DR. CREG WILLIAMS NAMED SLPS SUPERINTENDENT

Dr. Creg Williams is the new Superintendent for the St. Louis Public School district. He was appointed by members of the Board of Education in a 7-0 vote. “Dr. Williams demonstrates all of the qualities that we are looking for to lead our district into the next phase,” said Ron Jackson, chairman of the superintendent search committee.Dr. Williams is currently the deputy chief academic officer of the Philadelphia School District a position he has held since 2002. Philadelphia’s school district serves nearly 215,000 students and has a teaching staff of 11,000. The district’s annual budget is $1.6 billion. Dr. Williams is responsible for 58 high schools and 52 charter schools. He developed a five-year strategic plan for the high schools. As a result, the number of high schools reaching Adequate Yearly Progress increased. Williams led the alignment of all high school courses with state standards and the creation of a test-preparation program to prepare students for the state standardized assessments.

Dr. Williams received a Ed.D in educational administration and a M.A. in education from Roosevelt University and a B.A. in applied behavioral science from the National Louis University.


ACADEMIC OLYMPICS IS A BIG SUCCESS!

Students and SLPS staff cheered in fine fashion at the fifth annual academic Olympics competition held Feb. 24. The event drew thousands of students and staff to witness an event that aims to elevate the level of academic achievement to the height of popularity of sports among students. Here are the winners:
Phase I Winners: Division A: first place:
Metro; second place, Gateway IT; third place, Central Visual and Performing Arts.
Division B: The following schools tied with identical scores. Those schools are: Beaumont, Roosevelt, Sumner, Meda P. Washington and Vashon.

Phase II Winners: Division A: first place,
Metro; second place, Gateway; third place, Clyde C. Miller Academy.
Division B: first place, Sumner; second place,
Beaumont; third place, Roosevelt.

Phase III Winners: Division A:
First place, Metro; second place, Central VPA; third place, Gateway.
Division B: first place, Beaumont; second place, Meda P. Washington; third place (tie)
Vashon and Sumner.

Overall Winners: Division A: first place,
Metro; second place, Gateway; third place,
Central VPA; Division B: first place, Beaumont; second place, Sumner; third place, Meda P. Washington.

DON’T FORGET…
If you teach physical education and are interested in the PE Teacher of the Year award program, call Dave Cook for an application at 345-4416 or log onto www.slps.org.

APPLAUSE CORNER…

Congratulations to the following SLPS Teachers who are newly board certifiedTeachers. They are Sandra Paunan and Sondra Jarnegan, Woodward Elementary; Beverly Whittington, Ames VPA; Susan Decker and Jennifer Beffa from Kennard CJA. The district’s own Sheryl Davenport is a member of the Board of Directors for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Donald Glenn, retention specialist for the district’s alternative education program, performed a good deed at the Vantage Credit Union when he noticed a gentlemen causing severe problems with employees and customers. “ When he left the building, I held the guy until the police arrived.” He received a Citizen Service Citation Award by the St. Louis County Board of Police Commissioners. Glenn retired as a police sergeant after serving 28 years with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Students at Froebel Elementary School presented a special black history month program entitled “Black History on Stage.” Students performed a variety of music, poetry, dance and skits. KMOV-TV Channel 4 anchor Vickie Newton was the guest speaker at Gundlach Elementary’s black history month program. Congrats to Nicholas Clement’s fifth and sixth grade students at Kennard Classical Junior Academy. They placed first in the algebra competition during at the Annual University City Equations Open.

SEVERAL SCHOOLS COLLECT CANNED FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY

The SLPS’ Division of Community Education sponsored the 3rd annual Hearts for Hunger Canned Food Drive. Sixty-four schools participated in the drive. Food items were donated to Operation Food Search and distributed to affiliated food pantries located near the participating school. A total of 57,000 food items were collected. Peg Pederson, city-wide specialist with the district, believes the project helps students see the importance of helping those who are less fortunate. “We like to provide hands on activities that reinforces what they are learning in the classroom,” she said.

The winning schools are:
Humboldt Middle- 6,808
Buder Elementary- 2,595
Gateway Institute of Technology High- 3,405
Nottingham CAJT CEC- 1,600

SLPS-TV CHANNEL 20 HOSTS VIDEO FESTIVAL COMPETITION

The St. Louis Public Schools television station, Channel 20, will soon hosts its annual
video festival competition. All students are eligible to enter their video work for the following categories: news, public service announcements, documentary and theatrical. The deadline for all entries is May 13. The video festival premiere will be held Friday, May 27, at 9 a.m., at Carr Lane Visual and Performing Arts Middle School, located at 1004 North Jefferson Ave. “Media creation provides students the opportunity to utilize communication arts, math, science and literacy in new and exciting ways,” said Clement Cann, the television station’s manager. For more information, call Cann at 345-5744.
Be sure to watch the new student news program Spotlight News four times a day, four days a week on SLPS-TV Channel 20. Check the station’s bulletin board for broadcast times.