Kirkwood School District’s Matt Bailey, assistant superintendent for data, intervention and supports, gave an update on the upcoming redistricting process at a regular board meeting on Monday, Dec. 14.
Bailey said his focus group, which consists of about 130 volunteer parents, teachers and administrators, has been meeting regularly for the past few weeks in small breakout groups. No maps have been presented or drawn at this time, and focus groups are currently discussing solutions to existing problems such as overcrowding in school buildings.
Bailey said many of the groups came to an independent conclusion that, among elementary and middle schools, enrollment numbers are fairly equal, but capacity is not.
“The idea that ‘buildings that have more space should have more kids’ seemed to be very popular in multiple breakout rooms despite them not being able to converse with one another,” he said.
With optimized utilization prioritized over equal enrollment, focus groups are now looking into two larger elementary schools feeding one middle school, and three smaller elementary schools feeding the other middle school.
Bailey said he’s planning to host some town hall style public sessions alongside Harriet Patton, president of the Meacham Park Neighborhood Improvement Association. Bailey said Meacham Park deserves a large voice in the redistricting process, as that neighborhood currently feeds into four different elementary schools.
Superintendent David Ulrich added that the redistricting process is not intended to be completed by the start of the next school year.
Other Updates
• hief Financial Officer Mike Romay requested and received permission to begin the bidding process for several summer projects including replacing some of the district’s oldest HVAC units in several buildings. Other plans include replacing the nearly 20-year-old roof and the rusting fire sprinkler piping at Kirkwood Early Childhood Center, as well as general maintenance and purchases such as masonry, asbestos abatement, repair to playgrounds and fields, ID badge readers, signage, cameras, fire sprinkler repairs and inspections.
• pecial guest Chris Nicastro of Hazard Young Attea & Associates outlined the process that she will use to craft a strategic plan for the district. The first phase will involve collecting data and conducting analyses on the district’s current strengths and weaknesses. In the second phase, the data will be used to craft core values, goals and objectives, and the third phase will implement and evaluate such changes. The process will take anywhere from four to six months to complete.
• ssistant Superintendent Howard Fields gave an update on the progress of Effort 11 of the Kirkwood School District Task Force to Eliminate the Achievement Gap — expand existing efforts to retain, attract and hire diverse staff with an intentional focus on buildings/positions that are currently less diverse.
Fields said such an effort aligns with the task force plan to “meet the varied needs of diverse learners,” and presented data regarding the race makeup of various staff positions across the district. Fields said some possible next steps are to assess interview and hiring practices, conduct data exploration, adopt new policies and conduct an audit on the utilization of adopted board plans.
Encompass Resolution
A representative from Encompass Resolution, the firm hired to investigate the district’s handling of past sexual abuse allegations, is expected to speak at the Jan. 25 school board meeting.
