Two years ago, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requested that the Normandy School District absorb the students from the Wellston School District. Despite the sincere efforts of many committed educators to restore Wellston to stability, DESE determined that the situation required a fresh start. For the Board of Education of the Normandy School District, the decision was a no-brainer. We had an opportunity to provide a quality education to a few hundred more absolutely wonderful young people and to serve the needs of another community.
What was unknown at the time is that the Normandy School District was in the process of making history (sort of). Preliminary research indicates that no other provisionally or marginally accredited school district in our nation’s history has ever been given the opportunity to merge with a district that a state education agency closed. We viewed the absorption of the Wellston School District as an opportunity to continue our progress toward regaining our full accreditation while simultaneously taking on what many felt would make our charge impossible. Our doubters and critics failed to take into account that our school district had already put in place research-based best practices.
We have to acknowledge first and foremost the trust that DESE displayed in selecting the Normandy School District. Conventional wisdom would routinely have dictated that the state education agency select a district that was already sound academically and fiscally. DESE decided to challenge this historical scenario by investing upfront in the future of the receiving school district by establishing a business-style partnership with Normandy.
Commissioner Chris Nicastro selected a full-time DESE staffer who took on the responsibility for all things instructional in our school district. This “boots on the ground” educator is invested in the day-to-day decision-making and planning that drives instructional change and academic progress. It effectively nullified concerns previously expressed by many that DESE had not taken a “hands-on approach” when working with struggling school districts.
Has the Normandy School District finally arrived? In fact, we are only scratching the surface as we begin digging deeper with our data-driven planning and more focused instructional practices. We are beginning to see evidence that the courageous decisions made over the past couple of years are making a difference in student outcomes. The truly grueling work, however, has only now just begun.
Normandy reorganized two years ago and acquired new campus leadership as well as central office leadership. The school district has a new curriculum (compliments of Pattonville School District), a reliable benchmarking system, rigorous training and professional development resources. Our campuses have been immersed in data team training this year and are already implementing the practices.
We have initiated an intrusive and focused effort to improve the quality of our teacher workforce through the work of the Teacher Excellence Task Force. The multi-faceted and aggressive 24:1 Community Initiative Plan led by Beyond Housing is addressing the numerous family and community-based issues which typically create barriers to student progress. The newly established Care Team is making certain that the needs of students who chronically underperform due to issues around truancy, behavior and mental health needs are addressed. Our teachers have remained focused and vigilant in their classrooms, making certain we remember that the real bottom line is student performance. We call it “leaving nothing to chance.”
This is the new Normandy School District. We are excited about where we go from here.
William Humphrey is Vice President of the Normandy School District Board of Directors and Stanton Lawrence is Normandy Superintendent of Schools
