May 10, 2017
Schools ready for makeover
Around Town Alpha Players conclude season with classic comedy ‘Harvey’. P.3 Operation Food Search to host School of Cooking and Sharing’s first class. P.4
Community Voices By John A. Wright, Sr. PhD. P.2
School Hazelwood Central student nominated for FIRST Robotics Deans List Award. P.9
Learn & Play
Photo courtesy Normandy Schools Collaborative Volunteers Lodean Cotton (center) and Andrea Flynn call registered voters on April 1 to inform them of the Proposition N no-tax-rate increase bond issue on the April 4 ballot. Prop N passed with more than 68 percent of voters’ approval.
Simple ways to produce healthy habits. P.11
After passage of two bond propositions, school districts set stage for major facility improvements
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By Nicholas Elmes When county voters approved two zerotax-increase $23 million bonds through Proposition N and Proposition K in April, they set the stage for years of school improvements in the Normandy and Pattonville school districts. “This is a huge deal,” said Normandy Schools Collaborative Superintendent Dr. Charles Pearson. “First of all, our children deserve the best facilities possible. Secondly, when our children begin to return to the school system from the transfer program, they should be able to come back to improved facilities and those facilities will support the improved instructional model that we have created. Finally, there was discussion at some point about whether or not the Normandy school district would be around, but not only are going to be around but we are building programs and planning for the future. The community came along side us and said ‘Yes, you are going to be here and we are going to support that.’” Pearson said the new bond funding would allow the school district to make major renovations at two aging elementary schools and build a new middle school campus, as well as
make other security, technology and structural improvements at other schools in the district. Jefferson and Washington elementary schools will each receive new science labs and libraries, but Pearson said the final plans for those facilities depended on what their communities said they needed. “We want to make sure the community has a chance to tell us what they want,” he said. “The architects will come in with some general ideas of what could be done, like the fact that both schools need a revamp in terms of egress and access, but we will also be holding sessions at each school where people will be able to talk from their school’s point of view about what is needed. Then we will solidify some of those ideas into the final plan.” Pearson said he hopes that the renovations of the two schools can begin during the next school year. “We know that presents some challenges, but we also know the community will want to see us begin as soon as possible,” he said. “There are ways to do it where it will be as undisruptive as possible. The new middle school facility will take
longer to open its doors, with a projected opening during the 2019-20 school year, but Pearson said that community input would be needed this summer in order to keep that project on its projected timeline. He said the details of where and what that new school will be will be based on what the community says it needs. “We currently have a seventh and eighth grade center and we know that that building needs to be replaced,” he said, noting that the district still needed to figure out which grade levels would be included in the new school. “When you start talking about the location and programing at the school, they you start talking about the possibility of rezoning attendance areas and that has to be done with community input. Near the end of our discussion about the upgrades at the two elementary schools we will start having a discussion with community about what we believe the two best options are for the new building.” Pearson said decisions on location and grade levels included would need to be made See ‘MAKEOVER’ page 2
Serving North & Northwest St. Louis County | FREE Online at mycnews.com | Vol. 96 No. 19 | 636-379-1775
May movies serve up pirates, aliens and The Rock. P.16
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