to SLPS administrators and staff, informing everyone of the procedures to follow to request emergency expenditures only and of the status of spending requests that were pending on February 26. According to one memo, “All voucher requests,...

Mar 18th