By Adam Allington, St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis – Missouri State Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro will meet with parents and staff of the troubled Wellston School district this evening. State officials are recommending that the Wellston schools be dissolved and folded into the neighboring Normandy School District.
Performance scores at the 550-student district have been abysmal in recent years-with just 12 percent of students passing state requirements in communication arts and five percent in math.
The Normandy school district didn't perform much better, on standardized tests, but education department spokesman Jim Morris said Normandy is the logical place to transfer the students.
"Normandy is performing somewhat better than Wellston, but it is better," Morris said. "We're frankly encouraged by the leadership in Normandy and the direction that they're moving in. We think that they've got their priorities set properly and that they're focused on the right things."
Tonight's meeting will take place 6 p.m. at Lucas Crossing Elementary School.