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The first day of school is right around the corner. We are excited to welcome students back on campuses next Monday.
In our Back-to-School issue, we included a checklist of tasks that need to be completed before students return on August 22.
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Francis Howell Union High School and Administration Building now under one roof
The work at 801 Corporate Centre Drive in O’Fallon, the new home for Francis Howell Union (FHU) High School, is nearly complete. FHU students will begin the 2022-23 school year in the renovated space. In addition to Union High School, the 801 Corporate facility will house District administrators and support staff, the District Learning Center (DLC), content leaders, disability access services, ADA compliance officers, special education staff and other academic support teams. Employees working at the DLC, administration building, and other locations within the District are finishing the move into their new workspaces this month. Bringing these services all under the same roof will create a more collaborative and efficient working environment for all.
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Board of Education meetings will continue to be held at the former Administration Building (4545 Central School Road) until the Board Room at 801 Corporate Centre Drive is ready for use. There will be a date in the future for the public to come out and see the new space. |
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Thanks to all of the student-athletes that spent one of the last days of their summer break volunteering their time (and muscles) to help organize the new administration building spaces. Shout out to Francis Howell High School Volleyball teams, Golden Girls, and football players. Your commitment to this District is incredible! |
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Now Hiring for 2022-23 School Year |
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Bridge to Success Program helps students with disabilities secure jobs |
The program is a collaboration with St. Charles County school districts and local businesses. This partnership helps support students with disabilities and reduce barriers when they enter the workforce. |
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Federal funding ending, full-priced school lunches on the menu for 2022-23 school year |
If you're feeling a little anxious about how your child will manage without a free lunch, don't worry. We've got you covered with some specific actions you can take now to make sure your child gets the meals they need next school year. |
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Bus assignments are now available! Sign into the Parent Portal to view your child's designated bus stop and pick-up/drop-off times for the 2022-23 school year. Please check pick-up and drop-off locations carefully as they may have changed from prior years. To improve both safety and efficiency, buses will not travel into cul-de-sacs or other areas where they cannot safely maneuver. Students who reside in these areas need to board the bus at the assigned bus stop regardless of distance, age or grade. An exception to this may be a bus that is transporting students with disabilities.
Why this change?
Buses are often in accidents in cul-de-sacs due to parked cars, basketball hoops, and other obstacles. Many cul-de-sacs are too small for a bus to turn around without having to back up. This is an unsafe practice that can lead to a bus accident. In addition to improving safety, the implementation of the new guidelines will improve the efficiency of District bus routes. By bypassing cul-de-sacs, the time of the routes is reduced and we can add more students to the route. Additional routes often have to be created because we cannot pick up all students in the allotted time, which means that many of our buses have empty seats. By reducing route time, we can increase the number of students and reduce the number of routes. Because of the bus driver shortage as well as the increased transportation costs such as fuel, tires, buses and parts, this small change in practice will help reduce transportation costs. Thank you for supporting our goal to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars by becoming more efficient in our transportation operations.
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Congress created the Affordable Connectivity Program by allocating $14 billion to help connect eligible families and households with discounted internet services and a one-time discount on internet-ready devices. Click here to find out who is eligible and how to enroll.
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The federal program that provided free meals for all students has ended. If your child qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, they can still receive them, but you must take action to make it happen! Learn more.
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The first Collaboration Wednesday - Early Release is set for Wednesday, Aug. 31, and applies to middle and high school students only. Secondary schools dismiss one hour early on Collaboration Wednesdays. |
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Jessie Hattemar and Audrey Lemmons, both 2022 graduates of Francis Howell High School, have recently earned the Girl Scout Gold Award. These young change-makers demonstrated extraordinary leadership through measurable and sustainable community service projects.
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Jessie Hattemar created a monarch butterfly garden in Klondike Park to help preserve the endangered species.
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Audrey Lemmons helped the St. Charles County Pet Adoption Center photograph adoptable dogs, update their website and enlist additional volunteers.
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The Francis Howell School District is launching a comprehensive stakeholder engagement process to help determine how $61M in Prop S funds should potentially be spent.
