Hazelwood chooses turnaround for East Middle School
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Teachers at Hazelwood East Middle School will have to re-interview with the district if they want to continue to teach at the building in the 2010-11 year.
The measure is part of the district’s turnaround plan for the school after it was named one of the state’s worst earlier this month. Based on three years of state standardized tests, Missouri identified 52 “persistently lowest-achieving” schools. Thirty-seven are in St. Louis or St. Louis County, and 21 of those are St. Louis Public Schools.
Ferguson-Florissant, Jennings, Normandy, Riverview Gardens and Wellston also have schools on the list. East Middle was the only school in the Hazelwood district, and it is the first to announce reform plans to compete for School Improvement Grants from the U.S. Department of Education.
Other details of the plan:
- The district will hire no more than 50 percent of the current teachers at East Middle School. The remaining staff, about 20 to 30 teachers, will have the opportunity to fill open positions elsewhere in the district. The district does not expect the changes to result in layoffs.
- East Middle Principal Sonya Ptah will be replaced at the school with Gary Jansen, current associate principal at East High School. Ptah will fill an open position within the
