As I am near completion of my first year as superintendent of Mehlville School District, it is a good time to make a statement about what I have learned about our district during my first year.

This is important because recent news stories may have detracted attention from the very high quality of work that is done by our students, staff and parents.

First of all, the Mehlville School District is blessed with an incredible community of parents and students who represent the very best America has to offer. This includes the private, parochial and public school families who possess the traditional family values all of us hold near and dear. The Mehlville area is a great place to raise a family.

Secondly, the Mehlville School District is fortunate to have available a highly competent cadre of certificated and support staff who truly care about kids. Their lifetime of commitment to students is to be commended. Our staff gives their best daily with disregard for a lack of resources and, at the end of the day, we can feel good about what is being accomplished.

Thirdly, Mehlville School District students are performing well inside the classroom. If space permitted, I could provide you a nearly endless list of student achievements. As an example, the Class of 2008 at Mehlville Senior High School and Oakville Senior High School earned nearly $7 million in scholarships.

Four of our schools made the “Top-Ten List” for student performance among Missouri schools. The school district received the state’s Distinction in Performance Award for the fourth time.

I’ve come to discover firsthand what one patron told me more than a year ago: “The Mehlville School District is one of the area’s best-kept secrets.”

All of this and much more is being accomplished on a very conservative budget. The Mehlville School District ranks at the bottom of the list of St. Louis County Schools with regard to per-pupil expenditure and the amount of local revenue available per student.

In other words, the Mehlville School District is a great buy for the taxpayer’s dollar. Whatever our financial circumstances may be, our patrons can rest assured you will receive our very best effort in providing a solid education for every student who enters our doorway.

Educator and philosopher John Dewey once said: “What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must be what the community wants for all its children.”

I confess my desire for the future is to see the the Mehlville School District be numbered among the very elite. I believe the vast and more silent majority of Mehlville patrons share this desire with me.

Terry Noble

superintendent of schools

Mehlville School District