On Thursday, October 13 the City of St. Louis’ Mayor’s Commission on Children, Youth and Families convened for the last time in the 2011 calendar year.  The meeting took place at the offices of Vision for Children at Risk.  The meeting began with a welcome from Mayor Slay and a special acknowledgement of commission member Judge Jimmie Edwards.

Judge Edwards was selected by People Magazine as one of the publication’s ‘Heroes of the Year’ in their 2011 Heroes Among Us award campaign.  Judge Edwards was recognized for his work in founding and developing Innovative Concept Academy.  During the meeting Judge Edwards noted that it was at these Mayor’s Commission meetings that the idea for Innovative Concept Academy was incubated and it was through key relationships with other commission members such as Dr. Kelvin Adams of the St. Louis Public Schools, Dr. Lewis Chartock of MERS Goodwill, and Mr. Don Pokorny of the Missouri Department of Social Services, Division of Youth Services, that brought Innovative Concept Academy to fruition.  The Commission congratulates Judge Edwards.

First on the agenda was Doug Thaman, Executive Director of the Missouri Charter Public School Association.  Mr. Thaman gave a detailed overview of the charter school landscape both in Missouri and St. Louis.  During his presentation Mr. Thaman dispelled a number of myths about charter schools relating to performance and enrollment.  He also mentioned that we can expect to see activity pertaining to charter schools in the 2012 legislative session.  Included on Missouri Charter Public School Association’s legislative agenda for the upcoming session are issues such as increased accountability of charter schools, early childhood inclusion, and establishing a Missouri Charter Public School Commission. 

Click on the image to view the slides from this presentation including data on specific charter schools in St. Louis.

Next Amy Shaw of the Nine Network introduced the American Graduate: Let's Make It Happen initiative which aims to address the dropout crisis in St. Louis and across the country.  This five year initiative is based on the successful model pioneered by the Nine Network in St. Louis, and later implemented nation-wide, to address the foreclosure crisis.  Over the next five years this initiative will gestate in St. Louis and than be implemented in 25 cities across the nation.  This initiative aims to bring together teachers, parents, students, local leaders, non-profits, the faith community, national partners, and public media in order to approach the dropout crisis in a community-centered manner.  This national initiative launched from St. Louis on November 7 with the live broadcast of an American Graduate Teacher Town Hall moderated by Gwen Ifill, senior correspondent for PBS NewsHour and moderator and managing editor of Washington Week.  To watch this broadcast click here.  

Click on the image to view the slides from this presentation.

The last presentation of this meeting focused on youth violence.  Currently there are a number of different efforts aimed at reducing youth violence gaining momentum in the St. Louis area with seemingly more popping up every week.  This is a sign that there is widespread concern regarding this issue in the community.  Ron Jackson, who is facilitating the STRYVE initiative which originated from the City of St. Louis' Department of Health, gave background on this initiative, the work that has been done to date, and the future direction of this effort.  Dr. Norm White, who is co-chair of the Safe Neighborhoods/Strong Communities/Youth Violence Prevention Collaborative and active in the violence prevention efforts of Better Family Life, gave a presentation on how youth violence prevention could be approached in the St. Louis area by establishing a "resource quilt." Interest was expressed among some commission members and the Mayor's Office in setting up a meeting to discuss the future direction of these initiatives and the possibility of collaborating to address this issue.

Click on the image to view the slides from this presentation.

October Meeting Agenda

The next meeting of the Mayor’s Commission on Children, Youth and Families will be held on Thursday, February 9 at 8:30 AM.

Note: We are sad to report that Ann Slay, mother of Mayor Slay, passed away the morning of October 13, 2011.  Mayor Slay left the meeting to be with his mother before she passed.  Our thoughts and prayers are with the Mayor and his family during this time.

Written by Liz Hoester, Staff to the Mayor's Commission on Children, Youth and Families  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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