This information includes highlights of information received by the Ladue Schools Board of Education at the January 25, 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 January 25 Board Meeting
Board President Remarks
I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce our four board candidates who have now been certified. They are: Marissa Rosen, Jennifer Growe Soshnik, Andy Cohen, and Pablo Flinn. There are two seats available in the April 6 election. I learned recently that COVID-19 will no longer be a reason to receive an absentee ballot. We will let you know if that information changes.
Meet the Candidate Night is March 30 at 6:30 p.m. It will likely be virtual. It will be run by Molly Beck of LHWHS and the Speech and Debate Team. You’ll hear more about how to participate in the coming weeks.
There are two names that are not on the ballot, and those are Nancy Goldstein and Sheri Glantz. Nancy has served on the Board for nine years, and Sheri has served for 15. We want to recognize them and thank them for their years of dedication and service.
I want to let you know that there is a Senate bill, SB55, that might put public school districts in harm’s way in a few different areas. I want to provide a few examples of this, and if these resonate with you, you can contact your senator. Included is a measure to be able to recall board members; it would require signatures from 25% of the voter turnout to recall someone. I think this is significant in trying to mitigate our community’s voice in elections. There also is language about scholarship account vouchers, or tax credits, that people can use to pay for private schools and other for-profit virtual schools, and that is tax money taken away from public education. It also discusses charter school expansions and MOCAP, two areas that could affect public schools if the bill were to pass. As I said, there are a few things in the bill that I believe put public school systems in harm’s way. I encourage you to read the bill if any of these factors resonate with you.
Superintendent Remarks
I want to recognize Nancy and Sheri for your service, we appreciate you. You both put kids first throughout your time on the Board, and I look forward to our next few board meetings where we can continue to celebrate your contributions.
Before Winter Break we were talking about bringing high school students back into the classroom, and now that we have, it has been a very successful beginning to the semester. We have had a few quarantine situations to this point, and I want to thank our parents and community for their understanding when we have to make the call to quarantine and do contact tracing. I understand this can be a hardship on our families so thank you for your cooperation. Thank you to Ann Body and our nursing staff for their tireless work throughout the pandemic. We may seem overly cautious, but this caution helps us ensure we have little to no transmission and keep schools open.
I want to highlight Dr. Amy Zielinski and her department for hosting a K-4 Virtual Parent Night earlier this month. It helped us connect with students and families in a virtual setting and share best practices for virtual students. Thank you to everyone who helped make that happen.
This is not a typical year and we’ve had to make some adjustments to the courses we offer, but I do believe our students still are receiving high-quality education and our teachers and staff are doing an amazing job of balancing everything.
I recently had the opportunity to attend the MSSA conference, consisting of active and retired superintendents from throughout the region.
We have set the dates for our Prop L Community Engagement sessions; those are Feb. 17, Feb. 23, March 10, and March 29. We will also schedule school-specific events and neighborhood meetings.
I’d also like to let the Board know that Harris-Stowe State University reached out to me recently to ask if I would serve on a College of Education Alumni Advisory Council. I look forward to volunteering my time and thoughts in assisting students who wish to become educators.
I want to spotlight our special educators who are working incredibly hard. Our LECC building actually has more special educators than any other type of teacher; we are fortunate to have so many special educators in our district doing what they love to do every single day. We have started meeting with our special education experts to look at our services and how we can make positive changes that help us continue to support special educators and utilize their strengths. We’ve talked about ways that we can be more inclusive and improve as a district.
INFORMATION ITEMS
COVID-19 Leave Time Resolution - moved to action
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Julie Helm presented, and the Board approved, a resolution that would provide additional paid leave for COVID-19-related absences.
Immunization Memorandum of Agreement - moved to action
Dr. Wipke and District Lead Nurse Ann Body shared information related to the Missouri Immunization Registry Memorandum of Agreement. The Board approved the motion.
Director of Facilities Mike Noonan presented information about upcoming projects, including roof improvements at Conway and Spoede Elementary, the Fifth Grade Center, and LHWHS.
Board Training - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The Board and Dr. Wipke discussed a proposal outlining the district’s commitment to celebrating diversity and equity as it relates to the overall mission of Ladue Schools.
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jason Buckner shared updates relating to the 2020-21 Budget.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
The next Board of Education meeting will be a regular Business Meeting on Monday, Feb. 8, 2021. The meeting 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 FEB. 8
INFORMATION
School Board Recognition Week
2022-23 School Calendar
Policy Updates
