Photograph by Matthew O'Shea
It would be easy to make a joke here about every St. Louisan’s favorite question, but we’re not going to do that—this isn’t really a joking matter. High schools—heck, schools in general—are a pretty hot topic around here these days, and where to send your kids is an even hotter one. Do you go private, public or parochial? If you’re going public, do you move to get the school you want? If you’re going private, which one is worth all that money? It’s a multilayered question, but it’s an important one. Read on for a little insight into the decision, starting—but not ending—with a report card of stats.
The Matching Game
How do you know what school’s best for your child? Start with brutal honesty.
By Jeannette Cooperman
What worries Peggy Umansky most are the legacies, kids who simply must go to John Burroughs because Daddy and Grandpapa did—or even kids destined for a particular Catholic or public high school because all of their brothers and sisters went there. An educational consultant who runs a company called It’s About Time, Umansky sees the casualties:
• Students who still need a little extra nurturing, forced into an uncaring crowd where they are expected to advocate for themselves with the eloquence of a trial attorney.
• Students whose maturity hasn’t quite caught up with chronology, forced into an environment where they are expected to think and act on their own initiative and ignored or reprimanded if they do not.
• Students who procrastinate past deadline or study haphazardly, forced into a college-prep atmosphere in which they rack up one low grade after another.
It’s not their fault, Umansky says.
“All parents think their child is the most brilliant child in the world. I had a parent who sent his kid to Burroughs, and the student didn’t have the self-discipline. Certain schools expect a student to be an independent learner, and if you know your child isn’t—even though he has a high IQ—you are setting him up for failure.”
Once you choose the category (public, academic private or religious private), list priorities for your child, Umansky suggests—and make sure they’re not your priorities, left over from your own adolescent yearnings or current hunger for status: “St. Louis tends to have a lot of people who are legacy—but one size doesn’t fit all. Burroughs expects kids to be ready to learn, not babied. A school like Whitfield looks at the individual differences and will work with students until they learn the necessary skills.
“Schools will tell you exactly what they expect,” adds Umansky, “but not every parent listens, and therein lies the problem.” To make the right choice, she tells parents to be scrupulously honest about their child and thorough in their search. Her advice:
1. Look at the history. Where has the child excelled, and where has the child needed extra help? Look at old report-card comments. If you’re consistently seeing “Excellent independent learner; doesn’t need much help,” that’s a clue.
2. Social strengths come out in those comments, too. “Works well in a group” or “Has trouble working with other students” can also tell you a lot.
3. If you’re not sure about your child’s strengths and weaknesses, ask for an evaluation. A school counselor can help. And if your child’s consistently falling short, have him or her tested. Match IQ against achievement. Is there a problem? Very often there is not. Kids mature at different rates.
4. How much nurturing does your child need? If he or she tends to play with younger kids or stay with the family, stay in a comfort zone instead of venturing out, do you take away that comfort zone? Depends on the emotional stability of the child. You don’t want to do something that will make a child depressed. If an emotionally vulnerable child is put in an uncomfortable situation, now all of a sudden you have an anxiety disorder that can spiral.
5. Have your child spend a day at each school you’re considering—and talk to one of the students. Kids aren’t in it for the PR; they’re not going to lie.
6. How do kids get into the clubs—is everything competitive? Because if your child is not a competitive child, that’s not a good fit.
7. What does the school do to foster the younger kids? Is there a buddy system?
8. Where is the safe haven if your child has a problem? Do kids know who to go to?
9. Is there a sense of community? If kids don’t feel they belong, they’re less apt to seek out help.
10. Trust your child. I tell students to sit down and write a paragraph about the perfect high school for them. It’s amazing how much they know about themselves. Often parents say, “Gee, I had no idea.”
Rational Numbers
By Stefene Russell
“It doesn’t help to be a talking box in front of a classroom,” says Chris Moody, president of the Math Educators of Greater St. Louis and statistics teacher at Clayton High School. “Research bears this out—you have to get the kids involved.” Although that was a no-duh for the generations of kids who napped through algebra lectures, the philosophy of experiential math education has taken hold only in the past 10 years or so.
Locally, Rockwood, Parkway, Francis Howell and Clayton excel consistently in the teaching of math.
Francis Howell uses a program developed at the University of Missouri–Columbia that emphasizes experiential learning, teacher development and close student-teacher collaboration.
Clayton uses Core-Plus (developed at the University of Michigan) and for the past three years has been one of the three top-scoring public schools for Missouri Assessment Program math scores, earning commendations from the state. Math-department chair Curtis James credits Core-Plus’ “integrated” approach: Freshmen begin with “a couple of algebra-focused units, one geometry unit, one discrete mathematics unit and two statistics units. The next year, they’ll see some more algebra, and the geometry will extend quite a bit. The chapters are focused from a context. For instance, in our integrated Math II course, we start by trying to figure out the path of a diver. That leads us into quadratic equations—we learn the math that’s needed in that context.”
