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Welcome to Last Call.

Well, we schooled each other on a couple things on that first show.

So, we're going to talk about some education aspects here as we start last call.

All right, Bill.

In Clayton, a private school has announced that it will be closing at Harris Stowe State University.

the preschool had announced it's going to close, leaving parents scrambling um you know what do we do with our kids?

Should there be some kind of law or regulation that says that you just can't just up and close the school and say like too bad parents?

>> I don't think so.

I think like the the Episcopal Church in Clayton when when they realized they were down to 21 students for next year that they just can't afford it.

I mean, that's, you know, you can't run a big grade school with 21 students.

So, I I think it's a shame.

I mean, that was a a historic place, but I don't think you can legislate and demand that the church do do anything.

>> And I understand that it is a private entity.

And and as far as Harris Stow goes, I was surprised to read that their teaching arm is been so cut.

I always thought of them as more or less a teachers college.

We all did, but they're saying that no, no, and we're getting away from that and you and they're desperately trying to survive and they want a STEM program now and they don't have all these young uh teaching students to watch the daycare.

So, I think they're just trying to survive and I can't blame them for that.

>> I think it's a huge shame.

You know, I had some friends whose kids went to that Harris Stowe early childhood center and it was apparently just topnotch.

Like people just raved about what a good place it was if you could manage to get in there.

And it's already so hard to find a good child care center when the kids are really little that where you don't have to pay through the nose.

So, I think it's unfortunate, but I think, you know, a parent is it's always going to be the most stressful thing to find out that your kid's school is closing whenever they give you notice about that.

The problem is if you have to have this long lead time, >> it becomes a disaster in terms of the day-to-day management of something because people are like, I'm looking for another job.

I can't sit around for six months knowing that the day comes that I'm going to be unemployed.

So, you're losing the staffers that you need to come in every day to make the whole thing work.

This has to be like a band-aid ripping situation.

I think unfortunately >> what I didn't understand was they hired was the woman's name Beth Hume.

Is that her name?

The one that was brought in to sort of write the ship at the at the school.

You know, she said that there was a plan, but it depended on the preschool feeding the the elementary school and that was where, you know, they they it just wasn't working.

So, I think if they had engaged in more of a realistic dialogue with the parents and the staff, but maybe that's self-defeating, too.

>> Well, now I think I I think you're on to something there in the sense that what I can see is a bunch of well-meaning people who wish they could keep this school going.

So, they're going to hold on and hold on where sometime you I mean, you look at you have 21 kids.

At some point, you had to know that's not sustainable, right?

But you want to do good.

So, it's like, well, maybe something will work.

Maybe we'll get a rush of 10 more kids come in and we can hold on for a year.

But, as far as requiring a notice, I agree that the band-aid one is the way that it's got to be done.

Coupled with the fact you just I don't think can tell a private school anything that it has to do.

But I it's just one of those unfortunate situations in life that it's it ain't good.

It's what the market whether it's Harris Stowe or Fontbond or you know name you know pick your pick your organization it's what the market is going to bear.

>> Yeah and in my eyes I see little kids and parents who are you know what are we going to do more so than college but I guess they I guess they are the same thing.

Yeah, good point Wendy.

Excellent.

All right, leave it to Mississippi to come up with >> might be a good idea.

Um, our state might be considering uh saying if you can't read by the time you finish third grade, you're going back to third grade and you got to know to read to pass on to fourth grade.

Sarah, it good idea.

>> Yeah, I actually think it is a good idea.

My colleague uh Nicholas Phillips looked into this and I was coming in prepared to hate this once again Missouri messing with education and there had been some educators who spoke against it.

I'm like I want to defer to the educators.

But here's the thing that they have found in Mississippi.

They have not held back a ton of kids.

But the fact that they have been very hardcore about we are going to hold back these kids if they don't hit this certain level of being able to read.

It has been extremely motivating for the parents of those kids.

And it turns out that's what's needed.

It's just a little too easy to be like, "Oh, well, we hope this all works out next year."

Versus, "Hey, all hands on deck."

Like we're in third grade here.

If you are not reading well, you are falling so far behind.

And so in Mississippi, it's had this big impact on their on their test scores going all the way up.

>> Doesn't that beg the obvious question, why are we waiting until third grade?

What about second grade?

