NORMANDY • The appointed board that began running the troubled Normandy school system on Tuesday convened inside a packed boardroom to restart the district. The state couldn’t have been watching things more closely.
The five were sworn in by Mike Jones, vice president of the Missouri Board of Education. They adopted policies at the direction of the Missouri education department’s legal counsel. And seated at the end of their table was Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro.
“Every single one of us is determined to make this a new beginning,” Nicastro told Normandy’s new board, later adding: “If we get in your way, I certainly hope you would let us know.”
The past year of turmoil in Normandy led to the state takeover of the north St. Louis County school system. Normandy was the state’s worst-performing district in the 2012-13 school year. Then the Missouri Supreme Court upheld a 20-year-old law that allowed children in unaccredited districts to transfer to higher-performing schools. Normandy was stuck with a tuition and transportation tab that it couldn’t afford.
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The district is now called the Normandy Schools Collaborative, but state officials promise change will go much deeper than the name. State education officials are working with Normandy administrators to transform the way the district educates children, in hopes of putting the 3,000-student school system on a different course. An area supervisor for the education department — former Bayless Superintendent Maureen Clancy-May — will be working at Normandy with administrators this year.
Ultimately, the district’s direction will be up to its new leaders, Jones said.
“The state Board of Education may own the railroad, but it’s your train,” he told them. “You have the responsibility and obligation to get it to its destination on time.”
The five appointed board members come with expertise in finance, school administration, information technology and nonprofit work. Most live in the Normandy district. One served as the vice president of the elected school board, which was disbanded Monday at midnight. The new board members are: Reginald Dickson, Charles Pearson, Richard Ryffel, Andrea Terhune and Sheila Grimes Williams.
“We are ready to stand by you and support you in any and every way possible,” Nicastro said, addressing Superintendent Ty McNichols. “The department and the Normandy Schools Collaborative staff will work together in concert in creating what is truly a historic opportunity for children in this community.”
More than 100 parents, students, teachers and residents watched as the new board adopted policies needed to set the district in motion. They selected Pearson to be the signatory. In 30 days, they’ll select a chairman.
Several members of the elected board were among the crowd watching.
“I’m hopeful,” said Jeanette Pulliam, one of the elected board members. “They have some good people on this board. This was never about me. It was about the kids in this district. They’re why I ran.”
McNichols, hired back to lead the district, led the meeting. He’s been at Normandy’s helm for a year now. And now that his district no longer has any accreditation status, he won’t be dealing with the school transfer law.
“We have to eliminate everything that’s a distraction and build upon things that are important,” McNichols said.
Dickson said he’d like to figure out what motivates children to learn and build on that. There were short discussions on building bridges with the community, even developing a way to communicate with area legislators.
Developing these ties is important, Ryffel said. But “I wouldn’t want it in the short run to be a distraction to getting schools open.”
School starts Aug. 16 in Normandy. The district could be getting back several hundred students who transferred out last year. Those students have been told by other area districts they cannot return to their new schools this year. Normandy must hire more than 90 more teachers, plus support staff.
“Teachers have to be seen as the leaders of this,” said Williams, the elected board member who now serves on the appointed board. “If they don’t want to change, change isn’t going to happen.”
So far, the Missouri Board of Education has approved staffing decisions for the Normandy Schools Collaborative.
Dozens of teachers at the meeting expressed frustration later about not knowing whether they’ll be rehired.
“Half the folks haven’t been called back,” said Graylon Brown, a representative from the Missouri National Education Association. “It’s unbelievable.”
