The Leadership School

We are so proud of our kindergarteners and our kindergarten teachers/TAs. They have come so far in 6 weeks. 5 year olds have to learn how to “do school” before they can dive into literacy, math etc. Our littlest leaders impress us everyday with their growth. Our KG teachers work harder than any profession out there!

Our community engagement endeavors are ramping up. Are you curious about TLS's initiatives for the 24-25 school year? Would you like to participate in or support any of our students' upcoming events? The Leadership School grows students' leadership capacity through engagement in an academically rigorous, culturally relevant, and relationship-oriented environment. We empower and inspire everyone to collaboratively make their community and world a better place. If you want to support our little leaders as they "Lead the Change," call Ms. Carmen, our Family and Community Engagement Director, at 314-384-2397 or email her at [email protected].

Whitney Hooks is the Chief of Staff at The Leadership School in St. Louis, MO, focused on promoting personal and educational growth for students and educators. She began as a middle school Language Arts teacher in Aurora, Colorado, and held leadership roles on the Instructional Leadership Team and Equity Committee. She later served as Dean of Students at East High School, Assistant Principal at Denver’s PREP Academy, and Dean of Students at Yeatman-Liddell and Long International Middle Schools in St. Louis, leading efforts to enhance student achievement and school culture. In addition to her educational roles, Whitney has coached track and been involved in community leadership, including currently serving as President of the Paddock Lake Condominiums Association and formally serving as a board member for Heart & Hand Center for Youth & Their Families, Director of Program Development for Paramount Youth Organization, and as a Court Appointed Special Advocate. Whitney is an alumna of the University of Phoenix, where she recently earned her Master of Business Administration. She also completed the Ritchie Principal Licensure Program at the University of Denver, holds a Master’s Degree in Secondary Literacy from the University of Phoenix, and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication from Colorado State University.

On Wednesdays our teachers come together for 2 hours as grade level teams at The Legacy Center for professional development and collaboration. The “behind the scenes” work that teachers do is so important. The Leadership School is building a model that values this work and gives all teachers the space to do this work.

We had a busy week connecting our Family Ambassador President to amazing connections in the community geared to support the whole child and their families. Thank you to Midwest BankCentre, Nico Krehmeyer, for an engaging lunch where Ms. Ross shared her why and learned about his passion for community. We are excited to engage our families with the resources available to them from their local bank.

At The Leadership School, we put students at the center of their learning. Our Little Leaders are learning to take initiative, make mistakes, iterate, and pave their own path to lives of choice and opportunity. We think we have the best students and teachers on the planet!

Love, Empowerment, Authenticity, and Development are at the heart of everything done at The Leadership School. After completing a family tour for enrollment yesterday, our Family and Community Engagement Director inquired if the values and mission of TLS could be seen, heard, and felt as each classroom was entered. We hope you enjoy this quick sneak peek and also feel our values coming to life through the hard work and dedication of our 4th grade teacher, Ms. Phipps.

Last week, Ms. J started focusing on strengthening students' foundational skills using Heggerty. Our Reading Interventionist, Ms. Radford, is partnering with Mr. Watkins from Black Men Read to establish reading intervention services for our students. We are very excited about the potential this partnership holds for our students. Additionally, we plan to involve families and children in working with our school to emphasize the importance of cooperation and collaboration in closing academic gaps through our Family University program, where Black Men Read will explain why this is important.

Wow! What a great first week of school! We have so much to celebrate! Our staff and students showed up big time this week! Our little leaders arrived ready to learn and lead! The word is out and families are elated to have the opportunity to send their babies to a school with experienced and dedicated teachers! We have 90% of our available seats filled with close to 100 new students. We are still enrolling, and expect to be 95% enrolled by Labor Day! Watch as we build a culture of Love, Empowerment, Authenticity, and Development.

Ms. J is strengthening foundational skills with the use of Heggerty. These skills will be critical as our reading interventionist works with our students to close academic gaps.