Friday, February 22, 2013
Ten candidates have expressed interest in filling the unexpired term of Heidi Meckes, who resigned for personal reasons.
The Kirkwood Board of Education has decided not to winnow down the field of candidates who have come forward with interest in completing the one year unexpired term of Heidi Meckes, who announced her resignation. Instead, 10 people who submitted resumes and letters of interest will be interviewed by the board in roughly 10 minute increments, beginning March 4 at 5 p.m. The candidates, in no particular order: Board members will elect a replacement on March 11 who will be sworn in immediately.
Monday, February 11, 2013
The board voted to make the hiring at meeting Feb. 4. The post has been vacant since 2011.
With school districts around the country developing plans to improve school safety, the Kirkwood School Board voted at a meeting Monday to hire a new coordinator of safety and security, a position that has been vacant for almost two years. According to a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the position had most recently been held by Mike Bales, who left in 2011 due to illness. Board members said Bales had already put in place many security measures, but the position needed to be filled in light of incidents like the massacre at an elementary school in Newton, Conn., last year. Read the full story on STLtoday.com here. Kirkwood is also part of the Safe Schools Partnership, which has had several recent meetings organized by the St. Louis …
Thursday, February 7, 2013
A police-led committee of the area's long-standing Safe Schools Partnership will offer training to St. Louis area school teams, including the Kirkwood School District.
On the heels of more shooting tragedies across the United States are conversations about how to better prepare school staffs and teachers for active shooter situations and intruders, in general. Perhaps not all school teams are ready to arm their staffs with weapons for protection on school premises, however a St. Louis metropolitan group of police are getting requests for other types of training. Fenton Police Precinct Commander Capt. Jeff Bader co-chairs a training committee of the Safe Schools Partnership of St. Louis County, which is a group launched during the 1998-1999 school year to facilitate collaboration between the county police department, area police departments, school districts, and other concerned agencies, with the sole …
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
The student told the Kirkwood Call that the school is too obsessed with Apple products.
A junior at Kirkwood High School has been circulating a petition at the school in opposition to the use of Apple iPad Mini tablets, a program that the school board unanimously approved just last week. The board approved the $213,875 purchase of 625 iPad Minis and cases and two classroom iPad carts. Students in third grade and above will be allowed to take the tablets home while younger students will use devices only in the classroom. But Luke Backer, a junior at the high school, told the Kirkwood Call in a video posted on YouTube that he school has an "Apple obsession" and should be looking at options outside the Apple product line. The petition, he said, "was really more to prove a point than anything else. While iPads have their place, I…
Thursday, January 24, 2013
More than 600 Kirkwood students will receive the tablets in about a month. The school district is the first in St. Louis County to implement such an initiative.
The Kirkwood School Board unanimously approved the purchase of 625 iPad Minis for selected students in kindergarten through grade 12. The board voted in favor of the first phase of a student iPad initiative at its meeting Tuesday. Students will receive the iPad Minis in about a month, according to School Board President Scott Stream. "I'm excited about the personalization of education, the one-to-one relationships," Stream told Patch. "It is the latest technology that's going to allow us to do a lot of things." Students who receive iPads will serve as a test group for the one-to-one technology initiative that aims to place iPads in the hands of all students in the Kirkwood School District. Such an initiative is a first among school …
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
The board will vote Tuesday whether to put the tablets in the hands of hundreds of students this school year.
Hundreds of students in the Kirkwood School District could receive iPad Minis this school year depending on a vote Tuesday night from the Kirkwood School Board Dr. Chris Raeker, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for the district, will ask the board to approve the first phase of a one-to-one student iPad proposal that will launch the roll out of the tablets to all students in the district. The board meets at 7 p.m. in the district's administrative center. If the board approves Phase 1 of the proposal, the district would purchase 625 iPad Minis that would be given to students at the elementary through high school level as soon as possible, according to meeting materials. Approval would also allow for the purchase of 625…
Friday, January 18, 2013
The Kirkwood School District left a message for parents and staff after a dart gun was discovered in a student's car.
The Kirkwood School District sent a message to parents and staff on Thursday after a dart gun was found in a student's car, Patch partner Fox2 reports. District spokesperson Ginger Cayce said in the message that a counselor spotted the gun while walking the parking lot after school hours. The counselor immediately notified police. No threats were made and no students were in danger, according to Cayce. For more, and to listen to the audio message, visit Patch partner Fox2.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
More latecomers joined the race before filing closed Tuesday.
Five candidates will face off in April for two open seats on the Kirkwood School Board. Filing for the positions began Dec. 11 and closed Tuesday. An election for the Kirkwood School Board will be held April 2. The candidates are: The open seats are being vacated by Angie Bay and Kathy Harris whose terms expire and will not seek reelection. Related Content:
38.599152
-90.42075
Kirkwood School District R-7
11289 Manchester Rd, Saint Louis, MO
/articles/five-to-face-off-for-seats-on-kirkwood-school-board
1486751
/locations/8608389
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
More rigorous performance measures will cause several high-performing school districts in St. Louis County to lose their perfect marks.
A new accreditation system that will begin to go into effect this summer will cause several high-performing school districts in St. Louis County to lose their perfect scores but this is not case for the Kirkwood School District. Under the new and more rigorous system, Kirkwood would be one of only two school districts in St. Louis County to retain its 100 percent score. The other is Lindbergh, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The new scoring system would cause Mehlville, Parkway, Pattonville and Rockwood school to lose their 100 percent scores. These districts would drop to 97.9, 98.2, 87.5 and 96.8 percent, respectively, according to the Post. Learn more by visiting stltoday.com. Similar Stories:
Friday, January 11, 2013
A third candidate for the two open seats on the Kirkwood School Board stepped forward Thursday.
For nearly a month, it looked like Kirkwood would not hold elections for its school board due to a lack of candidates, but that changed Thursday. Antona Brent Smith, a Kirkwood School District parent who has served on the curriculum review committee in the past and owns a Kirkwood communications firm, has joined Marie Kelly and Darnel Frost in a race for two open seats on the board vacated by Angie Bay and Kathy Harris. Kelly and Frost filed Dec. 11, the first day filing opened. Filing closes Jan. 15, so more candidates could still join the race. With three candidates now competing for two open seats, Kirkwood will hold an election for its school board on April 2. Similar Stories:
38.599152
-90.42075
Kirkwood School District R-7
11289 Manchester Rd, Saint Louis, MO
/articles/kirkwood-school-board-elections-are-a-go
1486751
/locations/8575595
Owen Skoler
3:00 pm on Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Great comment! Cost savings definitely factored into the board's decision to unanimously approve Phase I. I just spoke with the board president for a follow-up story to appear in tomorrow morning's newsletter. more ›