Friday, May 24, 2013
The new administrative positions are located at three Maryland Heights-area schools.
The Parkway School District recently named its new administrators for the upcoming school year, including leadership positions at three Maryland Heights-area schools. Dr. Alicia Bottorff has been named assistant principal at River Bend Elementary for the 2013-14 school year, replacing Jodi Meese. Bottorff came to Parkway in 2011 and is completing her second year as assistant principal at Craig Elementary. Anne Miller will be an assistant principal at West Middle. Miller has been administrative intern at West Middle since 2010. Prior to that, she had been a sixth-grade teacher at South Middle and West Middle beginning in 1999. Debbie Palazzola has been named assistant principal at Shenandoah Valley. Palazzola has served as administrative …
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Kim Brandon is retiring as principal at the end of the school year.
Parkway Northeast Middle School principal Dr. Kim Brandon sent out her final e-blast to the school community this week. She announced her retirement earlier this year. "Fourteen years ago, when I arrived at Parkway Northeast Middle School for an interview to be an assistant principal, I had no idea how much of an impact this place would have on my life. Over the years, I have met so many incredible children who have inspired me, challenged me, and caused me to rethink some of my beliefs and/or practices. I've had the pleasure of meeting diverse families with rich traditions and strong values and I am grateful to have been invited to share in some of these traditions and appreciate the values passed down to the children who walk through the…
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
It's cap and gown time—post your grad's photo here and tell him or her how proud you are!
Graduation is coming up soon for seniors in Maryland Heights-area high schools. Pattonville High School's graduation ceremony will be on Thurs., May 30 at 7 p.m. at the Family Arena in St. Charles. Parkway North High School's graduation took place on Tuesday, May 14 at Queeny Park. Proud families are encouraged to upload their grad's picture to this story. In the caption, please tell us the graduate's name, school and plans for the future. Do you have a student graduating from a private high school or from college? We'd love to see their pictures, too! Give a shout-out to your graduate in the comments below.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
The Pattonville School District Board of Education approved several changes to its 2012-13 budget. Despite an increase in revenue and spending, the budget remains on target as predicted.
The Pattonville Board of Education approved changes to its 2012-2013 budget that didn’t spell good or bad news necessarily. The district saw an increase of $4.1 million in revenue as well as an increase of $1.2 million in spending, according to district documents. The district remains on target as expected with its budget, Chief Financial Officer Richard Orr said. Orr said the budget modifications are to show the district’s accounting measures as the fiscal year winds down. The $4.1 million revenue bump comes from appraised property value of Hollywood Casino, formerly Harrah’s Casino. Orr said the district didn’t know the approximate values so it was left out of the budget. St. Louis County Assessor Jake Zimmerman valued the casino at $439…
The school district's CFO said it will exhaust its current bond funding this summer and will not have any funds available for additional capital projects.
With the last bit of funds from a 2008 bond issue scheduled to be spent this summer, the Parkway School District's chief financial officer is recommending the school board began talking about placing a new bond on the ballot next fall. CFO Mark Stockwell made the remarks during a presentation to the board at their May 8 meeting. The bond serves as a source of funding for capital expenses, such as maintenance for the district’s facilities. Parkway has about $5.4 million in various projects set for this summer. After that, the bond funds will be gone. Stockwell said this means the district will no longer have money available for additional capital expense or improvements outside of emergency repairs. His preliminary 2013-14 budget sets aside…
The school district's CFO said it will exhaust its current bond funding this summer and will not have any funds available for additional capital projects.
With the last bit of funds from a 2008 bond issue scheduled to be spent this summer, the Parkway School District's chief financial officer is recommending the school board began talking about placing a new bond on the ballot next fall. CFO Mark Stockwell made the remarks during a presentation to the board at their May 8 meeting. The bond serves as a source of funding for capital expenses, such as maintenance for the district’s facilities. Parkway has about $5.4 million in various projects set for this summer. After that, the bond funds will be gone. Stockwell said this means the district will no longer have money available for additional capital expense or improvements outside of emergency repairs. His preliminary 2013-14 budget sets aside…
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Pattonville Heights hosts the trivia-style battle for its seventh year.
As trivia-style events continue to grow in popularity throughout the St. Louis-area, one school has found a way to make it both educational and a fun time for students. On Tuesday, 33 teams from schools across St. Louis competed at Pattonville Heights Middle School in the Book Battle Challenge, where teams tested their knowledge of 20 books that members read throughout the school year. This is the seventh year for the event. “It’s really cool to watch kids who are so connected to the world to actually prepare for battle because they had to read books,” Pattonville Heights language arts teacher and Book Battle committee member Jan von Harz said. At the beginning of the school year, a committee comprised of teachers, librarians and, this …
The Pattonville Board of Education starts working on the 2013-2014 school year items with approval of first day of school.
Although students are looking forward to summer break, the Pattonville Board of Education already has its sights set on the 2013-2014 school year. The board approved the first day of school for the next school year for Aug. 12. The board already approved the 2013-2014 school year calendar as it considers calendars in two-year cycles. In the next school year, the board will look at calendars for the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school years. The board had to vote on the first school date due to state law. The board approved the date unanimously.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Maryland Heights students reap the benefits of Target's Take Charge of Education program.
Although several area school districts, such as Pattonville School District, are working to overcome financial hurdles, some area schools are getting a helping hand from a large retail company. Several Maryland Heights-area schools have received funding thanks to Target’s “Take Charge of Education” initiative, a signature program designed to provide funds to area K-12 schools for their most important needs, such as books, classroom technology and so forth. The program has donated more than $350 million to schools across the country since 1997, according to its website. The program is also a part of the company’s commitment to give $1 billion to education by the end of 2015, Sarah Van Nevel, a spokeswoman for the company, wrote in an email…
After hundreds of nominations, the district announced its two honorees earlier this week.
Pattonville School District announced and recognized its Teacher of the Year and Support Staff Employee of the Year earlier this week. The district announced Beth Moritz, a Pattonville High School English teacher and Pattonville alumnus, and Larrie Bell, a paraprofessional at Holman Middle School, as Teacher of the Year and Support Staff of the Year at its annual District Appreciation Night. “I want to be the example for them to look up to and possibly pattern after," Bell said in a press release. "I want them to know that it’s cool to be a straight A student and it’s cool to be on time for class and work hard.” Moritz graduated from Pattonville in 1989 and returned as a teacher in 1995. In that time, she has served as Renaissance …
