Ladue School Board Names Dr. Donna Jahnke Next Superintendent

Announcement was made at the Ladue School Board meeting last night.

Dr. Donna Jahnke, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for the Ladue School District was just named the new superintendent of schools. She takes over for Dr. Marsha Chappelow who officially retires June 30, 2013. A transition process and plan will be developed over the next few weeks.  Dr. Judy Sclair remains Acting Superintendent. Dr. Jahnke has been with the Ladue School Disrict for 22 years. She came to the district first as a teacher in 1991, served as Director of Community Services including running the Ladue Early Childhood Center (LEEC) and became principal at Reed School in 1998. Dr. Jahnke holds both a Philosophy degree and Ph.D in Education Administration from Saint Louis University. She developed the first …

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Sam Goodman

10:17 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013

I made a mistake on the amount of the contract of the recruiting company. It is $16,210 instead of $50,000. So in the last two months the board threw away $116,200 instead of $150,000.   more ›

Should Ladue Reopen the Search for a New Superintendent?

Third candidate, Dr. Jon Lamberson dropped out of the final 3, citing scheduling conflicts.

Monday p.m. update: The Ladue School district announced that Tuesday's board meeting would be held at the Ladue Middle School cafeteria to handle what is expected to be a large turnout, instead of the district administration building. Original Report: In light of Jon Lamberson, superintendent of the Riverside, IL School District dropping out of the final three for Ladue’s new superintendent of schools, the field has been narrowed to just two finalists. They are Fred Czerwonka, superintendent of the West Plains, Missouri School District and Donna Jahnke, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in the Ladue School District. Dr. Lamberson dropped out of contention over the weekend, citing scheduling conflicts to finalize his …

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Gregg Palermo

11:33 pm on Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Scott....it isn't uncommon for districts to announce finalist candidates for Superintendent. Not all do, but Dr. Lamberson, for instance, was a finalist for a Minneapolis area position last year and went through a very public vetting up there. Would be interesting to find out if candidates in this case knew as part of the application process that their names would be released, but I don't think …   more ›

Dr. Jon Lamberson Just Withdrew from Consideration as Ladue's Next Superintendent of Schools

Cited scheduling difficulties as the reason.

Updated, Saturday, February 23, 2013, 7:07 p.m. This is the message from the Ladue School District: Dr. Jonathan Lamberson, the current superintendent of Riverside School District in Riverside, IL, notified the Board of Education late in the day on Saturday, February 23, 2013 that he would no longer be pursuing the Ladue Schools superintendent position.  Dr. Lamberson was scheduled to interview with the Board of Education, as well as various stakeholder groups, during the day on Monday, February 25, 2013.  Due to weather conditions and school closings, Dr. Lamberson's interviews have had to be rescheduled twice. Dr. Fred Czerwonka was interviewed on Saturday, February 23, 2013 by the Ladue Schools Board of Education and will interview with…

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Ladue School Board Selects 3 Candidates to Interview for Superintendent's Position

Final field includes Dr. Donna Jahnke of the Ladue School District.

The Ladue School Board has narrowed the field of candidates for the position of Superintendent of the district to three: Dr. Lamberson was a finalist for the same position in the West St. Paul, Mendota Heights-Eagan School District outside Minneapolis last year. Ladue Schools engaged the services of McPherson & Jacobson, L.L.C., a company that specializes in finding administrators out of Omaha, NE. Candidates will have a full round of interviews February 19-22 and the board of education anticpates making the announcement of the new hire at the regular school board meeting on February 25. The field was narrowed from 12 or 13 original candidates. More on the Ladue School Board workshop meeting on Wednesday on Patch.

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FOX2 Investigates Ladue Superintendent Contract

The station questioned the separation agreement with former Superintendent Dr. Marsha Chappelow.

