From the Desk of…
Diana Bourisaw, Superintendent
Paychecks Will Be Issued Early
Paychecks for all district employees will be released on Wednesday,
Dec. 27, as a result of an agreement between the Board of Education
and Teacher’s Local 420. All employees’ paper checks
will be available for individual pick-up on Wednesday, December
27, 2006 between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm at the 801 Administrative
Offices. No deposit memos will be distributed at that time.
A second individual paper check distribution will be held on
Thursday, December 28th as originally scheduled, between 1:00
pm and 4:00 pm at the Administrative Offices in Room 108.
Direct deposits for all employees will be available in their
bank accounts on Wednesday, December 27th.
I appreciate the cooperation of Teacher’s Local 420
in this matter.
Share the Good News
Congratulations on completing the first semester of the 2006/2007
school year.
We have accomplished a lot together in the nearly six months
that I’ve been here. For example, in one month we worked
diligently to open school on time despite numerous obstacles,
including:
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.
After one of the smoothest openings of schools in St. Louis,
we all worked together to refocus this district on accreditation.
We all know that state accreditation is critical. It is a high
bar that we must reach, but I know we can do it.
We have introduced a budget that balances revenue and expenditures.
Further, it is a budget that addresses the needs of our students
and the requirements of state law.
Our district has been awarded over $21 million in new grants
thus far for this school year.
We have restructured the central office in a manner that improves
communication while also reducing administrative expenditures.
I’m pleased to tell you that we will be presenting to
the Board of Education a new Comprehensive School Improvement
Plan (CSIP) within the next month. This plan, once approved,
will serve as the master plan for all goals and objectives.
It is very thorough and will help drive the improvement plans
that have already been developed by each of our schools.
We are ready for the second half of this school year. Please
join me in continuing to focus on the nearly 33,000 students
who attend our schools every day. If we all keep the kids in
mind with every decision, the problems facing the St. Louis
Public Schools would quickly begin to fade.
“The time is always right to do what is right” – Martin
Luther King Jr.
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