Board Briefs from April 25, 2022 Business Meeting

This information includes highlights of information received by the Ladue Schools Board of Education at the April 25, 2022 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 April 25 Board Meeting

Board President Remarks

• I’d like to thank my fellow board members for nominating and electing me to the position of Board President, and for indulging me at the last Board meeting as so many people showed up to support me and celebrate as I became the first person of color to serve in this role.

• Last week, I attended LMS Student Recognition Night.

• I also attended the Facilities Board Advisory Committee during which we visited all of the construction sites.

• I also attended the LEF’s Innovation Celebration on Friday; it was a wonderful event.

• I want to remind the Board that a new MSBA legislative update came out today; we need to keep our eyes open as there are only three weeks left in this legislative session and there are a few omnibus bills that will go through the House and Senate.

• It is awards season as we approach the end of the school year, so you may want to check with the principals of your assigned schools to make sure we can attend those events since we’ve not been able to in recent years.

• Our Board Retreat is June 14 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• A reminder that I serve on the SSD Governing Council, and as a member of that council, I’m also part of the 2022 Public Review Committee. This committee consists of members from the Governing Council, the SSD Parent Advisory Council, and appointees from DESE. During this year-long period we take a look at SSD and develop a list of recommendations that will be forthcoming at the end of May.

Superintendent Remarks

• We’ve had some exciting things happen over the last few weeks; I can’t tell you how proud I feel when I visit our schools and see our staff and students in action.

• I haven’t been able to attend all of these exciting events, but for the ones I missed, I had a cabinet member attend and report back about the event. Dr. Zielinski attended the One Book, One Community event where our community discussed the book Blended by Sharon Draper. Thank you to our librarians for putting that together because I heard it was an awesome event.

• Many of our elementary schools have participated in the Heart Challenge recently (formerly Jump Rope for Heart) and I enjoyed the jump rope performance at Reed.

• Maria and Beau Dolan organized Ladue Night Lights to highlight our students with special needs and allow them to be the stars of the night. It was so cool to see our student body show up and support our students with special needs. Dr. Helm attended this event because I was at the LMS Recognition Night with Kisha on Wednesday.

• The Seal of Biliteracy ceremony happened here on Monday; we have 44 students who earned their seal this year, which means they are proficient in two or more languages.

• I attended the National Junior Honor Society event on Wednesday.

• We held our Senior Awards as well which I have not had a chance to attend before; I realized a lot of these events are new to me because I’ve not yet had a normal 4th quarter since I’ve been Superintendent.

• We have exciting news regarding LMS: Dr. Angela Thompson will become the new principal and she’s already starting to get involved and is working with Dr. Taylor-Johnson on her transition to LMS.

• U.S. News and World Report ranked our high school third in Missouri.

• We have groundbreaking ceremonies coming up on May 26 at Reed and Conway.

• We also have a ribbon-cutting ceremony upcoming for Becky Sauerbrunn Field.

• I want to recognize the LEF for organizing an awesome event on Friday with their Innovation Celebration.

• I went to the LHWHS baseball game on Saturday and saw student Will Moore hit a ball over the fence which was pretty cool.

• There are several bills being discussed by the General Assembly in Jefferson City that we are closely watching. There are more bills this year that could have a significant impact on public schools than in past years. We’re putting a Legislative Board Advisory Committee together to learn more about legislation that currently impacts our schools.

ACTION ITEMS

S.M. Wilson Presentation, Change Orders, and Pay Application

S.M. Wilson provided updates on construction progress, presented new change orders, and discussed the March pay application. The Board approved all change orders and the pay application.

Wachter and Hoener Pay Application

Director of Facilities Mike Noonan presented, and the Board approved, a March pay application from Wachter and Hoener related to the design-build contract at Conway and Reed.

INFORMATION ITEMS

Designation of Board Delegates and Alternates for: MSBA, SSD Governing Council, EdPlus Legislative Liaison, School Liaison and Board Advisory Committee Assignments

The Board designated delegates and alternates for the various groups.

New Board Advisory Committees: Legislative and Early Childhood Expansion (MOVED TO ACTION)

The Board discussed and approved the new committees.

Web Service Solutions Provider (MOVED TO ACTION)

Director of Communications Kimberly McKenzie recommended, and the Board approved, entering into a three-year agreement with Blackboard to provide the district’s web services.

Strategic Plan Presentation

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Amy Zielinski presented the proposed Strategic Plan for 2022-27.

UPCOMING MEETINGS

The next Board of Education meeting will be a regular Business Meeting on Monday, May 9, 2022. The Meeting ID will be posted on the Featured tab of BoardDocs when the meeting information is officially posted.

