Colleges Will Want an MRH Kid: New Superintendent Karen Hall

Hall plans to focus on international citizenship.

Karen Hall, Maplewood Richmond Heights school district’s new superintendent of schools, said many of her peers are in the same shoes she’s in, but she the “luckiest of them all.” Hall was assistant superintendent to Linda Henke the last five years. Henke took the job 12 years ago, when the district was close to losing accreditation. Now, in the last three years, the MRH school district received the highest score possible from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. “I feel that I’ve inherited such a gift,” Hall said. “To have worked side by side with Linda, and then to inherit this amazing school district.” Her first goal is to talk to the stakeholders in the community about what they love about MRH. She began doing …

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MRH and Joe's Place to Host 'A Night to Remember'

It's a night to recognize Dr. Linda Henke’s service to Joe’s Place and to celebrate her achievements with the MRH School District.

MRH's Linda Henke Turned the School District Around, Retires After This Year

The St. Louis Post Dispatch profiles superintendent Linda Henke and the turn-around that occurred at MRH under her tenure.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch said when retireing superintendent Linda Henke was hired from the Clayton School District in 2000, that barbed wire surrounded the high school, science labs had no water, and the district was close to losing accreditation. The Post Dispatch article reports: "Today, original modern art fills the high school. The barbed wire is gone. Schools throughout the district — including the elementary school — have libraries with upholstered seating and skylights and their cafeterias serve locally produced food. Science labs are state of the art. And the district has received a perfect score on the state's performance report card." Read more about the turn-around under Henke's tenure as superintendent.

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MRH Graduates 78, Linda Henke Gives Last Address

A class that was called a family, by one speaker, graduated in the shadow of the MRH school building Friday evening.

Dr. Linda Henke, the retiring superintendent of the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District addressed a graduating class for the last time on Friday. She spoke to them about living a life of grace, which she defined as one with "connection, compassion and courage." Principal Kevin Grawer said that 100 percent of the 78 graduating seniors were headed to college, the armed services or a technical college, then went on to give many examples of students there who could have had an excuse not be graduating with their class, but overcame the hardship. See more graduation photos on Maplewood-Brentwood Patch Facebook. Vice Principal Michael Maclin, who will be principal at University City High School next year, and MRH Board President Maria …

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Joe's Place Outreach Lands MRH Schools $4,000 Grand Prize

The scholarship funds, given in recognition of school board leadership and commitment to student achievement, will be used by the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District.

The Joe's Place outreach program for homeless teens has earned the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District a $4,000 grand prize. "It is a really tremendous acknowledgement of the work the district has been doing in this area," said Dr. Linda Henke, the district's superintendent, on Wednesday afternoon. Communications coordinator Brian Adkisson submitted paperwork for award consideration in the district's enrollment category, she said, but the grand prize "transcends" all of them. The MRH School District won the award in the under-5,000 enrollment category of the American School Board Journal's Magna Awards program, a news release states. It will be awarded in the form of scholarship money at the National School Boards Association's …

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Dr. Linda Henke to Retire as Maplewood Richmond Heights Superintendent

Assistant Superintendent Karen Hall will succeed her effective July 1, the school district announced Friday morning.

Dr. Linda Henke announced Friday that she will retire June 30 as superintendent of the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District. She will be succeeded by Assistant Superintendent Karen Hall, a move that has been planned for four years. "It's been the best job," Henke said in an interview. She said Hall has "grown into that position beautifully." Roxanna Mechem, a reading teacher and instructional specialist at MRH Middle School, will succeed Hall as assistant superintendent. The MRH Board of Education unanimously approved the changes at a meeting Thursday night, and the district planned to publicly announce the changes in administration later in the day. Letters from the superintendent have been prepared for all district students and …

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MRH District Goals Include Home Visits, Foreign Language

An update was presented to the MRH Board of Education last Thursday.

During last Thursday's Maplewood Richmond Heights Board of Education meeting, Assistant Superintendent Karen Hall gave the board an overview of progress on six goals the district set for itself last October as part of a five-year Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP): The board will receive a more thorough update on these goals at the end of the year, Hall said. Principals already meet with Superintendent Dr. Linda Henke to set goals for themselves and their buildings. Next fall, a small community group will be reconvened to review the district's progress over two years and to make course corrections as needed, Hall said. The district will then continue to pursue its five-year goals.

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MRH Superintendent: MAP Scores Leave "A Lot to Celebrate"

But scores in communication arts dropped for some students groups from the previous school year.

Recently released Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) test data for the 2010-11 school year show the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District posted impressive gains in mathematics across the board. But some groups of students continue to struggle in the communication arts category. Dr. Linda Henke, the district's superintendent, shared the results with MRH Board of Education members at a meeting Thursday night. It happened in the MRH High School library. Henke said the improvements in math resulted from a focused push by teachers and staff that involved finding struggling pupils and giving them individualized instruction. Seeing their hard work bear fruit was affirming for everyone, Assistant Superintendent Karen Hall said. “Last year, it…

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MRH Students Gather Honey, Study Bees

Two St. Louis restaurants are using the honey gathered by students in the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District.

Honey made by Maplewood Richmond Heights Middle School's Bee and Snake Club will be in the kitchen of one of St. Louis' premier restaurants, Superintendent Dr. Linda Henke said at a recent MRH Board of Education meeting. Niche Restaurant has been purchasing small bottles of the sweet stuff for $45 each. MRH students collected and bottled the Blue Devil Honey from two bee colonies maintained by seventh- and eighth-grade students. Proceeds from the sale of the honey will be put into a fund for school sustainability projects and activities, Henke said. The hives are located in a fenced yard across the street from the Maplewood Public Library. On Thursday, bees buzzed around the wooden structures that students created. Kay Burbank, a Special …

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Curriculum, Construction and Chickens Discussed During School Board Meeting

The Maplewood Richmond Heights Board of Education met on Thursday night in the high school library.

Topics of Thursday’s Maplewood Richmond Heights Board of Education monthly meeting ran the gamut from student and staff recognition and proposed courses, to the purchase of chickens for the elementary school and loan use of other farm animals at the early childhood center. Proposed Curriculum Changes Staff proposed three major course changes for the 2011-2012 school year. Kevin Grawer, principal of the high school, proposed adding a semester-long ACT readiness class for juniors. “We are a little behind other local schools,” he said, referencing the district’s average score of 19 on the standardized test. The state average composite score is 20. “I want to promote a college-going culture,” Grawer said. “If you don’t produce the score, you …

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