Core-Plus does have a textbook, and James says that lectures are still crucial. But today’s math texts, Moody says, are radically different from what teachers were using a decade ago: “Now publishers send these giant packets, and they have CD-ROMs and websites dedicated to that book, and they come with technology-based worksheets and multicultural-based worksheets, just a big slew of things to try and grab as many kids as you can.”
Moody is always looking for his own tricks to make math real: “I find websites that have interactive applets kids can use to see the effects of changing variables. We do hands-on experiments in class, checking hypothesis tests—we just got done making sure that M&Ms is telling the truth about their dispersion of colors.”
James says educators have had to change with the times; the “talking box” isn’t going to satisfy kids who grew up with Xboxes and Wi-Fi.
“If you did nothing but a very traditional lecture without context or motivation—” he begins, then stops himself, chuckling. “Well, I don’t like to sit through those kinds of classes, either.”
Big Science
By Stefene Russell
Dr. Robert Taylor, former superintendent of the Festus School District, is now regional representative for the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. He cites several districts that are outstanding in the field of science education, including Rockwood, Clayton, Parkway, St. Charles, Festus and Crystal City. (“I’m not superintendent of that district anymore, so I can say that!” he adds, grinning.)
The most successful programs, he says, provide (big surprise) hands-on experience rather than lectures, forcing kids to problem-solve rather than just memorize. In the process, kids realize that science is relevant to their own lives. Schools using this approach have raised standardized testing scores across the board, even among students who have no natural interest in—or even an instinctive aversion to—the sciences.
Clayton High School’s “Physics First” program, developed in the early ’60s, was one of the pioneering programs. It’s a simple idea but still rare nationwide: Entering freshmen start with physics, not biology. “The whole idea behind this was that physics is the science that underlies and is the foundation for all the rest of science,” says Clayton physics teacher Rex Rice. “Starting with physics makes so much sense. The models we can build in introductory physics are a whole lot easier to see because you can build them around things you can directly observe. Then in the later part of the year, we build scientific models around things that you can’t directly see, that you have to infer from some kind of experimental evidence.” Science-department chair Mike Howe, who teaches chemistry, says that when these kids arrive in his classroom as sophomores, he continues to encourage them to think scientifically. For instance, during labs, he’ll ask them to measure temperature changes and graph them—even if the work isn’t relevant to the lesson at hand. “All of a sudden, those equations become relevant—the graph is something that represents an event that actually took place,” Howe says. “It’s not some kind of abstract writing on a piece of paper. It has meaning.”
Project Lead the Way, a hands-on science curriculum that’s being used in 1,000 high schools across the country, was adopted by the Rockwood School District in 2004. Steve Ayotte, coordinator of practical arts for the district, says it’s basically a pre-engineering program (next year’s seniors will intern at Ameren and Boeing), but it has boosted science and math achievement across the board by demonstrating to kids that science is relevant to their lives, not just a bunch of abstractions in a textbook. For instance, in a unit on DNA, kids might role-play as detectives collecting forensic evidence from a crime scene.
“Students say, ‘Wow, now I understand why they keep telling me these physics concepts are important,’” Ayotte says. “The kids in this program achieve at an alarming rate. And it’s not just for the upper-level kids; it’s also for middle-level and some lower-level kids, who just want to learn in a different way.”
High-Tech High
By Bryan A. Hollerbach
“When I first started teaching, in 1973,” Chris Bolesta confesses with a chuckle, “I didn’t even have a calculator.”
Talk about upgrades! Bolesta nowa-days oversees a largely computerized curriculum as principal of John F. Kennedy Catholic High School, which piloted the adoption of laptops in St. Louis archdiocesan schools three years ago. As a result, she and technology coordinator Mary Lynn have a prime perspective on computers in education.
Beyond embracing word processing, presentation and spreadsheet programs, Kennedy students submit assignments electronically and consult teachers using virtual-classroom software. Moreover, Spanish courses there employ a Web-based textbook, says Bolesta.
“The e-texts we use are interactive—more than just words on a screen for the students to read,” Lynn emphasizes. “The students can hear native speakers; they can also record themselves speaking and then hear what they sound like.”
Archdiocesan institutions scarcely hold a monopoly on high-tech innovation, of course. Earlier this year, for instance, the Jennings School District bought personal digital assistants for most of its students.
Despite the glamour of digital learning, Lynn doubts that schooling will ever go solely online: “There’ll always be classrooms, bells ringing, people moving in the hallway.”
Still, in education, technology has been rewriting the rules at least since the abacus was invented—and the microchip has greatly accelerated the pace of change. Like other educators, though, Bolesta welcomes the challenge: “We’re always trying to get kids ready for what comes next, for the next level of schooling, for the world beyond even postsecondary education.”
Pay to Play
By Christy Marshall
Prefer that your heir romp among state champions?
We suggest that you turn to your rosary—and pull out your checkbook. Of 27 state titles won by St. Louis high schools in seven sports over eight decades,* a whopping 11 went to institutions that answer to Archbishop Raymond Burke, and another four went to MICDS and John Burroughs School.
