Parkway Today

March 18-22 No School (Spring Break)
March 27 Board of Education Candidate Forum, 7 p.m., Welcome Center
March 28 Half Day AM PK-12
March 29 No School
April 1 All-District Honor Band Concert
April 2 No School (Election Day)
April 8 Partial Solar Eclipse

Parkway selected its 2024 elementary, middle, high school and the district Teachers of the Year.

• Tyra Hall, (photo top) librarian at Ross Elementary, was selected as the District Teacher of the Year, as well as the district’s Elementary Teacher of the Year.
• Morgan Schneider, (photo bottom left) band teacher at Central Middle, is the Middle School Teacher of the Year
• Jennifer Bannecker, (photo bottom right) reading specialist at North High, is the High School Teacher of the Year.
  
  

Congratulations to all of our 2024 Teachers of the Year.

The Board of Education approved the 2025-26 academic calendar at its meeting this week.

Based on feedback from parents, staff and students, the calendar features these changes:

• High school finals before winter break

• End the school year before Memorial Day

• One consistent early release schedule. (Professional development days which were 2-hour early releases and half days which had 3-hour early releases all have the same 3-hour early release time now.)

What did we give up?

• Fall break will be slightly shorter to allow for high school finals before winter break.

• The second semester will be six days longer than the first semester. When we factor in the number of days that are typically used in the second semester for state testing and snow days, the number of days per semester will be more balanced.

• Students will have 174 days of school, which is two fewer days than the current calendar, primarily to allow the school year to end before Memorial Day.

• Good Friday will be a school day for students and staff.

What stays the same?

• The school year will start on a Monday (10 school days before Labor Day) as in previous years. State law does not allow us to start earlier.

• There are still four school days off for teacher professional development during the year.

• Snow days remain the same. The first three snow days, if needed for weather, would be days off school. On the fourth day and any subsequent snow days, students would engage in virtual learning from home.

Will these changes impact next year (2024-25)?
The calendar for the upcoming school year (2024-25) has been board-approved and published online since May of 2023. Whenever possible, we avoid changing calendars that have been published because we know our families, teachers, staff and students have made personal plans, travel, etc. based on that calendar.

Parkway is moving forward with plans to build an additional Early Childhood Center to meet our community's demand. For more than a decade, hundreds of children have been on wait lists each year to enroll in Parkway’s high-quality early childhood and preschool programs. Thanks to voters, the district has plans to provide relief.

In the fall of 2026, an additional Early Childhood Center with outdoor learning programming and space will serve more than 300 young learners a year. The new building is planned for Parkway property between Wren Hollow Elementary and Southwest Middle schools. Its proximity will allow for partnerships with the other two schools.

In 2022, Parkway voters overwhelmingly approved a no-tax-rate-increase bond issue - Proposition S - to build the new center.

An informational meeting is planned for Tuesday, March 26 from 6-7:30 p.m. at Southwest Middle School, 701 Wren Avenue, Manchester.

Learn more here.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey sent cease and desist letters to Parkway and two other school districts with accusations of discriminatory practices. He claimed that Parkway was prohibiting faith-based student clubs, specifically Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

The real story: Parkway has a long history of supporting faith-based student clubs and recognizing their importance in creating a sense of belonging for many of our students. All Parkway high schools have active and long-standing Fellowship of Christian Athletes clubs. We have other active faith-based student clubs in our high schools, including the Jewish Student Union, Muslim Student Union and Catholic Faith Club.

See our response and learn more in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch article.

When students have activities that are meaningful to them personally and create a sense of belonging, they are more successful at school. Parkway is committed to supporting the diversity of religions represented in our student bodies and providing clubs and activities to support their interests and needs.

Five candidates have filed for two open Board of Education positions. The candidates, as their names will appear on the ballot, are:

1. Matthew Schindler
2. Kevin Seltzer
3. Todd Williams
4. Stacey L. Myton
5. John Tettinger

Learn more about the candidates here. The election will be held on April 2.

A Board of Education Candidate Forum will be hosted by the League of Women Voters on March 27 from 7-9 p.m. at the Parkway Welcome Center. The event will be streamed online here.

