Expectations in Our Schools

Ladue School District deeply values community participation, fostering connections through initiatives like Walks for Wisdom and One Book, One Community. Walks for Wisdom facilitates dialogue and builds bridges among diverse individuals, promoting unity and inclusion through visible community walks. One Book, One Community unites students, staff, families, alumni, and community members in shared reading and discussions about diverse cultures. Additionally, our Parent University events offer learning opportunities on various topics, further strengthening our community bonds.

Ladue School District seeks opportunities to connect with neighboring school districts to foster a collaborative learning environment. By sharing best practices, valuable resources, and our collective experience, we aim to enhance educational outcomes for all students in our region. We believe that open communication and the exchange of information are crucial for continuous improvement, and we are eager to build strong partnerships that benefit both our students and educators. 

Our schools recognize the importance of fostering open and respectful conversations about the diverse backgrounds and perspectives that shape our community. These conversations encompass a wide spectrum of differences, including culture, socioeconomic backgrounds, religious beliefs, variations in ability, gender identity, political viewpoints, and other important areas of identity. By embracing these differences, we create a welcoming and safe environment for all students and staff. Teachers are trained in facilitating these conversations as appropriate for the age of the students in their class, recognizing the importance of respectful dialogue and understanding across all forms of diversity.

Helping Students in Troubling Times

We believe that students and staff should see themselves in every facet of our schools, from the lessons they are taught, to the images on the walls, to the people used as examples of leaders in various fields of study. The district is engaged in an ongoing process to intentionally ensure that people from a wide variety of ethnicities, cultures, and genders are well-represented in all of our schools’ programming and curriculum.

Ladue School District aims to build a staff that reflects the diversity of its student body, ensuring exceptional educational experiences for every learner. Standardized interview procedures and bias-awareness resources are used across all hiring levels to support this commitment.

Throughout each school year, time is dedicated to training and equipping staff at all levels with the resources needed to support the district’s goal of ensuring that every student, every day feels safe and welcome in their classrooms and schools. This is not only essential to students’ emotional well-being- it is also a  key factor in their academic success. Research consistently shows that when students feel safe and supported, their ability to learn and achieve increases significantly. Each school implements these efforts in a way that best aligns with its unique needs considering factors such as the age of students. The District Diversity Committee, along with individual school diversity committees, plays a vital role in these efforts. Their contributions include identifying and providing access to valuable resources, coordinating training, evaluating current programming, and helping to shape the district’s future initiatives. Through their work, they ensure staff, students, and the district as a whole continue to grow in their commitment to fostering an inclusive and equitable educational experience for all.

The Ladue School District is a microcosm of our greater community and nation. As a result, we also need the support of those who do not spend the majority of their day in our schools but still have a great impact on our students and the school environment. Therefore, we are committed to proactively engaging with parents and the broader community and to creating opportunities for us all to work together in taking responsibility for creating a safe and welcoming school environment for all students.

Parents are encouraged to get involved in their child’s education and the district’s beliefs and practices in this area are outlined in Board Policy IGBC: Parent/Family Involvement in Instructional and Other Programs.

In addition, parents are encouraged to get involved in their school parent associations and other individual school activities to the extent they are able so the experiences and opportunities provided to students through these associations and events are reflective of the desires and abilities of the entire school community.

Our school community is expected to treat others with kindness, compassion, open-mindedness, and respect. Students are expected to use language, gestures, and/or images that demonstrate sensitivity and understanding of differences at all times. This includes, but is not limited to, during instructional time as well as in unstructured settings such as on the bus, during lunch, passing time, and school-sponsored events. Insensitive language and/or gestures can include words, phrases, drawings, mocking, imitating, and creating social media posts using names and terms that can belittle, minimize, and offend someone based on any component of a person’s identity such as race, religion, ethnicity, culture, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, cognitive development, physical abilities, or political affiliation. The use of hate speech, gestures, or images negatively impacts our school environment, runs contrary to our district’s Code of Ethics, does not exemplify the character qualities we expect of all members of our school community, and, if repeated, may be considered harassment and/or bullying behavior as noted in policies JFCF: Bullying, JFCG: Hazing, and JG: Student Discipline.