As part of its mission to promote healthy aging through lifelong learning, active lifestyles and service, St. Louis-based Oasis launched its Intergenerational Tutoring program here in 1989.  Since that time, thousands of older adults have served as Oasis volunteer tutors nationwide, impacting the lives of nearly half a million children.

You’ve packed the backpack, picked out first-day-of-school clothes and talked about before- and after-school routines and activities. Now, it’s all up to the teachers, right? Actually, the true recipe for academic success is one part educator, one part parents and one part student, with each contributor doing his or her part.

When it was time to rebid transportation, Francis Howell School District decided to bring transportation in-house. To accomplish that goal, they purchased 170 new buses [89% of the fleet] and 21 used buses [11% of the fleet]. The used buses are models from 2015 and 2017.

Preparing for a new school year at any age can be equal parts exciting and exhausting. However, for first-time students entering preschool or kindergarten, the new experience can lend itself to creating more anxiety than anything else.

Local students Jimmy Johnson from Francis Howell High, Mason Aguilar from Francis Howell Central and Amanda Hasenbeck from Francis Howell North traveled to Louisville in June for the SkillsUSA’s 55th annual National Leadership and Skills Conference. More than 15,000 students, teachers, education leaders and representatives from 600 national corporations and labor unions participated in the event, which is also the world’s largest showcase of skilled trades and skill competitions.

To close the summer school camp schedule, middle school-aged students from the Francis Howell School District explored coding and app development at App Camp. The students completed a variety of tasks throughout the camp to learn how to code. By the end of the week, they had the opportunity to create their own app that could be published on the Google Play Store.

Andrea Jandt, an eighth-grade social studies teacher at Bryan Middle in the Francis Howell School District, received a $300 grant from WGU Missouri.

Graduating seniors Jasmine Destiny of Ritenour High, Rachel Etwaroo of Pattonville High School and Mackenzie Janes of Fort Zumwalt North High have been named recipients of a St. Johns Bank Excellence Scholarship. Each winner received a check for $1,000 as part of the scholarship.

All three high schools in the Wentzville School District earned state and national journalism honors over the course of the year, including one yearbook entry from Timberland High that finished in the top three in the country in the Quill and Scroll competition.

Recent Timberland High graduate Jonathan Paneitz was selected as the 2019 recipient of the Ronald Reagan Leadership Medal. Bestowed by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, the award is given to students who exemplify the program’s pillars of drive, humility and service before self.