Normandy School District is a public school district serving 24 municipalities in northern St. Louis County, Missouri. The district operates one comprehensive high school, one alternative high school, one middle school, five elementary schools, and one early childhood center. The district is named for Normandy, Missouri, one of the primary municipalities served by the district. The Missouri Board of Education voted to end the school district on June 30, 2014. It lost state accreditation last year for poor academic performance. An appointed board will replace the elected board, and the district will become a new entity called the “Normandy Schools Collaborative.†The state will have direct oversight of the schools. The District was featured on an episode of NPR's This American Life that aired on July 31, 2015.
History
Normandy - A Documentary by Harrison Macon - "Normandy" tells the story of the Normandy School District, the worst performing school district in the state of Missouri, and its uphill battle towards remaining a school district and educating...
In 2010, Normandy School District absorbed the failed Wellston School District under orders of the Missouri Board of Education. Prior to its absorption by the Normandy School District, the Wellston district had about 600 students, one high school, one middle school, and one elementary school. All three schools closed at the end of the 2009â€"2010 school year.
In September 2012, the Missouri Board of Education voted to remove accreditation from Normandy School District due to ongoing academic issues. Superintendent Stanton Lawrence was angered by the decision, given the district's willingness to absorb Wellston School District in 2010. Lawrence announced his resignation shortly after the state decision. On March 7, 2013, the Normandy School Board selected Tyrone McNichols, an administrator in the Hazelwood School District, as its new superintendent of schools.
In May 2013, discipline incident rates at Normandy High School were the second-highest among all schools in the state and the highest in Greater St. Louis.
The Normandy School Board voted on October 24, 2013 to close Bel-Nor Elementary School and lay off more than 100 teachers in response to the district's ongoing financial problems, a move that would save the district about $3 million. The Board also voted to stop paying tuition and transportation costs for students who transferred from the district (about $1.3 million to 14 districts in Greater St. Louis). Several Missouri legislators, including those who represent districts that include school districts that received students from Normandy, began pressuring the Missouri Board of Education to take over the Normandy School District. On October 26, 2013, Missouri Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro noted that the State Board of Education is examining the possibility of removing the local Normandy School Board from power, which it did on May 20, 2014, after over $8 mil. in transportation and tuition expenses for children in 20 other school districts left the District almost insolvent. The District sued Missouri the next day, charging there was as much as $10,000 per child spent over the actual cost of the transfer, which has been for approximately 1,000 students.
Educational and financial crisis
At the beginning of the 2013â€"2014 school year, Normandy School District had 4,590 students. 97% of Normandy students are black, 1.4% are white, and 1.1% are Hispanic. 91.7% of students receive free or reduced price lunches. The district did not make adequate yearly progress toward state goals in communication arts, mathematics, graduation rate, or attendance rate for 2011.
The August 2014 performance report from Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education lists Normandy School District as the worst-performing district in the state. The district earned only seven of the 50 points possible on the assessment, an almost 4% drop from the previous year.
In 2014 the NSD had five million dollars in debts, and paid lobbyist Andy Blunt $135,000 to seek bailout funds from the state legislature of Missouri.
Schools
As of 2013-2014, Normandy School District operates one high school, Normandy High School. The district also operates several other schools, including:
- Normandy Tech. School
- Normandy Middle School
- Bel-Nor Elementary School
- Barack Obama Elementary School
- Jefferson Elementary School
- Lucas Crossing Elementary School
- Washington Elementary School
- Normandy Early Childhood/Kindergarten Complex
- Normandy Alternative Learning Center
References
External links
- Official website for the Normandy School District
- Profile on Normandy School District's chronic performance problems at This American Life