[TGE-mail] great news about Shenandoah and Meramec!

[Jeanette Mott Oxford]

I was very pleased to hear the news about Shenandoah and Meramec Schools!
For constituents who are interested, here is the text of the letter than
I sent to Dr. Bourisaw, the SAB, the elected Board, and Sen. Coleman on
this topic earlier this week:
I am writing to express my concern and that of many residents of the 59th
Missouri House District regarding the proposed closings of Meramec
Elementary School, 2745 Meramec, and Shenandoah Elementary School, 3412
Shenandoah. Both are valuable assets to their communities, and our common
life would be diminished by their closing.
Shenandoah and Meramec schools have the advantage of being relatively
small schools with smaller classroom sizes. This allows teachers and
aides to have extra time with each child, one of the most successful
strategies that we can employ in schools where many children experience
social and economic disadvantages.
According to my constituents, Meramec School in the Dutchtown
neighborhood has shown great improvement in academic performance under
former Principal Stegal and current Principal Woodson (with whom I
personally visited in January 2008). The building is in good condition
and has been air-conditioned. It is located on several bus lines and is
next to two city parks. It also has a new $50,000 playground on its
grounds that was donated through a community fund raising effort. When
neighbors take action such as this to surround our schools with care, the
possibilities for great success are magnified.
In addition, Census figures show that from 1990 to 2000 the youth
population actually increased 7% in the Dutchtown area. Demographic
experts like Claritas predict that this trend in the youth population is
expected to continue.
I have visited Shenandoah School on several occasions to tour classrooms
and read to the children. Principal Wayne and her staff have impressed me
with their caring attitudes. They have had some success bringing
resources to their students (for example, electronic keyboards) through
grant writing. I have been invited to serve on a community task force for
this school, again an effort of local citizens to provide support,
volunteers, and needed donations to an area school, the kind of activity
that we should all nurture.
I do not have Census data for the area around Shenandoah School, but, in
my experience, Tower Grove East is one of our city’s most diverse and
vibrant communities, as evidenced by their active neighborhood
association and the "Grand South Grand" business district. I believe this
neighborhood is growing and that Shenandoah School is an important
community resource that should remain open.
I welcome the opportunity to speak with you further on this matter.
Please keep me informed of your decisions regarding these schools.
Sincerely,
Jeanette Mott Oxford
State Representative - 59th MO House District
314-771-8882 (home); 314-775-8940 (cell)
2910 Lemp, St. Louis, MO 63118
www.jmo4rep.com