Ladue Ready To Open Creve Coeur Fifth Grade Center

With lockers ready to be opened and classrooms ready for a sneak peek prior to Wednesday's first day of class, Ladue showed off the district's new Fifth Grade Center in Creve Coeur Monday. The building, with approximately 320 students, will be home to The Dragons at the district's West Campus on Ladue Road.

Ladue renovated the former Westminster Christian Academy building in creating the Fifth Grade Center. The school is adjacent to the district's Early Childhood facility also located on the former Westminster campus.

The building is still considered an elementary school, is viewed as something of a bridge to prepare kids for the middle school realm, with multiple teachers instead of just one for the day, along with other challenges like having a locker.

Wednesday marks the culmination of almost a year's worth of planning by the school's first principal, Julie Helm who also finds herself as a principal for the first time. Helm moved from Ladue Middle School where she spent four years. She's looking forward to taking advantage of the spacious campus.

"Most elementary schools and some middle schools and high schools they all want big spaces to do things with kids and they don't always have that so I feel like here we have a different story so I'm excited to see how we're going to utilize these different big spaces.