The Ladue School District Board of Education held their fourth meeting of the school year Sept. 10 at 6 p.m.
The meeting kicked off with the Pledge of Allegiance and opening remarks from Board President Marissa Rosen as well as Superintendent Jim Wipke. Following the introduction, they delved into the content of the meeting.
Director of Special Education Sarah Davidovits and Assistant Superintendent for Student & Community Services Dr. Wallace discussed Ladue’s continued partnership with the Special School District. The Special School District is a program that works with schools to provide targeted assistance to students with special needs or disabilities. Ladue has done extensive work with them, and has expressed a desire to continue the programs’ outreach in the district, especially in the elementary schools and Fifth Grade Center.
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction Laila Crabtree, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Julie Helm, Director of Communications Kimberly McKenzie and Director of Student Services Tiffany Taylor-Johnson joined Wipke and Wallace in presenting the Board’s policy updates. These policies largely deal with refining the organization of online learning efforts, seeking to better organize these programs in addition to expanding extracurricular access to their students. The discussion of extracurriculars continued with the school outlining their policy enabling girls to play on boys sports teams if there is no competitive girls league available.
The meeting concluded with a presentation by Helm and Rosen discussing the search for a new superintendent to be hired in the 2026-2027 school year, following Wipke’s impending retirement, effective June 30 2026. Presently, they are selecting a firm to charge with the hiring process for this position, having narrowed it down to three. They plan to schedule interviews with these firms and make a selection in the near future.
The Board of Education will meet again Sept. 25, the exact time and location yet to be determined. It will be an open session, so al Ladue students and families are welcome to attend.
