A New Orleans developer has backed away from plans to convert a historic school building in downtown Bay St. Louis, Miss., into a hotel, a Mississippi coast newspaper reports. The Sun Herald reported that Jim MacPhaille, who owns a number of buildings in Bay St. Louis, dropped the hotel plans in order to concentrate on other projects he has in the town. MacPhaille, according to the story, said he didn't want to continue fighting with neighbors who didn't like the hotel plan. The school building dates to the 1920s and once housed Bay High School, the story said. MacPhaille had been seeking permission from the Planning and Zoning Board for a 70-room boutique hotel, the story said. MacPhaille and his wife, Catherine, own numerous other buildings in the town, which has strong ties to the New Orleans region. They are refurbishing the iconic A&G Theatre on the bay near the restaurant they own, 200 North Beach Restaurant and Bar. MacPhailles have brought on MetroStudio, the … [Read more...] about N.O. developer pulls plan for hotel at old Bay St. Louis school: report
St louis schools
East St. Louis School Board votes to save track season, which had been canceled after brawl last week
EAST ST. LOUIS • The East St. Louis School Board voted unanimously Monday to reinstate the boys track season, which was canceled after a brawl in the stands at a meet last week.The altercation started in the stands, but some members of the track team joined in. Superintendent Arthur Culver said he had canceled the track season because he was worried for safety at future track meets.That decision had drawn a small group of protesters who rallied outside the East St. Louis School District's administration office early Monday morning seeking to have that decision reversed. Brawl in the stands involving some athletes postpones conference track championships in East St. Louis "This is their one key to getting out of here, to be somebody," said Erica Brooks, an East St. Louis alumna of Lincoln High School and a former track athlete. "Please don't take this opportunity away from the kids."Brooks was among 16 people who held a press conference Monday morning.The school … [Read more...] about East St. Louis School Board votes to save track season, which had been canceled after brawl last week
Police called to St. Louis school after ‘senior prank’ use pepper spray, arrest student, officials say
Police called to a St. Louis high school Thursday afternoon following an apparent senior prank used pepper spray after finding more than 100 students outside and arrested an 18-year-old student, school officials say. The student has since been released and there were no injuries reported, St. Louis Police said. The officers had been called to Clyde C. Miller Career Academy around the school's dismissal time for a "large group of teens throwing eggs." Responding officers found "nearly 100 to 150" people outside the building with water balloons, squirt guns and eggs "as part of an apparent 'senior prank,'" police said. Additional officers responded after an call for aid was sent out, but the call was canceled after officers gained control of the scene. In a statement, St. Louis Public Schools officials said police "dispersed Mace" outside the school during dismissal and took one student into custody. "SLPS will cooperate with local authorities and take any subsequent … [Read more...] about Police called to St. Louis school after ‘senior prank’ use pepper spray, arrest student, officials say
Racial discrimination is alive and well in St. Louis schools; now let’s end it
If you thought school segregation was a thing of the past, guess again. The practice of denying educational opportunities to African-American kids is alive and well in St. Louis schools. That’s unacceptable.We’re helping to lead the fight to end St. Louis schools’ segregation policy, and our goal is to take this fight to the Supreme Court. But for that to happen, we need to hear from families in the community who have been affected by this unconstitutional policy.Many people may be shocked to learn segregation persists in their community’s schools, believing we won that fight in the last century. But it’s sadly true — the only difference is today’s segregation has taken on a new face. Let’s take a step back to explain how we got here.In 2016, we represented Edmund Lee, a bright 11-year-old boy, in a lawsuit to vindicate his civil rights. When Edmund’s mother, La’Shieka, moved her family to a safer neighborhood, she sought to … [Read more...] about Racial discrimination is alive and well in St. Louis schools; now let’s end it
Decision on St. Louis school board and charter school renewals among delays from state board standoff
The Missouri Board of Education has now missed two of 11 meetings scheduled for this year, because it doesn’t have enough members for a quorum. As a result: • Some charter schools are awaiting renewal of their charters, the contracts that spell out how they will operate and what they will accomplish. • Changes intended to make Missouri’s school accountability system more equitable are likely delayed another year. • A residency program that would recruit and train teachers for hard-to-staff schools in the St. Louis area is waiting to officially launch. • And St. Louis residents are still waiting on the State Board of Education to decide who should govern their school district and how that transition will happen. That’s on top of the search for a new state education commissioner — the vacancy that led the board to its current standstill. In the last six months of 2017, Gov. Eric Greitens appointed 10 people to the state board that oversees … [Read more...] about Decision on St. Louis school board and charter school renewals among delays from state board standoff
