National School Choice Week is right around the corner! From January 22 to January 28, the entire nation gets the opportunity to celebrate – and learn more about – educational choice and high-quality options for our students. Although this is only the second annual National School Choice Week, more than 200 organizations have already signed up to host events ranging from 5K races to information sessions to movie nights. Here at the Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri, we have been hard at work planning activities for National School Choice Week. Be sure to check our website in the coming days for details and to learn how you can get involved. We are proud to be part of the education reform movement that is making great opportunities available to students throughout the state and around the nation. Visit the official National School Choice Week website to learn more.

The Kansas City Star published my op-ed in its opinion section this morning. The timing of its decision to run the op-ed was perfect since the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education release the preliminary Annual Performance Review (APR) results on Friday morning (click here for an explanation of APR). Although school districts have until September 2 to appeal the preliminary results, the low scores in about 24 Missouri Districts should cause residents in many of Missouri’s urban, rural and suburban districts pause, afterall, the APR scores are what the State Board of Education will use to determine whether a district is accredited, unaccredited, or provisionally accredited.

In her new role, Casas is responsible for overseeing CEAM’s major, statewide education policy initiatives. She also will oversee managing the Financial Assistance and Parent Advocacy Training Program for families with children with special educational needs.

As community outreach director, Geden’s responsibilities include building awareness about CEAM’s mission and engaging parents and the broader community in reform efforts. Geden’s work centers on helping parents understand what options are working in other states, what policy changes could work in our state and what policy resources are available to aid them and their children.

“We are thrilled to add professionals with the caliber of expertise which Kate and Chris bring with them to our organization,” said Laura Slay, president and executive director of CEAM. “As CEAM moves forward with a series of significant programs designed to help students throughout Missouri achieve their full potential, it is vitally important for us to utilize the foresight and vision that both Kate and Chris bring to CEAM in these new and strategic roles.”

Casas has spent more than 10 years establishing strategies, policies and objectives aimed at improving the state of education not only for Missouri families but families nationwide. In 2005 she was accepted into Teach for America, a highly competitive national teaching program in at-risk urban school districts. As part of the Teach for America Corps in St. Louis, Kate structured reading and math growth programs. She also evaluated and diagnosed student performance to adjust instruction to meet students’ needs.

Casas also helped open the first Big Picture Elementary School, where she taught 4th grade as well as developing individualized learning plans with an emphasis on literacy. She has held additional positions with Urban Strategies, Inc. in St. Louis.

Kate holds a master’s degree in teaching from Webster University as well as a bachelor’s degree in communication with a minor in political science. She is an active member of the Educational Partnership Board, the Center of Creative Arts Junior Board and the Teach for America Political Working Group. She lives in the Tower Grove area of St. Louis with her husband and daughter.

Geden has worked for more than 14 years with youth in the St. Louis area. He has aided at-risk youth, many of whom suffered from abuse, trauma or mental illness. He also has provided direct services for middle schoolers, expanding operations from one school to four as Middle School Coordinator for the South City YMCA. In association with the St. Louis Dream Center, Chris helped to develop a successful middle-school sports program that grew to include more than 500 inner-city youths. The program spawned partnerships with the St. Louis Rams and St. Louis School District, leading to improved academic outcomes as well as character development.

Geden, who resides in south St. Louis, graduated from the Neighborhood Leadership Academy program offered to community leaders at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He has served on the board of directors for City Garden Montessori, the St. Louis Senior Center and Tower Grove Farmers Market. He also is the first person to win the YMCA’s mission advancement award, which honors an individual’s commitment to values, community, volunteerism and philanthropy.

“Corey has made improving educational opportunities for all children a priority in his life,” said Laura Slay, the organization’s president and executive director. “Through the years, he has worked to give parents access to that opportunity, in order that their children will reach their full potential. We are grateful for his expertise and are fortunate to have him on board with us.”

Mr. Quinn began his role as president of De La Salle Middle School in July 2008, but his first trip to the school was in 1998. As a first-year teacher at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Mr. Quinn and a team of students and teachers helped clear out the space that would eventually become home to De La Salle Middle School. Mr. Quinn spent six years teaching theology at Rockhurst, then joined the faculty at De Smet Jesuit High School in St. Louis County.

While serving at De Smet, Mr. Quinn earned his Masters in Catholic School Leadership at Saint Louis University and is now completing his doctorate in the same program.

When asked why he decided to make the switch from a large, suburban high school to a small, urban middle school, Mr. Quinn replied, “The Nativity Miguel model has fascinated me since its inception.Our school’s motto is ‘Love and Learn’, and I think that these two simple actions are inextricably and intertwined at De La Salle. It is truly a privilege to help guide this mission.”

