Kirkwood Board of Education Approves Adventure Club, Names New Principal

The Kirkwood Board of Education voted to create a new extended-day program, Kirkwood Adventure Club, to replace the current one being run by Kirkwood-Webster YMCA, at its meeting Tuesday night.

The new program will be managed and run by the staff of the Kirkwood Early Childhood Center (KECC). The center will provide before and after-school care for students at all five of the district's elementary schools.

Funding for Adventure Club will be tuition-based, with families paying a fee somewhere between what the YMCA charges for members and non-members. The board decided to implement the program at Tillman and Westchester elementary schools first in the fall and extend the program to Robinson, Keysor and North Glendale elementaries in fall 2012.

KECC principal Melissa Sandbothe said Adventure Club will maintain the basic structure and hours as the YMCA's school-age child care program but will incorporate an educational element that was missing before.

The principal hopes to incorporate homework time, for example, and potentially a tutoring program. Being able to work closely with the students' teachers will help Adventure Club staff be more aware of each student's academic progress and cater to students' individual needs.

Brad Gift, a member of the YMCA's leadership board, expressed doubt that the Adventure Club would be significantly different than the YMCA's program. He said that ending the organization's partnership with the Kirkwood School District will seriously harm the organization's ability to offer such programs at all.

Superintendent Dr. Tom Williams said the decision was a tough one, partially because of the district's 25-year relationship with the YMCA. The board has considered the issue closely over the past year, Williams said.

"We feel that though the program has been good, we think we can be stronger, and we think this is the best way to go moving forward," Williams said. "We firmly believe that as one door closes, another one will open up with our partnership with the YMCA. We'll work very hard to make sure that that does continue in some form or fashion."

The board also chose to accept to instate Michael Havener, the district's assistant superintendent of finance and operations, as the new principal of Kirkwood High School. Havener will replace Dr. Dave Holley, who is .

"I am extremely excited to get to work with the kids and staff on a daily basis," he said. "I love Dave. I've learned a lot from Dave. ... I owe the district tremendous gratitude and I can't wait."

In other schoo0l news, the board approved a new technology literacy curriculum, which was presented by District Technology Facilitator Alissa Parrish, serves as a guide for teachers to integrate technology into their curriculums and thereby help students become "digital citizens."

The board also passed a motion to allow St. Louis County to construct an emergency siren pole on the campus of Tillman Elementary School off of Quan Avenue. Board Vice President John Glunt expressed hesitancy, and said that he had hoped for a more effective upgrade that would ensure the safety of children at all of the schools.

"I'm going to vote yes, but I'm not happy about it," he said. Referring to the discussion on technology and digital citizenship, "I can't believe that forever the way we're going to alert citizens of impending disaster is a siren mounted on top of a pole," Glunt said.