This information includes highlights of information received by the Ladue Schools Board of Education at the November 8, 2021 regular Board of Education 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 to view a recording from the November 8 Board Meeting
Board President Remarks
Since our last meeting, five Board members and Dr. Wipke attended the Missouri School Boards’ Association conference in Kansas City. Board members briefly discussed the different workshops and topics that were covered at the conference, including a workshop for school board presidents, student mental health, building anti-racist schools, growing a teacher pipeline through district alumni, COVID vaccination and testing protocols, classroom and school management post-pandemic, and preschool.
Treasurer Andy Bresler added that he attended workshops focused on Sunshine Law, upcoming Missouri education legislation, and meeting diversity objectives with educational equity.
Vice President Kisha Lee added that she and Dr. Wipke toured the LEAD Innovation Studio in the Park Hill School District. She also attended workshops focused on competency-based learning and state assessments, the 2021 legislative update, student speech in the age of social media, and the future of ESA and school choice.
Director Jennifer Growe Soshnik added that she attended many of the same workshops mentioned along with ones focused on legal updates surrounding Title IX and Title VII and gender versus sex and how it affects students.
Director Marissa Rosen added that she also attended many of the same workshops mentioned along with one called “Emerging Trends are Creating a Perfect Storm” focused on COVID, mental health, and school safety issues. Rosen said she left the conference feeling good about where Ladue Schools currently stands as compared to other districts in the state on matters of equity, student safety, and many of the topics addressed at the conference.
President Carolyn Jaeger: much of the information at the conference was affirming and there were other ideas shared that made us think it would be something worth looking into. We’ll find a way to share some of the information learned and put some of those topics on our agenda as we go through the year.
Superintendent Remarks
Thank you to all of our Board members who continue to dedicate countless hours of their time to our district. This past weekend was no finer example of this.
There were many takeaways from the conference including building the bond between myself and our school board.
I want to mention Jean Becker, former Chief of Staff for George H.W. Bush, who presented at the conference. Many of our current teachers and administrators would have loved her presentation. She gave us plenty of takeaways but I’ll share two: she talked about President Bush’s character and tied it into a lot of what is currently happening in education, and a theme of how we’re stronger together and how President Bush and President Clinton partnered together to assist countries impacted by hurricanes.
Our latest version of the Link newsletter has been mailed to families and will be arriving in homes this week. One of my favorite sections of it was the part where we celebrated our staff for American Education Week and the interviews with our staff members. There is also a section called ‘Due Tell that is sure to catch your attention. A major point of pride in this edition is the highlight of our 29 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists at LHWHS. This is a credit to our families, staff, and the expectations we place on academics at our high school.
Many of our fall sports programs have concluded their season. I’m always impressed by the efforts of our student-athletes and coaches as they strive to be competitive while also learning how to be respectful and good teammates. The LHWHS boys’ soccer team will compete this Saturday in Mehlville in the state quarterfinals.
Congratulations to Charlie Krasnoff for being named the Suburban Conference Cross Country All-Conference Runner of the Year, to Andrew Smock for being named first team all-conference, and to Ginger Schulte for being named second team all-conference.
We have a Medical Task Force meeting coming up this week. As numbers improve, we will have conversations around the second semester and mitigating measures as there could be changes on the horizon based on the feedback of our medical experts and guidance from local health officials.
ACTION ITEMS
The Board discussed and approved Board of Education filing times at the district office.
The Board approved the first of two individual naming rights agreements between the Ladue Education Foundation and the district.
The Board approved a second naming rights agreement between the Ladue Education Foundation and the district.
The Board discussed and approved LEF naming rights agreements from 2015 to 2019.
LEF Naming Rights July 1, 2019 to present
The Board discussed and approved LEF naming rights agreements from July 1, 2019 to present day.
LEF Naming Rights - Naming List
The Board discussed and accepted a list of naming opportunities at LHWHS proposed by the LEF.
INFORMATION ITEMS
2022-23 High School and Middle School Course Change Proposals (MOVED TO ACTION)
The Board approved course change proposals for both LHWHS and LMS for the 2022-23 school year.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
The next Board of Education meeting will be a regular Business Meeting on Monday, November 22, 2021. The Meeting ID will be posted on the Featured tab of BoardDocs when the meeting information is officially posted.
