DR. BOURISAW CELEBRATES HER FIRST SIX MONTHS AS HEAD OF SLPS

St. Louis – Dr. Diana Bourisaw, Superintendent of the St. Louis Public Schools, celebrates her first six months on the job this week. Bourisaw, who started her first full day of work on July 17 as interim superintendent, was named the permanent superintendent last September.

“I am proud of the work that we have all done in the past six months,” said Bourisaw. “The success of our students and our schools relies on the hard work and cooperation of our team – administrators, principals, teachers, board members, and parents,” she added.

Bourisaw faced the monumental task of ensuring schools were open on-time and ready for students despite numerous obstacles, such as:

o Thousands of teachers who had not yet been assigned to a school.

o Bus routes that had not been approved.

o Textbooks that were never ordered.

o School reconfigurations that were not yet complete.

o No planned professional development for teachers and principals.

o The lack of an approved balanced budget for the school year.

Under the leadership of Dr. Bourisaw, the District quickly moved to refocus on accreditation by the State of Missouri. Further, she presented the Board of Education with a budget that balances revenues and expenditures.

This week, Bourisaw presented to the Board an updated Comprehensive School Improvement Plan that will continue to move the St. Louis Public Schools towards full accreditation. “This plan is aggressive, but it is also a realistic roadmap to improve our schools,” said Bourisaw.

Other highlights of the past six months include:

· Over $21 million in new grants being awarded to the District thus far for the 2006/2007 school year. In addition, the District is working to raise $20 million in scholarships for students in the class of 2010.

· Restructuring the central administrative office in a manner than improves communication while also reducing costs.

· Reaching out to community partners, parents, elected officials, teachers, and other stakeholders. The District also reintroduced the School & Home newspaper throughout the community.

· Establishing new attendance targets for schools which have boosted the attendance at all levels.

· Increasing the number of permanent, certified teachers in classrooms. This year the District has 50 long-term substitutes compared to approximately 200 in past years.

· Increasing accountability at all levels of the organization.

· Expanding the use of current technology. For example, our Human Resources Division will soon be completely paperless. Further, a new workforce management system approved by the Board of Education is expected to improve fiscal accountability and increase school security.