Board Briefs from April 11, 2022 Business Meeting

This information includes highlights of information received by the Ladue Schools Board of Education at the April 11, 2022 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 April 11 Board Meeting

Board President Remarks

• Five Board members and Dr. Wipke attended a regional meeting recently, where local school districts get together to talk about best practices, legislative matters, and many other topics.

• Having been President for the last three years, I want to touch briefly on the many accomplishments we as a Board have achieved in that time. We initiated our Instructional Coaches, organized our Social Emotional Behavior team, brought on a data analyst as well as an Equity Coordinator, and we completed our Panorama survey. We’re also studying our counseling services, have helped improve content on our district website, rewriting curriculum, improving PLCs, conducted a hiring data report, done an analysis of our certified salary schedule, analyzed our financials ahead of Prop L and passed the measure, and transitioned in a new Superintendent and new assistant superintendents of Finance and Human Resources. Finally, we also aligned our Board goals and are now working on district goals and are developing a new strategic plan. Additionally, we made it through the pandemic without our community tearing itself apart while our staff endured with dignity and compassion. All the while, we were focused on the success of our students and the safety inside our school buildings. I am proud that we did not let the difficulties of COVID become distractions to our mission.

• I’d like to wish our next Board President much less turbulence during their term and hope there will be calmer and more peaceful in our district. I’ll add that success is not determined by how well you shoulder the burden, but by how well you distribute it. Although the President leads the governance of our organization, they are one of seven and we take on burdens as a team. We are all here to see our next President Kisha Lee succeed. 

Superintendent Remarks

• I want to thank Carolyn Jaeger for her service as Board President. We would not have been on the same timeline for Prop L if not for her efforts. Also, if I had to go through COVID with any Board President, I’m glad I experienced it with Carolyn because of her diligence and willingness to listen.

• I also want to thank our Ladue Schools community; over the last two and a half years, tonight’s audience is the largest crowd we’ve had at a Board meeting. The Ladue community has been with us throughout the last two and a half years and I thank you for that. We had to make tough decisions during the pandemic and I know we couldn’t make everyone happy all the time, but our community stayed with us.

• Tonight is an important meeting as we reorganize our Board officer positions. It goes without saying that our current Board members and officers have done a remarkable job; thank you all for your service in the last year.

• Here are a few highlights in our district since our last meeting in March: the high school hosted a regional NSDA competition. More than 60 schools participated and LHWHS students performed very well, winning many awards with several moving on to compete at the national level.

• Our chess team also recently won the state tournament, and our Science Olympiad teams at both LMS and LHWHS performed well at state; LMS took 1st place and LHWHS took 2nd in their respective divisions.

• Also, our high school’s History Bowl team won the state championship and will represent our state in the national competition at the end of this month.

• The Panorama magazine at our high school earned its first-ever Pacemaker, one of the most prestigious awards a publication can receive, and received the highest ranking of All-American from the National Scholastic Press Association. It also placed third in the nation in news magazines.

ACTION ITEMS

Administration of Oaths of Office

Sheldon Johnson and Jeff Kopolow both were sworn into office following their election on April 5.

Election of Officers

Kisha Lee was voted Board President, Marissa Rosen as Vice President, Jennifer Growe Soshnik as Secretary, and Andy Bresler as Treasurer.

Meet and Confer

Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Dr. Julie Helm presented, and the Board approved, a report from the concluded discussions related to the Meet and Confer process with the Ladue Educators Association.

INFORMATION ITEMS

COVID-19 Stipend (MOVED TO ACTION)

Dr. Helm presented, and the Board approved, a one-time, $1,000 stipend for all district employees to assist with collecting data and strategies related to what was learned during the pandemic.

Board Advisory Committee Re-Appointments

Re-appointment information from the Curriculum and Instruction, Facilities, and Finance Board Advisory committees was shared.

Reed and Conway Gymnasiums/Storm Shelters

Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Dr. Geoff Macy discussed progress on the projects at Conway and Reed Elementary.

Conway Easement (MOVED TO ACTION)

Director of Facilities Mike Noonan discussed, and the Board approved, granting the City of Ladue three easements, one temporary and two permanent, related to the installation and maintenance of flashing hazard light signs at the Conway Elementary crosswalk.

UPCOMING MEETINGS

The next Board of Education meeting will be a regular Business Meeting on Monday, April 25, 2022. The Meeting ID will be posted on the Featured tab of BoardDocs when the meeting information is officially posted.