This article originally appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Aug. 5, 2013: Shante Buggs is a product of the Normandy District, and she intends to keep her two children enrolled there in spite of its loss of accreditation. But she concedes that the issue has caused a little friction in the family.
"My daughter," who will be a freshman this fall, "doesn’t want to go to Normandy, but I have decided to keep my children there," Buggs said in an interview. "I told her my only concern was her learning. I want to see if Normandy is going to get it together. If they don’t, then we’ll have to make some decisions."
Buggs' mother, Gwendolyn Buggs, feels that the district hasn’t been given enough time to improve academically. The law amounts to "taking money out of a district that spends about $7,000 for each student and sending it to districts spending $10,000 to $20,000 for each student. That means Normandy will have to spend at least $3,000 or more to cover the cost of educating one of its children in another district. Why not give Normandy that money to improve its own schools?”
The transfer program, she says, will mean “jobs in Normandy might have to be cut. We might lose teachers. Class sizes are likely to be larger. It seems like it’s a way to make Normandy fail instead of giving the district more money to improve.”
The transfer law allows students in failing districts to transfer to better ones and requires the home districts to cover tuition and, in some cases, transportation expenses.
About 1,151 children from Normandy, roughly 28 percent of the district’s enrollment of 4,500, are expected to transfer to accredited districts this fall. The districts include Francis Howell, which is offering to take 475 transfer students. The Cooperating School District of Greater St. Louis, says about 2,600 students from Normandy and Riverview Gardens have chosen to transfer to accredited districts. But Normandy's superintendent, Tyrone McNichols, says the number leaving Normandy at least could turn out to be lower.
"I think you’ll see people coming back into the system,” predicted McNichols, dressed in green and white casual sports attire Saturday as he passed out material during a back to school rally. The numbers were announced “before parents began telling us that they were going to keep their kids here after meeting me and understanding what we are trying to do.”
McNichols noted that the loss of 1,151 students would leave a $15 million hole in the district’s $50 million budget. Missouri Education Commissioner Chris L. Nicastro raised concerns Friday about the magnitude of the financial loss, saying it would threaten the survival of the district.
McNichols said, "If we lose that kind of money, we’d have do what any other organization would do, make changes in our programs and our staffing so that we can move forward and educate the approximately 3,000 kids who will be staying."
Asked about having to confront this kind of financial impact soon after taking the job, McNichls said, “I see these challenges as an opportunity to make an impact. My goal and belief is that we have to provide excellent education for all of our kids. I came here to Normandy to do that. All this does is throw another hurdle in the mix of that plan.”
The estimated 1,151 who intend to leave the Normandy district include the two children of Dominique Caven. She had the option of seeking space for her children at Francis Howell, the only district where Normandy is offering to cover busing expenses. Instead, she has chosen the Ritenour District as her first choice for a transfer because her children attended school there before the family moved to Normandy. Her second choice is the Ferguson-Florissant District, followed by Francis Howell.
"My problem with Normandy involves the way things changed for my daughter when she transferred there from Ritenour. She was never called to the principal’s office at Ritenour, but she has been referred to the office for three” incidents in the Normandy district. “I don’t like the way they run things there. I hate Normandy and wish my children had never attended school there."
She will know this week whether the Cooperating School District has set aside space for her children in Ritenour. Given the free busing, why didn’t she choose Francis Howell?
"For me, it’s not about free transportation,” she says. “I’m the kind of parent who takes a real interest in my children and the school. I’m going to make sure that they get to school no matter where they get accepted. If they have to go to Francis Howell, I’d send them there. I’m just glad it won’t be Normandy.”
Maryvaldo Jones is among Normandy residents concerned about the number of students who might leave the district.
“The transfers will affect us greatly,” she says. “We’re already paying off bond issues, and now they want to send our kids to another school district. This might mean more taxes.”
(The Normandy School District passed a $7 million bond issue in April, in part to install classroom surveillance and wireless communication hardware and software.)
On the other hand, she says a sudden loss of more than one-quarter of its students might make the community wake up and become more active on school issues.
"After my children graduated from the Normandy district, I went to maybe one PTA meeting. But now I feel it’s urgent for everyone to pull together and get involved. Everybody needs to stay here to work with the superintendent to fix Normandy’s problems.”
Though academic issues are the reason Normandy, and Riverview Gardens as well, have lost accreditation, many in Normandy commented on conflicts between students as a serious problem and that teachers and administrators try hard to reduce conflict and teach students how to address the issues.
"The good thing about Normandy is the bonding,” says Aligyah Adams, a freshman. "No matter where you go, there are going to be fights, there are going to be arguments when there are a whole lot of kids and personalities. Some people on the outside hear about all the fights. But you don’t understand Normandy until you walk in as a student and also see all the bonding that goes on."
John Mullen, a freshman, adds, “I know we lost our accreditation, and some of the kids aren’t trying to accomplish anything in life. I also know that the media always talk about the bad things that are happening, but I don’t believe Normandy is a bad school. I am really excited about the start of the school year school.”
Zelma McKenney says her son defies the stereotype of Normandy being a school of losers. "He has a three point average, and it doesn’t make sense for him to transfer way out to another school district when he’s doing OK right here. He doesn’t have to be on a bus for two hours going back and forth. This school district is very community focused. Why are they going to take the money from a district that needs help and put it in another district? This could break us financially."
Her son, Major Labon, says, the new leadership needs to be given a chance. “I know they’re trying to fix some problems” centering on student conflicts and academics, he says. "With the new administrative system, they probably are going to make a difference and get students ready for what they really need to learn."
He adds that “negative comments about Normandy come from people who don’t know about the Normandy experience. I’m not really upset about what I hear because I know the bad things being said about Normandy aren’t true.”
Not all of those who are staying at Normandy are remaining by choice. One who might have favored a transfer for a family member is Lakeishia Monroe, who moved to the Normandy area from Peoria, Ill., and brought a niece, Keiamber Monroe, for whom she is a guardian.
"I might have applied for a transfer for her to attend Francis Howell. But I missed the deadline because I was not sure at the time that she would be staying here. Normandy is closer to home, but the news makes things sound really bad in the district."
She says she’s not surprised by some of the student tension and low performance. "Not everyone goes to school for the right reasons. But my niece is one of those who is going for academics, so that wouldn’t even be a problem for her to do the school work."
