Tony Nipert, a PNW native who moved to STL for a job as a teach at the SLPS was an advocate and intelligent voice of criticism from a place of love and respect. The former Skinker-DeBaliviere resident shares some insight on his time here.
St. Louis Public Schools - Surplus Properties List
With school starting back up last week, seemed like as good a time as ever to visit the remaining schools on the SLPS surplus buildings list. These can be yours for a most reasonable price. Man there are some amazing, historic places in this city. We ranked them from top to bottom on biggest wins for the city’s history and architecture.
Clark School residential conversion in the academy neighborhood
Mullanphy School
Mullanphy School, or Mullanphy Investigative Learning Center as it is currently referred to by the school system, as an elementary magnet school within the St. Louis Public School System. The school is housed in a beautiful building designed by renowned architect William B. Ittner. The school has been located at 4221 Shaw Boulevard in the beautiful Shaw Neighborhood since 1915. We interview a parent with a student at the school.
New Gifted Program for St. Louis Public Schools
I have 2 children attending Kennard Classical Junior Academy in the North Hampton neighborhood. Our 3 year old just got a slot to start pre-K next year. Woo Hoo! Kennard is a gifted program where children are tested at age 3 for comprehension, functional logic, motor skills, etc. They teach a grade up in curriculum; meaning the 1st graders learn the typical 2nd grade curriculum. Kennard is the only gifted elementary school in Missouri.
My least favorite suburbanite argument for leaving the city comes from those former city residents who leave for the lame/boring suburbs because "the schools are too bad". Talk to these people, the overwhelming majority never investigated, nor tried the SLPS. They just "heard" about it. It's like new resident to the area who "hear" from their lame ass suburban realtor that the city should not be on their list of places to buy a home. All these losers are part of the problem and not the solution. Sorry if this sounds to harsh, but if you knew how many times I've heard this, and followed up with a few probing questions to these folks, it usually boils down to fear of the unknown, racism, and/or social or economical intolerance. I've said it before: if caring, devoted parents flood the halls with their children, the standards will rise.
Well, Kennard/McKinley/Metro are certainly success stories in the city. But, it's highly competitive for a limited amount of slots. So I was happy to read this St. Louis Post Dispatch article that Mallinkrodt school at Hampton and Pernod will be extending a gifted and talented program. And the former Kennard principal, Mary Denny, is the Mallinkrodt principle (she's great, too).
This is excellent news for those who want to stay in the city but couldn't get a slot at Kennard. There is one less excuse to go running for the county's school system.
St. Louis is on the rise.
We love it here; our kids LOVE it here. The families are great. The kids are great. The parents are caring. The community is strong. It is diverse in economic background. There are kids from all over the city that go here. It is as racially diverse as St. Louis can be, meaning there are only black and white people here, Asians and Hispanics/Latinos make up a tiny percentage of STL.
Our oldest is in second grade, and so far every teacher he's had and my daughter (Kindergarten) have had are top notch.
One problem is that Kennard has gained such a great reputation within the city and county, that the waiting list exceeds capacity. This is a good thing. There were only 15 schools that received the Gold Star Award for excellence in Missouri education:
Similarly, a group of schools (including the eight schools submitted to the U.S. Department of Education) are identified by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. All of the identified schools are sent letters inviting them to apply to become Gold Star Schools. Those that wish to apply are asked to complete an application similar to the one used in the original Gold Star and Blue Ribbon Schools Programs. To be a Gold Star School, a school will not only have to meet the high performance standards established by the U.S. Department of Education (see the eligibility criteria), it will also have to provide evidence on its application that it meets criteria shown by research to promote school effectiveness and best practice.Children that graduate from Kennard go on to McKinley in the McKinley Heights Neighborhood. And from there, they can go to Metro High School which Newsweek has ranked as Missouri's top public high school.
The Gold Star Schools are honored at the Gold Star Schools Reception held in the Spring. Information about the schools is prepared by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and disseminated via its web site.
The high standards for recognition in the No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools Program and the Gold Star Schools Program should make the programs successful in recognizing excellent schools and in calling attention to schools that could serve as models for schools wanting to improve.
My least favorite suburbanite argument for leaving the city comes from those former city residents who leave for the lame/boring suburbs because "the schools are too bad". Talk to these people, the overwhelming majority never investigated, nor tried the SLPS. They just "heard" about it. It's like new resident to the area who "hear" from their lame ass suburban realtor that the city should not be on their list of places to buy a home. All these losers are part of the problem and not the solution. Sorry if this sounds to harsh, but if you knew how many times I've heard this, and followed up with a few probing questions to these folks, it usually boils down to fear of the unknown, racism, and/or social or economical intolerance. I've said it before: if caring, devoted parents flood the halls with their children, the standards will rise.
Well, Kennard/McKinley/Metro are certainly success stories in the city. But, it's highly competitive for a limited amount of slots. So I was happy to read this St. Louis Post Dispatch article that Mallinkrodt school at Hampton and Pernod will be extending a gifted and talented program. And the former Kennard principal, Mary Denny, is the Mallinkrodt principle (she's great, too).
This is excellent news for those who want to stay in the city but couldn't get a slot at Kennard. There is one less excuse to go running for the county's school system.
St. Louis is on the rise.