Interim Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Roumpos spoke to a crowd of dozens of parents, school district employees , and community members at the District’s first-ever Citizen’s Roundtable on August 10, 2022. This forum gave attendees the chance to share their thoughts and help prioritize future Prop S work.
On June 2, 2020, 79% of voters approved a $244 million bond issue – the largest bond issue in Missouri history. After completing eight projects (15 projects are in progress) the District has $61 million of available funds left.
All parents, district employees, students, and community members are urged to complete this survey to help the District determine what to prioritize with the remaining Prop S funds. Money from bond issues can only be used for capital projects such as building renovations, repairs and other building upgrades. Bond funds cannot be used for employee compensation or salary increases.
Before completing this survey, please watch the short video introduction from the meeting, then answer the same questions posed at the Roundtable event. You may also want to review the slides and handouts from the meeting. Thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts and helping the District prioritize the remaining Prop S projects.
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Summer break is nearing an end and we are preparing for an exciting new school year together. The District welcomed 139 new educators at orientation this month. |
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Welcome balloons day! Central Elementary staff members had a wonderful time delivering balloons to incoming Kindergarteners over the summer. |
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The Saeger Middle School jazz band has been selected to perform at the 85th annual MMEA Conference in January 2023! This is one of the highest honors a Missouri band program can receive. Congratulations!
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Vacation Station students are having a lot of fun learning and playing this summer. Vacation Station offers summer and before- and after- school care and provides students with a fun, engaging environment. Learn more.
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New Kindergartners at Becky-David Elementary enjoyed their first day of FHSD’s Kindergarten Summer Success Program. The 3-day camp is designed to help entering kindergarten students feel more comfortable with their new school surroundings. View more pictures.
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St. Charles County approves bill to add school resource officers to elementary schools |
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5 things St. Louis area teachers want parents to know before the first day of school
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FHSD Director of Finance earns Eagle Award
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New year - news faces in administration! |
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Become a District-Approved Volunteer |
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We are thrilled to welcome volunteers back into our buildings this school year! The volunteer application and training videos have to be filled out and watched every year. The District also requires that all volunteers be fingerprinted and have a background check. This does have a fee associated with it but only needs to be completed every 6 years. Below you will find the steps that need to be taken and the links to go with them.
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Academic Advisory Committee now accepting applications |
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The Francis Howell School District is seeking members for the Academic Advisory Committee. The purpose of this committee is to gather staff and community input/feedback around the collective work of the Academic Department, primarily focused on, but not limited to, curriculum development. Members of the department value various perspectives and are looking for a diverse group of stakeholders who are willing to collaborate, learn, and provide feedback on a monthly basis. Meetings will take place from 4:45-6:45 p.m., typically the Tuesday after a Board of Education meeting. Interested staff and community members should complete an application prior to August 29th. Selected participants will be notified by September 5th via email.
Additional committees and advisory groups will be recruiting new members this fall. Keep an eye on your inbox for other ways to get involved!
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In July, we shared a post on social media announcing the 2022 Niche Best School Districts rankings. Francis Howell School District landed at #10 out of 454 school districts in the state. While the methodology used to rank all Missouri districts was the same and therefore provided a fair and equal comparison among school districts, we want to provide additional information about the data Niche uses to create their rankings. At the time Niche calculated their rankings, the most recent assessment data available from the Department of Education was from 2019, so this is the data they used to rank all districts. Niche also announced additional changes to methodology for the 2022 rankings, including reducing the weight for any factor that considers standardized test scores such as SAT and ACT. We know that rankings and “best school” accolades are an important source of pride for many in our community. We will continue to share these awards as we become aware of them and encourage stakeholders to understand the data and methodology behind the rankings.
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AUG. 18
Transition Day
Incoming 6th and 9th graders
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AUG. 18
Board of Education Meeting
4545 Central School Road
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AUG. 22
First Day of School
All Schools
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AUG. 31
Collaboration Wednesday - Early Release
Secondary Schools
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SEPT. 5
No School, Offices Closed for Labor Day
All K-12 Schools
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SEPT. 7
Collaboration Wednesday - Early Release
Secondary Schools
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