Editor’s Note: The terrific program “Terrific Kids” from the the South County Kiwanis is on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic and schools limiting visitors, but we thought we’d look back on some of the honorees from past years.
These Rogers Elementary School students in the Mehlville School District were named Terrific Kids of the Month in March 2018 by the Kiwanis Club of South County and the Dairy Queen on South Lindbergh Boulevard. They were honored for their hard work and great improvement in effort, reading skills or work habits.
The students are selected by their teachers as having shown terrific improvement in academic performance, attendance, behavior, or some other aspect of their school experiences.
Other priority projects identified include $7.3 million in HVAC upgrades, $5.6 million in “other,” $2.8 million in restrooms, $2.7 million in roofing, $1.9 million in ADA compliance, $900,000 in parking upgrades and $2.2 million in contingency funds for projects awaiting estimates.
An additional $5.5 million from the Proposition R, Proposition A and Capital 410 funds will also be used.
Below is a list of needs identified at each of the district’s facilities toured by the Facilities Steering Committee:
• Beasley Elementary School, 3131 Koch Road Secure entry vestibule, four restroom fixtures to bring it into ADA compliance, outdoor lighting, additional restrooms, additional parking, roof work, HVAC work and widening the entry road to the school.
The St. Louis Call took home multiple awards this fall at both the news-centered Better Newspaper Contest from the Missouri Press Foundation and the advertising-centered MPAME (Missouri Press Advertising and Marketing Executives) annual contest showcasing the state’s best ads and ad designers.
Call Editor Gloria Lloyd took a first-place award for Best Story About Education for “Assignment makes world headlines,” an article following up on a story after a Mehlville School District teacher gave an assignment asking students to set the price they would sell themselves for as a slave.
The judge commented, “Well-balanced reporting on a sensitive issue. The reporter presented the facts without sensationalizing the event bravo.”
The next five years of the Mehlville School District’s strategic plan will largely be driven by facilities, safety and personalization.
The district spent the 2019-2020 school year gathering feedback from parents, students and the community about what they want to see from their school district. Two themes rose to the top: student safety and personalization.
The four listening sessions of the “Mehlville Listens” engagement process each centered around a particular aspect of schooling and the district. Mehlville also used online surveys called Thought-exchanges to gather more feedback.
The strategic plan was first discussed in fall 2014, before the board formally adopted it in 2015, just before Superintendent Chris Gaines came to Mehlville. Set to be renewed in five-year intervals, the current strategic plan is built around the elements of student preparation, teacher support and being effective and efficient.