This information includes highlights of information received by the Ladue Schools Board of Education at the May 11, 2020 Business Meeting. This is an unofficial record. Official minutes of each Board meeting are posted on the district website and are available for viewing at the Administrative Center after the Board approves them, typically two weeks after the meeting.
Click here for a video recording of the May 11, 2020 Board Business Meeting
May Excellence in Education Award
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction Dr. Amy Zielinski
and Fifth Grade Center Principal Patricia Wilson congratulated
Fifth Grade Center Gifted Teacher Mary Decker
on receiving the May Excellence in Education Award. A more extensive recognition
will be made when we can have in-person Board of Education meetings.
Board President’s Remarks
Board President Carolyn Jaeger noted that the Board was in the process of conducting Superintendent Dr. Jim Wipke’s annual evaluation. She shared that the Board felt Dr. Wipke is doing very well in the first year in this position for the Ladue School District, despite it having been an incredibly challenging year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mrs. Jaeger reiterated her concern for the health and safety of all district families, including students, their families and the staff. She encouraged everyone to reach out to one another if there is something needed or a need that can be fulfilled.
Superintendent’s Remarks
Dr. Wipke noted that May 8, 2020 was the last day of the 2019-20 school year for Ladue Horton Watkins High School seniors. Many of these students woke up to congratulatory yard signs in front of their homes that morning which were placed by district employees and provided by a group of senior parents.
May 20 is the last day for the rest of our students and there will be communications sent to families to let them know what to expect in terms of updates during the summer, particularly regarding the start of the school, any restrictions or rescheduling that may take place, and events leading up to the beginning of the 2020-21 school year.
Many of the PreK-5 schools are hosting parades at their school so families can drive through and see their teachers and other staff members all together one more time before the end of the school year.
The high school stadium lights will continue to be turned on for twenty minutes and twenty seconds through May 22 to honor our graduates who have missed out on many of the traditional graduation celebrations.
Last week was Teacher Appreciation Week, and also included National Nurses Day. Teachers were celebrated in a number of ways and the district’s food service providers, Chartwells, were also honored.
A great deal of energy, resources and efforts are now focused on creating fall reentry plans for many different possible scenarios. A great deal has been learned about Distance Learning while schools have been closed this spring, and our Curriculum & Instruction Department, as well as building administrators and teachers, are using the knowledge to prepare for a fall reentry that may be very nontraditional in a number of ways.
June Summer School will all be online and we are hoping to have students in person beginning in July. Summer School will be focused on creating opportunities who need additional support prior to school beginning in the fall.
Dr. Wipke also gave kudos to the architects who have been hired by the district to explore possible improvements to Old Bonhomme Elementary School, Spoede Elementary School and Ladue Middle School. These are the three schools that have been identified as needing the most extensive work, and the architectural team of Perkins and Will and Ittner are continuing to evolve possible design scenarios for review by the Board, district administrators and Programming Teams from each of these schools, which include building administrators, teachers and parents. Given the uncertainty of the pandemic and the economy, specific timing and scope of these projects have not been finalized and the district has the ability to pause these projects at specific points along the design timeline.
ACTION ITEMS
Recommended Patron Reappointments to Board Advisory Committees. Dr. Zelinski recommended, and the Board approved, the following patrons serve a second term on the Curriculum & Instruction Board Advisory Committees:
Lolita Flinn — Curriculum & Instruction Board Advisory Committee
Jessica Paik — Curriculum & Instruction Board Advisory Committee
Tango Walker— Curriculum & Instruction Board Advisory Committee
Director of Facilities Mike Noonan recommended, and the Board approved, the following patrons serve a second term on the Facilities Board Advisory Committees:
Susie Sachs — Facilities Board Advisory Committee
Shaun Carr— Facilities Board Advisory Committee
Architect and Construction Management Contract. Assistant Superintendent for Business & Finance Dr. Jason Buckner presented, and the Board approved, the administration’s recommended contracts with architect Ittner Cordogan Clark Group and construction management firm S.M. Wilson.
