The Grade

STL Community College trustees vote to close child care centers

Nancy Cambria — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:35:08 +0000

The board of trustees of St. Louis Community College voted 4-2 Thursday to close two of its campus-based child care centers despite assurances by its administration that a decision would not happen this month.

The surprise vote means the end of…

Nixon announces tuition freeze in community colleges, too

David Hunn — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:59:26 +0000

Missouri community college students will pay the same tuition next year that they did this year, according to a plan again brokered by Gov. Jay Nixon.

Presidents of the state’s public two-year schools have agreed for the second year in a…

Naturalization Ceremony at Brentwood High

JCoaston — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:08:48 +0000

Fifty two people were naturalized as American citizens in a ceremony at Brentwood High School today.

Judge E. Richard Webber presided over the assembly.

“We are making efforts to bring you something extraordinary today,” he said.

David Pratt, minority owner of the…

Three St. Louis charter schools get federal grants

David Hunn — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:28:12 +0000

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded more than $2 million in Charter Schools Program grants to four new Missouri charter schools.

In St. Louis, Shearwater High School, St. Louis Collegiate and Jamaa Learning Center — all slated to open this fall —…

Missouri Charter School of the Year: Academie Lafayette in Kansas City

David Hunn — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:46:31 +0000

From the Missouri Charter Public School Association newsletter:

Academie Lafayette is a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade French immersion charter school in Kansas City.

The school has received numerous honors, including being named a Gold Star School by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education…

Freebie Of The Day: Vote for your school, earn $100K

David Hunn — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:06:01 +0000

Unedited give-away of the day:

The Calling All Communities campaign will award $100,000 to 10 schools across the nation.

Public and private schools, kindergarten through high school, big or small, all are eligible to win. From now through Jan. 15, 2010, individuals 18…

St. Louis Public Schools ask teachers to take pay cut

David Hunn — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:48:44 +0000

St. Louis Public School officials have asked teachers to consider taking a temporary pay cut to help make up an $18 million mid-year budget shortage.

The union declined several initial offers — including layoffs, benefit cost increases, and a 5 percent…

Nixon brokers another college tuition freeze

David Hunn — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:59:25 +0000

Missouri’s public university students will pay the same tuition and academic fees next year that they did this year, according to a plan again brokered by Gov. Jay Nixon.

The state’s public, four-year schools have agreed for the second year in…

Nixon to make higher education funding announcement this morning

Valerie Schremp Hahn — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:00:22 +0000

Stay tuned for a big announcement this morning by Gov. Jay Nixon regarding the future of higher education funding for Missouri’s four-year, public colleges and universities. Nixon is scheduled to appear at the University of Missouri-St. Louis at 10:30 a.m.

The…

Study: St. Louis Public School transfer students do better

David Hunn — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:02:51 +0000

A new study says that black students in the St. Louis Public School district who transfer to county schools and remain there “far outperform” their neighborhood- and magnet-school peers by the time they reach 10th grade.

The report, “Boundary Crossing for Diversity,…