City, school district unveil ambitious vision for Jefferson Elementary, community

Cape Girardeau city and school officials are building a vision for a development that combines an aquatic center with a learning initiative at Jefferson Elementary School.

The plan includes a preschool, medical clinic and a potential extension to Minnesota Avenue to meet Highway 74, superintendent Neil Glass said.

A park could be developed on site as a combination community park and playground for the school, Glass said.

This development is proposed for a 17-acre site owned by the city of Cape Girardeau and the school district, just south of Jefferson Elementary, 520 S. Minnesota Ave.

�We�ve been great partners with the city since 1977,� when the city and school district signed a contract to build the existing pool, Glass said. �I�d like to see that continue.�

Jefferson Elementary School is seen Tuesday in Cape Girardeau.Fred Lynch

Glass said the potential for this project is huge, and while plans are still in early stages, the vision is to build a community anchor that can help elevate students, their learning and by extension, the community at large.

Koreena Woodson, co-chairwoman of the Authentic Voices south-side neighborhood group, said she was not aware of the proposed development until contacted by the Southeast Missourian.

But she said that �overall it sounds like the city is being more receptive to the needs of the community, specifically the concerns of the residents in south Cape.�

Woodson welcomed the proposal for child care and medical services, which, she said, are needed in that area.

A pool �would certainly allow the residents and children in this area to have a positive activity� in their neighborhood, she said.

Jefferson Elementary School is seen Tuesday in Cape Girardeau.Fred Lynch

Aquatic center

An indoor aquatic center would be funded partly by the city�s parks and stormwater sales tax if voters extend the tax in the April election.

The city has proposed spending $6 million on a project to replace the aging Central Municipal Pool.

Glass said the district plans to partner with the city on the project, although the funding the district would provide and even the scope of the project has not been finalized.

The site is just north of Highway 74 and south of Jefferson Elementary School, Glass said.

Minnesota Avenue dead ends just north of Highway 74. Extending Minnesota Avenue would connect the site to Highway 74, providing convenient access, Glass said.

Glass proposed construction of a pedestrian/bike ramp that would extend over Highway 74 and provide direct access to Shawnee Park just south of the highway.

The limited-access highway currently divides the city�s south-side neighborhood.

�I am hoping to maybe bridge that,� Glass said.

The school superintendent said he envisions having the preschool and medical services �wrapped around that pool,� along with meeting rooms.

Glass said the city tax dollars could pay for construction of the pool while the school district could provide the additional services and the parking.

�This pool could act as a community center,� he suggested.

What Glass referred to as �wraparound services� could be included in the center�s design, he said.

�I see a partnership that way,� Glass said.

As is the case now with the Central Municipal Pool, the new pool would be used by both the city and the school district, officials said.

It would be used by Central High School�s boys and girls swim teams, club swim teams and the general public, Glass said.

Plans for the indoor pool would be crafted by a six-member committee with three members representing the school district and three members representing the city.

Glass and city manager Scott Meyer said the formation of such a committee is spelled out in the existing written agreement governing the Central Municipal Pool.

Meyer said the site of a new pool has not been finalized, although the school district has mentioned the site near Highway 74.

The committee would look at possible locations for the aquatic center as well as whether it should be a �bare-bones� or a more elaborate facility, he said.

Ultimately, both the school board and the council would have to sign off on the project, Meyer and Glass said.

�There are a lot of unknowns,� Meyer said.

Glass said the school district could issue a maximum of $10 million in bonds in 2020 without a tax increase to fund the south-side improvements.

Construction of a new pool could be �under construction at that point,� he said.

�Obviously, I am very excited about the potential there,� Glass said.

The city and the school district share in the cost of operating the Central Municipal Pool, located off Clark Avenue. Meyer said the city pays about 60 percent of the operating cost.

But the structure faces a number of challenges, including air quality and mechanical issues, inadequate deck space, an aging locker room area and limited concession and parking space, parks and recreation director Julia Jones said last year.

The pool operates year-round thanks to an inflatable �bubble� that covers the facility during winter months.

But the bubble needs to be replaced, which city and school officials said would cost an estimated $500,000.

That investment didn�t make sense when other options could be explored, Glass said.

If a new aquatic center is built, the old Central Municipal Pool could be used strictly as an open-air pool in the summer for a time, but ultimately would be closed permanently, Glass said.

That site could be turned into green space, he added.

STREAM initiative

The idea for this project has roots in a trip Glass and other administrators took to Atlanta last fall. There, they visited Drew Elementary, a school that went from under-performing to one of the top five schools in the Atlanta area, Glass said.

�It was impressive,� he said.

Drew Elementary served as the anchor for an entire �Purpose-Built� community, Glass said.

He�d like to see the same change beginning in Jefferson Elementary School.

The Purpose Built Community model aims to change high-crime, low-income areas by focusing on three key points: mixed-income housing, cradle-to-career education and community wellness.

�That community saw a tremendous turnaround,� Glass said.

Cape Girardeau�s south side could really benefit from efforts in that direction, Glass said.

The vision is ambitious, Glass said, but the plan is to go in stages, building the community piece by piece and bringing together several elements and efforts that already exist.

That begins with Jefferson Elementary.

Christa Turner, deputy superintendent of elementary education, said turning Jefferson into a STREAM school (Science, Technology, Research, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) will take 12 to 18 months of planning and professional development.

That�s why the plans have to start now, Turner said.

Turner said she has visited STREAM schools, and in one kindergarten class, students were working together to design roller coasters.

At the kindergarten level, Turner said, students were talking about gravitational force and other advanced concepts �because they were learning along with an experience.�

That association builds stronger retention, which in turn can increase students� performance on standardized tests, Turner said.

�It�s been a long time since the needle has moved [on our performance indicators], and that�s not on the teachers. They�re working hard,� Glass said. �We need to look at doing something really innovative to make a change.�

Glass and Turner agreed the district�s school board does not need to officially approve curriculum changes, but that the board �fully supports� the STREAM initiative.

�We�re teaching to the same standards,� Turner said. �We�re just using a different process.�

Glass said eventually, he would like to see an early-childhood education center at Jefferson, to help mitigate the learning gap between economically disadvantaged students and students from a more affluent background.

At Jefferson, where 95 percent of students are on the free and reduced lunch program, Glass said, �No one can argue the need.�

There�s already an early-childhood training course at the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center, Glass said, so he has a workforce in place for the planned preschool at Jefferson.

The development would be 2.5 miles from Central High School, Glass said, and 1.2 miles from Southeast Missouri State University�s River Campus.

That proximity to the River Campus would make for an ideal partnership with the university, Glass said.

�From an early age, we could get children involved in theater, involved with stringed instruments,� Glass said � opportunities the district doesn�t have the funding to provide.

The entire project has great potential, Glass said.

�We could really make Jefferson a neighborhood school,� he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

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What is STREAM?

STREAM stands for Science, Technology, Research, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. Students learn through projects across subjects, instead of each subject individually. The integrated approach helps students gain a deeper understanding, which can boost standardized test scores, according to Cape Girardeau School District deputy superintendent of elementary education Christa Turner.

Pertinent address:

520 S. Minnesota Ave., Cape Girardeau, Mo.