From the Desk
of…
Diana Bourisaw, Superintendent
First Six Months
Thank you all for making my first six months at the St. Louis
Public Schools so enjoyable. I am very proud of the work we
have done in such a short period of time, including:
· Opening schools on time despite numerous obstacles.
· Developing an updated Comprehensive School
Improvement Plan that will continue to move the St. Louis Public
Schools towards full accreditation.
· Raising over $21 million in new grants 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.
These accomplishments would not have been possible without
the hard work and cooperation of administrators, principals,
teachers, board members, and parents.
Hearts for Hunger Canned Food Drive
Monday, February 5, 2007 marks the start of the 5th Annual
Hearts for Hunger Canned Food Drive. I am asking each school
to ensure a representative has been identified for this 2007
effort. I am proud of this unified effort on the part of District
students and staff. Working together with the Division of Community
Education and Operation Food Search we can reach our goal of
100,000 cans of food that will be distributed to our local
families during this critical time of need.
The 5th Annual Hearts for Hunger organizing meeting will be
held on
Thursday, January 25th, 2007
2:00 – 3:30 pm,
Conference Room 108,
801 N. 11th Street.
The “Hearts for Hunger” 2007 Canned Food Drive
will take place
February 5 – 16, 2007.
“Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow.
The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” -
Abraham Lincoln
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