Mr. Quinn resides in Tower Grove East with his wife, Amanda, and their three children.

Posted: Wednesday, June 1, 2011 3:00 am

An evening of Kentucky Derby-inspired fun and fundraising generated $35,000 for the Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri.

About 130 people decked out in traditional Derby attire to attend the alliance’s first Kentucky Derby Party and Benefit, which featured a silent auction and mouse races.

Those attending the benefit, held May 6 at St. Francis Xavier Church in St. Louis, included Bill Coppel, David Butsch, Allen Icet, Rachel Keller Brown, Kathy Fulton, Kat Cunningham, Judge Jimmie Edwards, Shonagh Clements, Eric Felty, Brad Wright, Keith Brooks, Angela Brooks, Tony Palazzolo and Kristin Lappin.

Peter Franzen, the alliance’s new director of development, was on hand to meet many supporters for the first time. The evening featured a presentation by board member Edward R. Weber III.

Tom Sudholt, who was the weekday morning drive announcer for KFUO-FM, was the emcee for the evening. The proceeds will go toward programs that offer financial aid and training for parents of children with special needs.

Online at: http://www.stltoday.com/suburban-journals/metro/life/article_27c5806d-90d9-56db-8db9-9b35f9aa2f52.html

$35,000 raised for Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri

June 03, 2011

An evening of Kentucky Derby-inspired fun and fundraising generated $35,000 for the Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri on Friday, May 6. About 130 people arrived in traditional Derby attire for CEAM’s first Kentucky Derby Party and Benefit, which featured a silent auction and mouse races.

Tom Sudholt, the weekly morning drive announcer for KFUO-FM, was the emcee for the evening. The silent auction items included artwork by students from Churchhill Center, the School for Learning Disabilities and Logos Schools, as well as a three-course Italian wine dinner at Remy’s Kitchen and Wine Bar and a cocktail party at the home of Kevin and Patti Short.

CEAM is a non-profit organization focusing on ways to improve and expand on high-quality education choices for Missouri children, with an emphasis on those who do not learn in a typical classroom setting. Proceeds from the event will go toward CEAM programs that offer financial aid and parent training programs for parents of children with special needs.

Peter Franzen, CEAM’s new director of development, was on hand to meet many CEAM supporters for the first time. The evening also featured a presentation by CEAM board member Edward R. Weber III.

Read more:

http://www.westendword.com/Articles-i-2011-06-03-175409.114137-CEAM-Hosts-DerbyStyle-Event.html#ixzz1O8Gaiir

Nicki’s Central West End Guide

Show Me St. Louis – March 25th

KPLR – March 21st

Alive Magazine – March 15th

KMOX – March 23rd

West End Word – March 23rd

Ladue News – March 24th

KTRS – March, 28th

STL Kids Magazine – March 28th

“”We listened to some of the problems parents are dealing with,” Slay said, “and across the board, they had two major concerns. They were going through emotional changes after their children had been diagnosed, worrying about their future, and they also were trying to navigate a very complex educational system.”

CEAM’s financial assistance and parent training program will call for applications in April and will grant financial scholarships for tuition and therapies this summer, empowering parents to seek solutions for their special needs children who are not excelling in their current classroom environment.

As noted in the article, it is critical for parents to know their rights and how to advocate for specific individual needs of their child.  Parents, upon learning their child has a diagnoses, must navigate a very complex education system in addition to managing emotional and financial stresses.  CEAM intends to alleviate some of that stress and allow parents to focus on the educational needs of their child through education and training.

There is great demand for this kind of assistance in Missouri.  CEAM is planning benefits in support of this program this spring and we are hearing from the community that we are on the right track.  Please hold the evening of May 6th for our Kentucky Derby Party and pull out your fanciest hat!  The race is on!

June 20, 2010

KY98 Radio personality and show host, Tim Burt, invited us to join him recently to introduce CEAM’s new Financial Assistance and Parent Training Program to our community.  Enjoy!

Listen Here

Thursday, January 29, 2009

“You tell me you love me but then you are choking me.” This is how one St. Louis resident described what the Special Administrative Board (SAB) of the St. Louis Public School District (SLPS) is doing by placing a 100 year deed restriction on the buildings of schools that have been closed by the SAB. Simply stated, the SAB has voted unanimously to not allow anyone who purchases the buildings to reopen the buildings as a school. This is an outrageous policy that has been adopted by the SAB since it first decided on closing schools in 2007. With the potential announcement for more closings soon, this is a policy that cannot continue. This policy indeed puts a chokehold on a community desperate for quality educational options for their children.

