Ladue Administrator Will Be Brentwood's New Assistant Superintendent

She's been an administrator for 11 years, but still considers herself a teacher.

Dr. Joan Oakley, assistant superintendent of educational leadership in the Ladue School District, will join the Brentwood School District as assistant superintendent. She succeeds David Faulkner, who will become superintendent in July. Faulkner will succeed Dr. Charles Penberthy, who is retiring after this year. Oakley previously served as the director of student services and an assistant principal at Ladue Horton Watkins High School. “I am thrilled to be the new assistant superintendent in Brentwood,” she said. Some Brentwood teachers and administrators already know Oakley. She has worked with many of them, including Faulkner, for the past nine years in a collaborative school. The alternative program is shared by Brentwood, Ladue and …

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Meet Mark Twain Elementary's New Principal

Trina Petty-Rice will be stepping in for Karen Smith, who is retiring after this year.

Mark Twain Elementary Principal Karen Smith is retiring after this year and will be succeeded by Trina Petty-Rice, a principal in the Ladue School District. Knowing a new principal at Mark Twain will be stepping into big shoes, Maplewood-Brentwood Patch didn’t want to be the one to bring up the subject. But Petty-Rice took the opportunity in her first breath. She said she’s looking forward to continuing Smith’s legacy. “She is a phenomenal educator,” Petty-Rice said. “I’ll be going to a school of National Character, a school that is truly invested in children. It will allow me to have an opportunity to lead and share in the same vision.” Petty-Rice is an assistant principal at two elementary schools with a total of 900 students on a three-…

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Hundreds Raced, Thousands Raised in Brentwood

The annual Race to the Square raises money for scholarships for Brentwood School District students and staff.

More than 250 adults and kids raced down Brentwood Boulevard and through neighborhoods to the south on Saturday morning as part of the annual Race to the Square. The morning was cool and the rain stayed away for the runners. In its seventh year, the Race to the Square raises money that benefits the Brentwood Foundation, a nonprofit that offers money for education enrichment in Brentwood schools. The City of Brentwood recently contributed $5,500 to the foundation. With that addition to the race proceeds, there will be more than $10,000 to be dispersed this year. Most students ran the one-mile route and others ran five kilometers. The Brentwood school with the highest percentage of students participating won $500. Mark Twain Elementary …

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Brentwood Foundation Awards $11,000 to Students and Staff

Programs include field trips, art projects and summer camps.

The Brentwood Foundation for Education Enrichment awarded more than $11,000 to staff and students in Brentwood schools last week. The foundation is a nonprofit organization that provides grants for educational programs in the Brentwood School District. The organization received applications seeking roughly $20,000 in total funding this year. Foundation board members selected 13 programs for $11,294 in funding. Patty Jones, president of the Brentwood Foundation, handed out the awards during a Brentwood Board of Education meeting last Tuesday at McGrath Elementary School: The foundation has awarded more than $68,000 in grants since its inception in 2000. Its largest fundraiser, the Brentwood Race to the Square 5K, will take place on …

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Brandon Wegge

3:13 pm on Friday, May 27, 2011

From Flamenco dancing to Chemistry- the diversity is fantastic! These grants will greatly enhance our student's education. It is great to see the Foundation getting bigger and better!   more ›

Mark Twain Elementary Named A National School of Character

After twice being recognized as a Missouri School of Character, the Brentwood school gets the national nod.

Wednesday, the Character Education Partnership, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization, named Mark Twain Elementary, a 2011 National School of Character (NSOC).   Mark Twain was recognized for its exceptional performance in meeting standards of excellence established by the 11 Principles of Effective Character Education. Mark Twain is one of 43 schools nationwide recognized in 2011. The school was named a Missouri School of Character twice in the past, and this is its third attempt at applying for the national recognition, said Mark Twain principal Karen Smith. "We've been on this journey for about nine years," she said, "looking at creating an environment where the kids take an active role in leadership, where their voices are …

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Speaker Talks to Students About Passions, Perseverance

Brad Cohen is recognized nationally for his inspirational story and motivational talks.

Motivational speaker Brad Cohen issued four challenges to students from Brentwood schools on Friday: keep a positive attitude, persevere through adversity, have a passion for what you do, and believe in the power one. "All it takes is one person to make a difference," said Cohen during a speech to fourth through eighth-grade students in the high school auditorium. "My challenge to you today is to be that one person." When Cohen was younger, no one believed in him. Cohen has Tourette Syndrome, a neurological disorder that occasionally causes face tics and makes him produce noises. It's like how your brain forces you to blink your eyes. A sixth-grade class at Brentwood Middle School wrote to Cohen to ask questions about his personal story …

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Trailnet Promotes 'Walking School Bus' at MRH Elementary

The program aims to reduce congestion and pollution while promoting exercise.

Students at Maplewood Richmond Heights Elementary School now have an alternative to getting a ride to school, thanks to a new program coordinated by Trailnet. The school district worked with Trailnet to implement a "walking school bus" program that encourages students to walk to school. In the program, a designated parent leads students along a predetermined route to the school, picking up additional walkers along the way. "We have fun every day," said Anne Arias, who leads one of the routes. "It's a good way to start the day." Mark Twain Elementary School in Brentwood also runs a walking school bus program. Cynthia Cantrell, a parent of an MRH Elementary School student and school specialist for Trailnet, said Trailnet organizes the …

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Mark Twain Elementary Receives National Award

Buddies, families and safety patrol are part of a character education program that teaches responsibility and self-initiative.

If you sit down with a handful of Mark Twain Elementary School fifth-graders, you'll notice that each one is courteous to all of the others­. Each speaks clearly and respectfully to the grown-up in the room who none of them has ever met. They have grown to become an integral part of the workings of their school. The students fulfill the task of talking with a visitor about their school—and their part in it—with adult-like responsibility, and that is no accident. "Responsibility" is a big word at Mark Twain Elementary. The school was recently awarded a Profile in Character award through the Character Education Partnership, a non-profit organization which advocates for character education in schools. The award was given to Mark Twain …

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Editor's Notebook

Week in Review: Taxes, Sustainability Commission and Big Projects

This weekly news round-up examines the week of Oct. 10 to 16.

We stayed busy during Maplewood-Brentwood Patch's inaugural week, bringing you the latest on governmental projects, sports games and local events.

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Parents Start 'Walking School Bus' For Health, Safety

New initiative at Mark Twain Elementary School encourages parents and children to walk to school.

Parents of students at Mark Twain Elementary School are putting away the car keys and lacing up the walking shoes instead. In an effort to promote safety and health, groups of kids and parents are choosing to walk to school together in lieu of driving separately. Supporters believe the program, called the "walking school bus," is great for a student's well-being, while easing traffic congestion and pollution near schools. The organized effort and parental supervision make a waking school bus different from other walks to school. Rachel Curran and her kids, Elle, 9, Lane, 7, and Murray, 3, have been a part of a walking school bus for almost three years now. What started out with five families has expanded to eight, and the bus includes …

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Mary Mann

7:10 pm on Wednesday, October 13, 2010

We did International Walk to School Day in Maplewood, NJ last week too! http://patch.com/A-GMF   more ›