With that in mind, a move by the Missouri State High School Activities Association makes sense: Last month the organization zipped out ballots to its members to vote on a proposal to establish a separate state tournament for Missouri’s 76 nonpublic schools. The sports affected include just about everything but football and lacrosse. A similar motion surfaced five years ago but lost by a vote of 103–88. This time around, the deadline to cast votes was May 1.
The privates have been stomping the publics for years. In 2005–2006, St. Louis schools won 25 state titles—with 22 going to private schools. The proposal is facing opposition, though, with private schools threatening to leave the MSHSAA if it goes through.
Whether or not they stay, the local talent search for the next Peyton Manning or Mia Hamm is getting costlier. Some schools, including Christian Brothers College, John Burroughs School and St. Louis University High, have recently invested some serious green in their athletic facilities.
And the price of playing at those facilities? It keeps going up.
*MSHSAA started recording state championships in:
• Boys’ basketball in 1927
• Girls’ basketball in 1973
• Football in 1968
• Boys’ soccer in 1968
• Girls’ soccer in 1985
The Cafeteria-Tray Shuffle
By Jeannette Cooperman
Gone are the days when kids peered through plastic at greasy oversalted indeterminate meat slid into a soggy bun, threw it away half-eaten and bought an ice-cream “novelty” (99 percent chemicals, 1 percent milk solids)—then sat back to mock the kids waiting in line for a grandma hot plate with a plop of mashed potatoes, graying green beans and a slice of meatloaf that could stop a door.
Missouri’s Eat Smart Guidelines, which give schools a choice of basic, intermediate or advanced (i.e. healthiest) nutritional standards, came out in 2005. Back then, the advanced tier looked impossible: Feed teenagers only lowfat or skim milk and reduced-fat salad dressings? You’d risk your life. Serve dark-green or orange veggies three times a week, fresh fruit four times a week? Ban “foods of minimal nutritional value” (e.g. Coke and candy) until the end of the school day? A whole new class of contraband would be created—not to mention the threat of a coup when vending-machine contents had to meet standards for fat, sugar and calories.
We couldn’t imagine that more than two or three schools would try for advanced, but we were curious enough to ask. As it turns out, of the 104 schools that responded, only 26 gave a flat no. The archdiocesan schools were all at least intermediate and moving toward advanced. And more than 50 schools had either mastered the advanced category or were 95 percent there. (As we went to press, Julie Ressler, director of food service at Valley Park, was calculating the weight of the sugar in her breakfast cereals.)
Most schools started by hurling their deep-fat fryers out the door. Bishop DuBourg High School brought out Dole Sparklers and flavored water and started rolling turkey wraps. Chaminade flash-fried potatoes in Optimax, a zero–trans fat oil. Nerinx Hall banned soda from school, substituting water, smoothies and juices. MICDS researched healthier baked goods.
“We eliminated all our Hostess and Little Debbie, much to the kids’ chagrin,” says Teree Davis, director of food service for the Pattonville School District. “At first the kids just fought us, and now they have accepted it: A good solid 90 percent buy the lunches.”
Leslie Fowler is the executive director of Aramark, which provides food service for enough local high schools that she can track the quirks. (“Schools on the South Side prefer the Buffalo chicken sandwich,” she says. “Schools on the North Side prefer the hot wings.” Nachos are the hands-down favorite with St. Louis public-school kids.) Fowler says healthy changes have to be somewhat circumspect. Aramark tried tofu for its “Meatless Mondays”: “We taste-tested it at six schools, and the kids absolutely loved it—but when they told them it wasn’t meat, they wouldn’t eat it anymore.”
The trick’s the old housewife favorite: Sneak in a healthier substitute. Bayless Senior High School serves its 1 percent milk in vanilla, orange cream and chocolate flavors.
To streamline all the new variables, food-service companies are coming up with software it’d be nice to have at home: Menus are analyzed in a flash to make sure they are balanced, vitamin-rich and low-fat.
Some districts go beyond the guidelines. Paul Becker, director of food services for Fort Zumwalt, refuses to stock noncaloric sodas: “As a dietitian, I don’t feel we should be testing artifical sweeteners on kids.”
And food isn’t everything: The Ladue School Board voted in a new wellness program that targets not just students but teachers (no more furtive cigarettes or stashed Twinkies) as well. Kids at Parkway North take classes in dance and “adventure pursuits,” and the school opens at 7 a.m. for weight trainers. Kids at Clayton work out next door at the Center, learning scuba diving and lifeguarding, rock climbing and aerobic dance. At the Principia, there’s jazz, tap, poms, yoga and Pilates. And nearly every school has a fitness club.
So enough about fitness; back to food: With all these healthy choices, what’s the kids’ favorite lunch? “Pizza,” Davis says instantly. “They don’t even notice the whole-wheat crust. Another favorite—you hate to say it—is the hot dog, but it’s all-beef on a whole-wheat bun. They love the nachos—made with reduced-fat cheese—and the fish sticks—baked, not fried.” The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Researched and written by Debbie Apel, Laura Batty, Jeannette Cooperman, Kevin Crowe, Jolene Fisher, Matthew Halverson, Bryan A. Hollerbach, Christy Marshall, Katie Pelech, Stefene Russell and Brigitte Ulses
