The embattled Wellston School District in the St. Louis area will be no more.
The state Board of Education has voted to close the school at the end of this academic year. The Neighboring Normandy School district will take in the Wellston students.
Education Commissioner Chris NiCastro points out the hard work put in by folks at the Wellston school but says it’s simply not enough.
The school lost accreditation in 2003. That’s when the state took over leading the school.
Superintendent Charles Brown says one-on-one mentoring over the past four years has kept more kids in school and sent many on to college. However, he says this isn’t a sad day for Wellston students, but rather a happy one for Normandy. About 550 students will attend Normandy when school resumes next fall. Brown says those students are “going to crop up in Normandy as, I think, beautiful flowers, and we’ll see then that this was the best decision.”
Wellston is the second school in the state to be closed by the state. The Wyaconda district in northeast Missouri closed in 2008.
The decision to close the Wellston school district was unanimous at the State Board of Education meeting Thursday in Jefferson City.
Education Commissioner Chris NiCastro addresses the board about Wellston [Listen, 2:58]
Superintendent Charles Brown addresses Board of Education [Listen, 4:38]