St. Louis schools need help paying off student meal debt
Updated 10:17 am, Sunday, February 4, 2018 ST. LOUIS (AP) — Some school districts in the St. Louis area are asking the community to help pay off student meal debt for families who can't afford daily lunches for their children. More than 2,100 students in the Francis Howell School District collectively owe nearly $19,000 in their school lunch accounts. The district has asked community members to pitch in to a dedicated lunch debt fund, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported . Schools try to avoid "lunch shaming" students whose families haven't replenished their lunch accounts, and to prevent lunch debt from using up district money. Lunch shaming has gained nationwide attention amid stories of cafeteria workers throwing away food and giving sandwiches to students with no money. Local Channel Now Playing: Now Playing Police responding to shooting at S.A. intersection San Antonio Express-News San Antonio Police respond to shooting on West Side 21 Pro … [Read more...] about St. Louis schools need help paying off student meal debt
St. Louis schools should have elected board, task force says
ST. LOUIS • The city’s public school district should be governed by an elected board, a special task force decided Wednesday after weeks of studying input from experts and residents. The group’s decision was largely driven by a desire to hold a school board accountable to voters and to give representation to city residents. There was little discussion of what would be best for students. The vast majority of school boards in the U.S. are elected, and there is not much evidence showing one type of school board is structurally better than another, task force member and St. Louis teachers union member Ray Cummings said at Wednesday’s meeting. Task force members said they thought individual board members’ integrity and ability to work together to implement best practices — rather than the structure of a school board — were the most important keys to a board’s success. Some task force members also said they wanted to avoid having to go to the … [Read more...] about St. Louis schools should have elected board, task force says
New law will rob St. Louis school pension fund of $232 million by 2033, lawsuit says
ST. LOUIS • The St. Louis Public School Retirement System sued the state of Missouri, St. Louis Public Schools and Confluence Charter Schools last week to halt a new law that it says will cost the city school retirement fund more than $232 million by 2033 and make it virtually impossible to fully fund. The law in question changed state pension statutes in August so that the St. Louis school district will have to pay significantly less money to the city schools pension fund, which covers retirees from the district and the city’s charter schools. The new law also allows employees to retire earlier — when their age plus years of service equal 80, rather than the previous total of 85. St. Louis Public Schools lobbied for the new law because the retirement system has required the district to pay millions more each year in the past decade. The district paid $29 million to the retirement fund in 2016, compared with $19 million in 2008. St. Louis Public Schools and Confluence … [Read more...] about New law will rob St. Louis school pension fund of $232 million by 2033, lawsuit says
Hank Schafermeyer, St. Louis’ leader of outdoor education, dies at 76
Hank Schafermeyer, a charismatic educator who bridged divides between thousands of St. Louis and St. Louis County students by taking them on survival trips into the wilderness, died Dec. 22, 2017, after a decade-long battle with kidney cancer. He was 76 and lived in Webster Groves.For about three decades, Mr. Schafermeyer — a St. Louis native and St. Louis Public Schools alumnus — took St. Louis-area students, teachers and principals out of the classroom on outdoor excursions that sometimes lasted several days.The point was to have them learn not by listening to lectures or taking tests, but by getting outside and sharing real-life adventures. To Mr. Schafermeyer, outdoor adventures were about “breaking down … the many buffers that protect students from themselves,” he wrote in a 1978 article in the Journal of Physical Education and Recreation.“If a student can pick up a challenge, accept it, and see the impossible become possible, then positive … [Read more...] about Hank Schafermeyer, St. Louis’ leader of outdoor education, dies at 76
Hank Schaefermeyer, St. Louis’ leader of outdoor education, dies at 76
Hank Schaefermeyer, a charismatic educator who bridged divides between thousands of St. Louis and St. Louis County students by taking them on survival trips into the wilderness, died Dec. 22, 2017, after a decade-long battle with kidney cancer. He was 76 and lived in Webster Groves. For about three decades, Mr. Schaefermeyer — a St. Louis native and St. Louis Public Schools alumnus — took St. Louis-area students, teachers and principals out of the classroom on outdoor excursions that sometimes lasted several days. The point was to have them learn not by listening to lectures or taking tests, but by getting outside and sharing real-life adventures. To Mr. Schaefermeyer, outdoor adventures were about “breaking down … the many buffers that protect students from themselves,” he wrote in a 1978 article in the Journal of Physical Education and Recreation. “If a student can pick up a challenge, accept it, and see the impossible become possible, then … [Read more...] about Hank Schaefermeyer, St. Louis’ leader of outdoor education, dies at 76