These are the moments that matter. North High Principal, David Jones, was surprised by his daughter, Navy Petty Officer Alycia Pouch, upon her return from deployment in Japan. Thank you to our friends at Fox2Now for capturing the sweet surprise.

Students in the Spark! Teaching and Learning course were featured on KMOV Channel 4.

These high school students are in Parkway classrooms two or three days a week learning from those teachers and getting hands-on experience with students. “To have student teaching experience as a senior in high school versus waiting until you’re a senior in college really gives my students, the graduates, confidence that they can go into education and do this work,” said Courtney Yeager, Spark! director.

Over the last three years, more than 75 kids have passed through the SPARK! program, which offers dual college credit at UMSL, Lindenwood and Maryville University.

Check out the Parkway School District Step Team story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about their competition season and their journey for the national title again this year.

On April 8, our region will experience a solar eclipse. The Parkway boundaries are within the partial eclipse path. Every student and employee will have the opportunity to view the eclipse.

• Solar eclipse viewing glasses will be supplied to all students and staff. Activities for the event are currently being planned. Click here to see more information on safe viewing.

• In the Parkway area, the eclipse will begin at 12:42 p.m. and end at 3:15 p.m.

• Click here to see a quick video explaining the solar eclipse. It includes the history, the science, and the reason why eclipses are special events.

• Click here for maps and more information on the timing and location of this event!

West High recently hosted its 21st annual Special Olympics Basketball tournament with 197 student-athletes who were mentored by West High students throughout the day. The event is organized and led by the high school's student government council and student volunteers.

#ParkwayCares

Every year, the Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals honors school leaders who set high standards for instruction, student achievement, character, and climate for the students, families and staff in their learning communities.

Join us in congratulating Dr. Nathan Burch, principal of Claymont Elementary, for receiving this wonderful honor!

Nine individuals have been selected as 2024 Pillars of Parkway. This prestigious award is presented to individuals who have provided extraordinary service to the Parkway community and exceeded expectations.

The Pillar honorees include three parent volunteers: Pam Hill (West area), Steven Shane (Central area) and Michael Turco (South area).

Congratulations to all of our 2024 Pillars of Parkway!

The Light of Parkway award is designed to bring recognition to the district’s extraordinary operations (non-certified) staff members who have helped to create a positive and caring environment for the people they serve.

Nancy Bueltmann – Teacher Assistant, Claymont Elementary

Reginald Cathey – Custodian, Green Trails Elementary

Kim Copeland – Administrative Assistant, McKelvey Intermediate

Each year, the Albert Award is presented by the Parkway Alumni Association (PAA) to three exceptional first through fifth-year Parkway teachers – one at the elementary, middle and high school level. The award recognizes new teachers for the energy and enthusiasm that they bring to their students, as well as the creative and innovative practices they use in their classrooms. Congratulations to our 2024 Albert Award winners.

Luke Donohoo – 2nd Grade, Henry Elementary

Kayla Komorek – Science, Southwest Middle
Rachel Money – Social Studies, West High

Parkway will be adding 15 full-time and two one-year-only positions for the 2024-25 school year to address areas of greatest student need. This is in response to recommendations from the Social-Emotional Support Services program review, and parent and staff feedback from Project Parkway surveys and focus groups.

The new positions will help schools take big steps forward in critical areas.

• Eight additional mental health specialists which allow all elementary schools to have full-time mental health support.
• An additional reading specialist at each high school to provide dedicated, full-time literacy support.
  
• Four psychologists to handle all 504 evaluations.
• Four additional English language specialists will be placed in schools with the most urgency.

Do you or someone you know have a student starting kindergarten next year?

Kindergarten registration is open for the 2024-2025 school year. More information about registration can be found here.

Email: connect@parkwayschools.net
Website: https://www.parkwayschools.net
Location: 455 North Woods Mill Road, Chesterfield, MO 63017
Facebook: Facebook.com/parkwayschooldistrict
Instagram: @parkwayschools

Twitter: @parkwayschools