From the Desk of…
Diana Bourisaw, Superintendent
End of the 2006-2007 School Year
We made it. Today is the last class day for the 2006-2007
school year.
To say this has been a year of challenges would be an understatement.
Yet, for all of the media attention the district has received,
it is important to note that few, if any, headlines or top
stories focused on problems in our schools. Why? Because the
leaders and teachers in our schools continued to focus on students.
As I have visited nearly every school this year, I have seen
instance after instance of excellence in the classroom. I have
gotten to know, and work with, many strong leaders within our
schools. I’ve met thousands of students who show up every
day striving to learn despite sometimes overwhelming circumstances.
Getting to this last day of school was no easy feat. Our first,
and possibly largest challenge, was opening school on Aug.
28. On July 17, we had thousands of teachers who had not been
placed. We had not ordered textbooks. We had no budget. Our
buildings were not ready. In slightly more than a month, we
had everything in place to have one of the smoothest opening
days St. Louis has ever seen.
Our work did not stop there. We worked together to create
our Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP). It is the
new blueprint that is sustainable both financially and academically.
We also asked all schools to develop their own improvement
plans. That process, which also involves the community, must
be a cornerstone for improving student outcomes at every school.
Our final amended budget, approved by the board, balances
both expenditures and revenues. To continue to work towards
financial stability, we worked with the community in the very
difficult process of closing five school buildings, and reconfiguring
many others.
We set attendance goals that appear to have increased the
attendance rates at our schools.
We’ve started the process of building a “continuous
cycle of improvement” which should ensure we continue
to focus on improving teaching and learning in the classroom.
We have improved our community outreach efforts by re-launching
a quarterly newspaper. I have met with groups of students,
groups of parents, and community members to gather feedback
about our schools.
Our work is not done. Despite the turmoil of this past year,
we have continued to work towards next school year. For example,
we:
• just passed another balanced budget for next school
year.
• are beginning the process of right-sizing the district
by closing five schools next year and reconfiguring other schools
to ensure student needs are met.
• are creating new alternative programs and expanding
others.
• are improving teaching and learning through advanced
placement courses, literacy coaches in many schools, and better
professional development.
• are working to increase our college placement rate
by expanding the AVID program, College Summit, and our new
scholarship program.
• are expanding early childhood education.
• are expanding gifted education, including adding
a 9th grade class at McKinley.
• will expand our offerings to English Language Learners
(ELL).
• will launch a new virtual school for some of our
students to attend school online.
To all of our staff members – from teachers to custodians – thank
you for making this a successful school year inside our classrooms.
"A healthy attitude is contagious, but don't wait to
catch it from others.
Be a carrier. – Tom Stoppard, British playwright
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