The primary changes to the architect contract since the Board last discussed it are the addition of dates designated for the Board to determine how and if to move forward with further design development based on the state of the pandemic and the economy.
The Board also approved the construction management contract with S.M. Wilson Contract. Two important points to note are:
An Estimated Maximum Price (EMP) will be delivered to the district on or before October 15, 2020. Price ranges of various options under consideration are currently being fine-tuned.
A Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) will be solidified by June 1, 2021.
Support Staff Salary Recommendations. Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Dr. Julie Helm presented, and the Board approved, the Support Staff Salary Recommendations developed through discussions with the Support Staff Employee Council during the year which were completed prior to schools closing in March.
Support Staff salaries will be calculated for 2020-21 the same way they were for the 2019-20 school year. This structure is based on EdPlus data, using the midpoint as a starting place for each position, with higher increase percentages given to those at the lower end of the range and becoming less as staff reach the mid and higher end of the range. The Support Staff Employee Council will begin brainstorming a potential new salary structure for consideration for the 2021-22 school year.
INFORMATION ITEMS
2020-21 Professional Development Report and Plan. Dr. Zielinski introduced Kevin Heyman, a Third Grade Teacher at Spoede Elementary School, who chairs the District Professional Development Committee. Mr. Heyman presented an overview of the work done by the committee during the 2019-20 school year, as well as goals and plans for the 2020-21 school year. Areas of focus for the 2020-21 school year will be to refresh district expectations of Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s) and utilize PLC’s to support Tier I, II and III instruction. In addition, the committee will continue to focus on social-emotional support, diversity, and best practices.
2020-21 Testing Schedule. Dr. Zielinski outlined changes in the testing schedule for the 2020-21 school year, along with the district testing calendar and schedule by grade. Changes from the 2019-20 school year are minor and can be found by clicking on the header to this paragraph.
Recommended Patron Appointments to Board Advisory Committees. The following patrons were recommended for approval to serve on four Board Advisory Committees. The Board will vote on these recommendations at their June 9, 2020 meeting.
Finance Board Advisory Committee: Kristen Cooper, Roger Levy, Hudson Moore and Todd Stanton
Facilities Board Advisory Committee: David Singer
Curriculum & Instruction Board Advisory Committee: Luis Copeland, Andrea Krussel, Madaline Lapp, and Linda Varadachari
Technology Board Advisory Committee: Kendall Norris and Brett Ramsey
UPCOMING MEETINGS
The next Board of Education meeting will be a Special Meeting on May 12, 2020 at 8 a.m. The next meetings will occur on June 9, 2020 and June 29, 2020. Meetings will be held virtually using Zoom and the Meeting ID will be posted on the Featured tab of BoardDocs when the meeting information is officially posted.
Tentative Agenda Items for Special Meeting May 12, 2020:
Review of Architectural Design Options and Progress for Old Bonhomme Elementary School, Spoede Elementary School and Ladue Middle School
Tentative Agenda Items for Meeting June 9, 2020:
ACTION
2020-21 Student Testing Schedule
2020-21 Professional Development Plan
Launch MOU
INFORMATION
2020-21 School Lunch Prices
2020-21 Master Agreement
2020-21 Preliminary Budget Review
Comprehensive School Improvement Program Review (Supt. Update)
Curriculum Review
Master Facilities Plan/Bond Timeline Review
Long-Term Financial Plan Review
Board Work Goals
Early Childhood Programming
Tentative Agenda Items for Business Meeting June 29, 2020:
ACTION
Consolidated Application for Federal Grants
Final 2019-20 Bus Routes
Extra Duty Stipend Amounts
2020-21 Lunch Prices
Hearing and Approval of 2020-21 Preliminary Budget
Curriculum Revisions
2020-21 Tuition Rate Per Policy JECA
Teacher Evaluation Manual
INFORMATION
Board Goals/Work Plan
