Tuesday, February 5, 2013
While the Cooperating School Districts leader says school security plans are not a "one size fits all" proposition, he is advocating for changes that may require new taxes.
One attendee at last week's Safe Schools Partnership meeting was Don Senti, former Parkway superintendent and executive director of the Cooperating School Districts (CSD). He said superintendents who are CSD members are opposed to arming school staffers to provide security for school children. The Parkway School District is a member of the CSD organization. (Read more on the CSD's stance on school safety in the PDF portion of this article.) "Providing security for our most precious resource should be in the capable hands of those professionals who are trained in the use of fire arms, and more importantly, who know when to use them," Senti said. "Therefore, we feel that neither volunteers or armed educators are an appropriate solution to …
Monday, January 28, 2013
Monday night, school board members will discuss possible security changes coming in the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut mass shooting.
The Ladue school district, which responded to the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting last month by making one quick change at Horton Watkins High School to lock doors during the day, will outline other measures at Monday's school board meeting which could still be taken to improve school security. A more thorough conversation on security is planned for board discussion next month. Awareness of issues surrounding school security at Ladue schools has been heightened in recent weeks. An Instagram account discovered recently featured a profile photo of the shooter in the Newtown shooting and prompted school leaders to ask for a ramped up police presence. Police have reportedly issued a search warrant for Instagram in hopes of tracking …
Friday, January 25, 2013
Missouri's Governor was at Oak Brook Elementary School in Ballwin Thursday.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon reinforced some already-stated education policy goals Thursday in a St. Louis County visit ahead of Monday's State of The State address, and also discussed school security in a visit to Oak Brook Elementary School in the Parkway School District. After meeting with district administrators in private and then visiting an Early Education classroom, he talked in the school's library of creating a "seamless" path of education from Pre-K programs to college. Governor Nixon said he would request "additional resources" to fund early education programs, noting the connection between Pre-K and success later in life. He did not identify a dollar amount, but called it a "smart investment with a very big return." He …
Friday, January 4, 2013
Requiring ID badges to be worn and added police procedures are now the norm at Pattonville High School.
For Pattonville High School Principal Joe Dobrinic, so far so good when it comes to new security procedures in place as of the second semester. As Patch previously reported, high school students are now required to wear the ID badges they already have, as a way for staff to identify who should be in the building. Last month, the district announced the requirement after a former student was arrested while roaming the halls. The incident happened prior to the December Newtown, CT shooting which drew nationwide attention to the issue of school security. In addition to the badges, there are increased police procedures on campus. A Maryland Heights Police officer outside the building will verbally question a visitor's reason for being on campus…
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
The ID badge policy is not related to the Newtown shootings which left 26 people dead.
When Pattonville High School students return to class Thursday, there will be an additional security protocol in place. Students are already required to carry an ID badge at school, but beginning Thursday, they will need to wear them. The new protocol came after a former student was recently arrested for roaming the halls of the building after claiming he was there to re-enroll. The new policy was announced prior to the shooting in Newtown, CT which left 26 people, including 20 students dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The IDs will also be required of staff members in the building. A letter sent to parents last month also mentioned potential changes to enhance security measures at the school's front entrance and front desk. A district…
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
From the leadership change at Ladue Schools to the Senior PGA Championship at Bellerive, here's a look at some of the places and faces we're interested in as we head into 2013.
Welcome to 2013. I guess the Mayans were wrong, huh? As we embark on a new year, here's a look at 10 storylines we'll be following. Think we've missed something? Tell us in the comment section. Creve Coeur faces a tricky balance of how to handle business and development interests with nearby residential concerns. The poster-child for that in 2012, Delmar Gardens' plan for Ladue Road near Interstate 270 figures to make news on that front again in 2013. The proposal, which received a negative recommendation from Creve Coeur Planning and Zoning officials, will be back before City Council members January 14. A prominent vacant space figures to have a new tenant in March, when ALDI moves into part of the former Borders Bookstore at Olive …
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
As a SWAT team searched the nearby area, four Parkway schools went into "lockout" mode. Here's how it unfolded as nearly 100 students and staff were locked inside Parkway South High School.
Parkway School District officials say the system worked as it was supposed to on Monday evening when a gun scare in the vicinity of Parkway South High left 100 students and staff locked inside until the situation was resolved. Parkway district spokeswoman Cathy Kelly said parents were not notified during the two-hour period that events were unfolding because the situation was changing so quickly, officials didn't want to send misinformation. The lockout at four Parkway schools began on Monday afternoon after a Webster Groves 19-year-old bought a shotgun, texted his girlfriend that he was going to kill himself, then proceeded to the area near Parkway South High School. No one was injured during the incident. The loaded gun and shotgun …
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary prompted immediate changes in security protocols at Ladue Horton Watkins High School.
The Ladue School district has instituted new security measures at Horton Watkins High School in the wake of the Newtown, CT school shootings which left 26 people dead Friday, including 20 students. Effective Monday, exterior doors at the high school are locked after the first bell, as is the case at other district schools. A letter to parents said the district was planning on making the switch next school year but that events prompted the change. There is "discussion" of increasing parking lot security at the high school. Below is the full text of the message sent out to parents: The physical and mental safety and security of our students is our number one priority in the Ladue School District. Unfortunately, unexplainable, horrible …
St. Louis County Police were on hand at a pair of Creve Coeur area Parkway elementary schools Monday.
The nation's school children went back to class Monday for the first time since a gunman opened fire at a Newtown, CT elementary school Friday, killing 20 children and 6 school staff members. Go To Newtown Patch for continuing coverage of the tragedy For schools with ties to Creve Coeur, the first day back included stepped up safety precautions, and a chance to reassure everyone from students and their parents to faculty members. KSDK reports that at Ladue Horton Watkins High School, where doors were unlocked during the day on Friday, visitors Monday now need a security card or have to be "buzzed in" to gain entry. Craig Elementary School Principal Bill Senti said his school's goal was to have "Business as usual." A St. Louis County Police…
Friday, December 14, 2012
School districts around the nation are coping with the news out of Newtown, Connecticut, where a gunman killed at least 26 people, Friday, including 20 children at an elementary school.
Pattonville school officials said late Friday that police in Maryland Heights, St. Ann and Bridgeton checked in with school district campuses there in the wake of the deadly shooting spree which erupted Friday at Newtown, Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary School. Newtown Patch reports at least 26 people are dead, including 20 children. Pattonville School Superintendent Michael Fulton addressed a letter to all district parents Friday: Dear Pattonville parents/guardians: As you may have heard, there has been a school shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut. Our thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to all those impacted by this terrible tragedy. During times like this it is only natural to think of our own children. As …
Sam Goodman
6:02 pm on Monday, January 28, 2013
I am not in this for any reason other than the best for our school district. We have some of the best teachers and adminastrators in the state. I feel that our past practices of budget control from past boards have not been the best. Our board has to look long range to keep problems from shortages of funds from happenning at the level they have gotten. We must have better fiscal responsibilities. more ›