Ladue School Board to Consider New Option for Westminster Christian Academy

Under pressure from parents who propose another option, the Ladue Board of Education has delayed until later in the school year a decision on how to use the Westminster Christian Academy building for needed new classroom space.

During its regular board meeting Feb. 14, the board voted 7-0 to table its plan to select one of four previously studied options for future use of the property at 10900 Ladue Rd. and instead indicated that it will consider another option suggested by some parents:  converting the academy into a new district school for students in grades five through six.

“I think we need to go back to the drawing board,”” said board member Jeff Kopolow. “We have a lot of people saying we want this. We have time.”

The board had been considering four options:  creation of two middle schools for grades 5-8, creation of a temporary fifth grade center, development of a single optional school for kindergarten through grade 8, and the addition of an elementary school.

Some parents said they object to mixing fifth graders with traditional middle school students and suggested that the board consider a new proposal that would create a school for fifth and sixth graders while possibly using the existing Ladue Middle School for seventh and eighth grade students.

“It’s the only option that makes any sense,” district resident Julie Stern told the board. 

Former district teacher Diane Milburn said she objected to “fifth graders going to school with eighth graders. They are really different in development and attitudes. Can we not have a (grade) 5-6 center and a 7-8 center?”

Schools Superintendent Dr. Marsha Chappelow, while emphasizing planning work already accomplished, responded that district planners probably could take until the end of the current academic year to further study the matter and still begin utilization of the Westminster facility for the 2012-13 school year. She added that, no matter the option adopted, planning and programming might push back initial utilization to the 2013-14 year.

“Our goal is to have the best student program we can,” she said.

During discussion, board vice president Donna Smith took the lead in promoting consideration of the new 5-6, 7-8 plan. She said there may be a groundswell of public support for the new option, but the board had yet to study it.

The board indicated it will study the new proposal while eliminating consideration of the option for a new elementary school. Under the new option to be studied, Westminster could open as a fifth grade center before transitioning into a grades 5-6 center following facility expansion, said Susan Dielmann, district director of communications. She added that planners could decide that the current middle school might be better suited for grades 5-6 with Westminster hosting grades 7-8. In any case, she said, grades consolidation at either facility might occur over time.

Growing student enrollment has prompted the district to explore ways to expand student learning space. The number of enrolled students has grown by 707—or 22 percent—in the last seven years and is projected to continue to rise over the next two to three years before reaching a plateau.

To accommodate that growth and avoid crowded classrooms, the district is considering grade re-alignment options that involve utilization of the Westminster building now owned by the district and scheduled to become available for district use in a couple of years. 

Four elementary schools, one middle school, one high school, and an early childhood center now comprise the district school system.