St. Louis Public Schools

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St. Louis Public Schools
The First, Best Choice.
Address
801 N 11th Street
St. Louis, Missouri 63101
Information
Superintendent Dr. Diana Bourisaw
Enrollment

32,833 (2007)
Language English
Area St. Louis City, Missouri
Founded 1838
Homepage http://www.slps.org/

St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS) is the school district that operates public schools in the City of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. With a 2005 enrollment of approximately 33,000 students it is the largest public school district in the state of Missouri.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Beginnings

The first Public Schools in St. Louis opened in 1838 with an enrollment of 175 pupils. From 1840 to 1850, the population in St. Louis more than quadrupled, so that by 1860, the city had twenty-three elementary schools, plus a new high school. By the end of the 1860-61 school year, the enrollment was 12,166; school closed six weeks early that year due to a lack of operating funds and the outbreak of the Civil War.

The St. Louis Public High School, later known as Central High, opened in 1853, and was the first public high school west of the Mississippi; the St. Louis Public Schools also opened the first public high school for Black students west of the Mississippi, Sumner High School, in 1875.

St. Louis Public Schools also opened the first public Kindergarten in North America in 1873 under the direction of William Torrey Harris, then Superintendent of Schools, and Miss Susan Blow, who had studied the methods of Friedrich Froebel, the founder of the kindergarten system.

[edit] 1900s to 1930s

By the turn of the century (1900), the population in St. Louis was 575,238. Public school enrollment was 62,797, employing 1,665 teachers in ninety schools.

Another St. Louis 'first' was the Educational Museum, which featured articles purchased from the 1904 World's Fair Palace of Education. The Museum opened in 1905 and later (1943) evolved into the first audiovisual department in the United States.

The public schools continued to grow with the city, opening special 'Open Air' schools for children at risk for tuberculosis, schools for deaf children and those needing individualized instruction, as well as children with orthopedic disabilities.

The first vocational school had opened in 1868, with two more opening in the 1920's.

During the Great Depression of the 1930's, special programs such as free milk and lunches, and sewing classes were established to help families and conserve resources; teacher salaries were reduced, construction was postponed, and class sizes were increased.

Students aided the War effort during both World War I and World War II by knitting scarves and socks for soldiers, raising poultry, cultivating Victory Gardens, collecting scrap metal, and buying war stamps.

[edit] 1950s to Present

By the 1950's a number of new schools were built to ease overcrowding, and in the 1960's, more attention was given to meeting the challenges of urban schools, including racial equality, poverty, overcrowded classrooms, and deteriorating school buildings. St. Louis Public Schools attained its peak enrollment of 115,543 students in 1967.

Since then, efforts have focused on programs such as magnet schools and the Voluntary Interdistrict Transfer Program which were initiated to provide students with the opportunity to attend racially mixed schools.

Current enrollment (2006-2007) is 32,833 pupils in 93 schools under the leadership of Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Diana Bourisaw.

[edit] Board Members

Mr. William (Bill) Purdy - Member


Dr. Flint Fowler - Secretary


Ms. Veronica O'Brien - Member


Mr. David L. Jackson - Vice President


Mr. Peter Downs - President


Ms. Donna Jones - Member


Ms. Katie Wessling - Member

[edit] Schools

[edit] High schools

[edit] Photo gallery

Beaumont High School

Carnahan High School of the Future

Sumner High School (St. Louis)

Gateway Institute of Technology

Roosevelt High School

Soldan International Studies High School

Vashon High School

[edit] Middle schools

[edit] Primary schools

  • Adams Elementary School
  • Ames VPA School
  • Ashland Elementary School
  • Baden Elementary School
  • Bryan Hill Elementary School
  • Buder Elementary School
  • Clark Elementary School
  • Clay Elementary School
  • Cole Elementary School
  • Columbia Elementary CEC School
  • Cote Brilliante Elementary School
  • Dewey IS Elementary School
  • Dunbar Elementary School
  • Euclid Montessori Elementary School
  • Farragut Elementary School
  • Ford Elementary School
  • Froebel Elementary School
  • Gardenville Elementary School
  • Gateway Elementary School
  • Gundlach Elementary School
  • Hamilton Elementary CEC School
  • Patrick Henry Elementary School
  • Herzog Elementary School
  • Hickey Elementary School
  • Hodgen Elementary School
  • Jefferson Elementary School
  • Kennard CJA Elementary School
  • Kottmeyer Early Childhood Center (ECC) Elementary School
  • Laclede Elementary School
  • Lexington Elementary School
  • Lyon ABI Elementary School
  • Madison/Waring IBE Elementary School
  • Mallinckrodt ABI Elementary School
  • Mann Elementary School
  • Mark Twain Elementary School
  • Mason Elementary School
  • Meramec Elementary School
  • Mitchell Elementary School
  • Monroe Elementary School
  • Mullanphy Individualized Learning Center (ILC) Elementary School
  • Nance Elementary School
  • Oak Hill Elementary School
  • Peabody Elementary School
  • Scruggs Elementary School
  • Shaw Visual & Performing Arts (VPA) Elementary CEC School
  • Shenandoah Elementary School
  • Shepard Elementary School
  • Sherman Elementary CEC School
  • Sigel Elementary CEC School
  • Simmons/Marshall Mega Magnet Elementary School
  • Stix Early Childhood Center (ECC) Elementary School
  • Walbridge Elementary CEC School
  • Washington Montessori Elementary School
  • Wilkinson ECC Elementary School
  • Woerner Elementary School
  • Woodward Elementary School
  • Wyman Elementary School

[edit] Leadership

The current superintendent of the Saint Louis school district is Dr. Diana Bourisaw. She was appointed in July 2006, following the ouster of Dr. Creg Williams.

As the SLPS is a large urban district, it has had problems stemming from poverty among a huge amount of its students, including violence, dropouts, and low test scores.

On March 23, 2007, the Missouri State Board of Education voted 5-1 to strip the St. Louis Public Schools of their accreditation and to take over their management, effective June 15, 2007. The vote came after and in spite of angry students chanting "No Takeovers!" temporarily shutting down the meeting. Under the board's decision, a transitional, three-person board, one nominated by the Governor (subject to Missouri Senate confirmation), one nominated by the Mayor of St. Louis (no confirmation required), and one nominated by the President of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen (no confirmation required). The locally elected board will remain in place but have no power, and local board elections will continue as required by Missouri law.[1] The local board is appealing the state board decision to the state Commissioner of Education, D. Kent King.[2]

[edit] External links