As the Ladue School District moves forward with plans to hire a new superintendent, FOX2 is drawing attention to the agreement that has allowed Dr. Marsha Chappelow to retire and take leave early leave with full payment under her existing contract. Ladue leaders have defended the decision as being in the best interest of the district, and have pointed out that under the terms of the agreement, which don't allow either side to comment on why the parting actually came about, does call for Chappelow to make herself available to district staff when necessary up until June 30. Dr. Donna Jahnke, Asst. Supt. for Teaching and Learning told Patch Monday that the district has not needed those consulting services.

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Ladue School District Hoping Next Selected Superintendent Will Be a Winner

Public input is a valuable resource this time as Ladue searches for a new superintendent.

The Ladue school district at one time enjoyed the stability of having two superintendents run the district for the first 58 combined years. That was under the watchful eye of the late Dr. Ivan C. Nicholas and retired Dr. Charles D. McKenna. Then, the revolving door began. The system hired and watched leave quickly Drs. Stewart Weinberg, David Benson and most recently, Marsha Chappelow. District faithful are wondering out loud, if, this time it will be a hit or a miss? The Ladue School District Board of Education has taken its charge seriously, both establishing a strict search timeline and hiring a national search firm (McPherson & Jacobson of Omaha, NE) specialists in this line of work. The district conducted two informal public sessions …

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CreveCoeurDad

8:36 pm on Thursday, January 10, 2013

You would think that, but I think his statement "(T)he best candidates have other opportunities, and Ladue needs to market itself to find the best" is Consultantese for "You people need to be willing to pay more money."   more ›

Dr. Chappelow Retires: Six Ladue Superintendents Since 1939

The head of the Ladue School district announced her retirement, effective at the end of June.

The Ladue School District had its modest beginnings, starting in 1939. At that time, the district was simply a loosely formed group of elementary schools, those being Little Ladue (now Reed School), Conway Elementary, Wright School, Price School, Central School and later Spoede Elementary. Children past elementary school age pretty much had to fend for themselves, attending the private schools serving the community: Mary Institute, Country Day School, John Burroughs and Chaminade or attending one of the nearby public high schools: Clayton, University City, Kirkwood, Brentwood or Maplewood. It was not until 1951 that this growing community first offered classroom education to students Kindergarten through the 12th grade. Ladue Horton …

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LADUE BULLETIN: Dr. Marsha Chappelow, Superintendent Plans to Retire Effective June 30, 2013

After spending 40 years in education, she is moving back to Kansas City to be closer to her family including a new grandson.

At 8 p.m. last night at the regular school board meeting, Dr. Marsha Chappelow issued an official statement announcing her resignation as Superintendent of the Ladue School District. The Board of Education accepted her resignation in a closed-door session. She has been in education for 40 years, working often in school communications and will be on the job until June 30, 2013. Then, she will relocate to her home in Kansas City to be closer to her children and her new grandson. This is the formal press release, following a statement she made earlier to Ladue's faculty and administration via email. September 25, 2012 Dr. Marsha Chappelow, Superintendent of the Ladue School District announced her intention to retire at the end of the 2012-13 …

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Year-Round School--Talking About New Hires, Dr. Chappelow Starts a New Conversation

Periodically, Dr. Chappelow goes one on one with Patch.com, Part I.

Dr. Marsha Chappelow, superintendent of the Ladue School District answers questions for Patch.com from time to time. This time, she is kicking off her 40th year in education with the start of the school year. Ladue-Frontenac Patch Editor James Baer caught up with Dr. Chappelow for this interview: Patch: How would you characterize the start of another school year Dr. Marsha Chappelow: I would characterize it this way: It is the start of a new year and a new opportunity and a renewal for students and staff. Everyone gets a break and that is great. Everyone comes backs refreshed and ready to go. For this year, it is especially great because of the passage of Prop 1. Last year there was a little uncertainty with the start of the school year if…

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Former Ladue Superintendent Resigns Similar Pennsylvania Position

Stunning development in Dallastown School District in Pennsylvania.