Area Schools and Districts Receive National Honors
Many St. Louis area schools and districts have been honored nationally in recent days for their outstanding achievements. Each of the districts highlighted below is a member of Cooperating School Districts of Greater St. Louis.
“We are very proud of the honors our member schools and districts have received,” said Don Senti, executive director of Cooperating School Districts. “This is further proof of the extremely high-quality educational programs we have in districts across our region.”
National Schools of Character
The Character Education Partnership (CEP) has named 24 schools and one district nationwide as 2012 National Schools of Character. An impressive seven of those schools are from our region, and are members of CSD and our CHARACTERplus program. They are:
• Brentwood Middle (Brentwood)
• Ellisville Elementary (Rockwood)
• Henry Raab Elementary (Belleville #118)
• Northview High (SSD)
• Plattin Primary (Jefferson R-7)
• Ross Elementary (Parkway)
• Trautwein Elementary (Mehlville).
“These schools have built strong communities that bring people together around shared goals,” said Lara Maupin, National Schools of Character Director. “Nobody feels alone or unwelcome in these schools. Adults are all on the same page about what’s important and, as a result, kids thrive.”
Each year, CEP selects schools and districts that demonstrate through a rigorous evaluation process that their focus on character development has had a positive impact on academic achievement, student behavior, and school climate. Selected schools are then expected to serve as models for other schools, helping them to achieve the same results.
For more information about CHARACTERplus, visit www.characterplus.org.
U.S. News & World Report Best High Schools in the Nation
Metro High School in the St. Louis Public School District (#76) and Clayton High School in the Clayton School District (#136) were both included in the U.S. News & World Report rankings of the best high schools in the country. The rankings are based on academic proficiency standards and college preparation.
Nearly 22,000 high schools nationwide were evaluated for the rankings. The schools were honored based on whether the school’s students performed better than the average students in their state; whether the school’s least-advantaged students performed better than the average similar student in their state; and whether the school’s students had high college-level achievement.
Other CSD member schools that were highly ranked include Marquette High School (Rockwood), Kirkwood High School, Lindbergh High School and Parkway West High School.
“What Parents Want” Award
Thirteen area school districts have received the “What Parents Want Award” from SchoolMatch, an independent school selection consulting firm. Schools are chosen for the award based on qualities parents desire for their child’s school. Information is gathered through a nationwide survey of parents.
The CSD member school districts that received the award are:
• Brentwood
• Clayton
• Ferguson-Florissant
• Hazelwood
• Kirkwood
• Ladue
• Lindbergh
• Parkway
• Pattonville
• Rockwood
• St. Charles
• University City
• Webster Groves
Several qualities of a desirable school district are taken into account for the award, including academic test scores, small class sizes, above average expenditures on instructional purposes and library/media services, and previous recognitions for excellence.