These school buildings were built with tax payer money for the express purpose of educating the children in the community. Keeping these buildings off limits to someone seeking to purchase the building, with the intent of opening a public charter or independent private school, defeats this purpose. Furthermore, to restrict the sale of these buildings to the most obvious buyer in the current economic climate makes no business sense. School districts are consistently saying that they need more money to operate but this policy is making a direct adverse impact on the funds available to the district for educating the children of St. Louis.

Many parents in the city lack the means to transport their children longer distances to a different school building. Those children who now walk to a school down the street in the neighborhood will now have to walk longer distances to a school outside of the neighborhood. And as State Representative TD El- Amin stated in a recent online video produced by CEAM on this topic, “there is gang activity and it is very territorial. That is something that people don’t consider.” Students will be afraid to cross into new neighborhoods, as they will be crossing into a gang territory that is outside of their neighborhood. Sadly, all of these factors may lead to an increase in St. Louis’ already high dropout rate.

In addition to the increased burden placed on the children in the communities the parents will suffer as well. Neighborhood schools are often a source of pride and stabilization in the community. These buildings will sit vacant and in a state of disrepair, further dragging down home values in already distressed communities in a very bad housing market.

The policy will also put St. Louis further behind other cities in the country and region when it comes to possible funds from President Obama’s proposed stimulus package. Part of this proposed plan is to give money to schools to upgrade their infrastructure and buildings. If these buildings are not being used as schools, then the city will miss out on money that could be used for better educational facilities for our children.

So you may wonder why the SAB would implement a policy that is so obviously wrong for the City of St. Louis. The answer is really in one word that defines the American spirit, competition. The SAB does not want to see more public charter schools or independent schools open in the City and succeed where they have failed. This selfish interest is the most outrageous component of this policy. The SAB should want that all children in the city to receive a good education, regardless of whether it is provided by SLPS or by a charter or private school.

The fact that the three members on the SAB have this much power to set our community so far behind is unacceptable. The board can easily reverse their decision but they must hear from the residents of the community. The Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri is calling on the SAB to immediately lift the deed restrictions on current and future closed public school buildings. Residents of the City and the metro area should show the SAB that they are not willing to support this harmful policy.

Earl Simms, State Coordinator

Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri

Friday, February 6 , 2009

“You tell me you love me but then you are choking me.” This is how one St. Louis resident described what the Special Administrative Board of the St. Louis Public School District is doing by placing a 100-year deed restriction on the school buildings it has closed.

Simply stated, the SAB has voted unanimously to not allow anyone who purchases the buildings to reopen the buildings as a school. This outrageous policy has been adopted by the SAB since it first decided to close schools in 2007. With the potential for more closings soon, people need to clearly say this is a policy that cannot continue. Such a restriction puts a chokehold on a community desperate for quality educational options for their children.

These school buildings were built with taxpayer money for the express purpose of educating the children in the community. Keeping these buildings off limits to someone who wants to purchase the building to open a public charter or independent private school denies that purpose.

Furthermore, it makes no sense in the current economic climate to refuse to deal with the most obvious prospective buyer of these buildings. School districts consistently say they need more money to operate, but this policy has a direct, adverse impact on funds available for educating the children of St. Louis.

Many parents in the city lack the means to transport their children longer distances. Those who now walk to a school down the street in the neighborhood will now have to walk farther.

And as state Rep. Talibdin El-Amin said in a recent online video our organization produced on this topic, “There is gang activity and it is very territorial. That is something that people don’t consider.”

Students will be afraid to cross into new neighborhoods, as they will be crossing into a different gang territory. Sadly, all of these factors may lead to an increase in St. Louis’ already high dropout rate.

In addition to the increased burden on the children, parents will suffer as well. Neighborhood schools are often a source of pride and stabilization in the community. These buildings will sit vacant and in disrepair, further dragging down home values in already distressed communities in a very bad housing market.

So why has the Special Administrative Board implemented a policy that is so obviously wrong for the city of St. Louis? The answer is in one word that defines the American spirit: competition.

The SAB does not want to see more public charter schools or independent schools open in the city and succeed where the traditional public schools have failed. This selfish interest is the most outrageous component of this policy. The SAB should want all children in the city to receive a good education, regardless of whether it is provided by the St. Louis Public Schools or by a charter or private school.

The fact that the three members of the SAB have this much power to set our community so far behind is unacceptable. The board can easily reverse its decision but they must hear from the residents of the community. The Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri is calling on the SAB to immediately lift the deed restrictions on current and future closed public school buildings. Residents of the city and the rest of the area should show the SAB that they are not willing to support this harmful policy.