>> Well, and I it's funny and I I can only uh equate it to my time in grade school.

it seemed and I don't know if there's some study long-standing study kids had to repeat third grade because I would be in school with the you know the same kids and then I'd move up my me and most others would move up to fourth grade and there would be one or two left in third so I don't know if there's some development just child development rule >> long principle >> the principle that it was and the thing is is I never understood because a lot of this was done as social promotions we don't want to stigmatize them as being uh flunking.

Well, then the problem was is they just couldn't read.

So, if you're in third grade and you can't read at a third grade level, how then you go to fourth grade and you're still reading at below a third grade level, then you go to fifth grade and and sort of this came through as like, no, we just want to move them through because they'll feel bad about themselves.

Well, hopefully what it'll do is is maybe make the kid work a little harder, maybe make the parents sit down and say, "Okay, Bobby or Donna, start reading that book and let's get to work on this."

you know, I mean I mean it just made sense and it never made sense to me with every kid passed all the classes all the time.

How how was that Bobby or >> I I think I think the reason they're saying third grade and this my guess is if you had it first or second grade then it's really did the parents teach their kids?

You know, because some kids go to kindergarten and first grade and already know phonetics or do this and they have a a leg up.

Whereas if you wait till third grade, it's going to not disadvantage the kids whose parents didn't teach them to read.

They have first and second grade for the teachers to teach them.

>> I think that's the thing.

>> As long as we're coming up with names for children.

How about Loretta?

>> You're a grandpa.

You're a grandpa again.

>> Fourth time.

Thank you very much.

I was going to say, you're not a newbie to this grandparent.

>> No, no.

Two boys, two grandsons, and now two granddaughters.

So, everything is good.

But, uh, I always come up with Bobby and Donna because I was almost came up with Jack and Jill.

And I didn't.

>> Yeah.

Actually, uh, kid of educator, longtime educator between second, really when you get to second and third grade, that's when your acumen should be you are able to.

Yeah.

You're getting there.

you should be able to they know that you should be able to read by third grade and I think that's why that you know it's it's there >> and you say Dick and Dick and Jill Dick and Jane were young and that was the Garts as I remember right >> right and you know like it's and especially true and I've said this very long >> a black child especially a black young man is got to know how to read by third grade because life is going nowhere if they are passed on to fourth and they can't read.

I mean, it's just that's like a I don't it's like a life sentence of always being behind.

And I know that SLPS and and and metropolitan school districts will find themselves with more kids that can't read at third grade than other districts can, but they're going to have to find a way have reading school or something where, you know, but I I understand it is going to place a burden on school districts that already have a burden, but at the same time, it's just too important.

Well, and it's got to be something to stop when you start reading these things where 14 year olds, eighth graders are graduating with a reading level in fourth and fifth grade.

>> And it's got to be a problem that get was exacerbated quite possibly by being promoted ahead to where you're struggling even more.

>> But isn't isn't that the that is the problem?

You know, you you use the phrase maybe we can find a way.

Maybe we can find a way.

We've been trying to find a way as long as any of us have been drawing a breath.

You know, we have all of these issues >> and some kids do have learning disabilities.

I think you have to filter out that, okay, listen, something is going on here that's more than just >> they haven't learned how to read.

So, there's a lot that would go into this.

>> It used to just be funding.

Now, it's funding and manpower.

You know, it's it's both.

We're we're stretched so thin.

There might there might be possibility of getting like a core of volunteers, hired people who would go into school, not Sam Paige doing anesthesiology, but but normal citizens who want to volunteer >> and a lot of churches are doing that and especially over the summer.

Uh, you know, mine is asking for volunteers to come read a book, you know, just once a week or something.

>> Teach across America or >> teach for America, my daughter.

>> America, teach for and across America.

>> All right.

Here's a lesson in capitalism.

Amaran CEO got a 50% raise and got a private jet.

Now, I'm the guy that says, "Don't begrudge anybody's salary, so I'm gonna leave the man alone and his money."

However, you know, electric rates are going up and we're having this data center debate.

Um, does anybody got a problem with this guy saying >> I GOT A PROBLEM?

I CAN'T WAIT.

LOOK, I mean, I'm all for capitalism, but this is a utility.

Utilities are regulated.

And when they came in and asked for like the latest rate increase that's scking the people of St.

Louis, the regulators should have said, "Hey, how much you giving this guy in salary and stock stock options?"

And if it's double what he got last year, shouldn't that be a place you look for cuts before you try to raise the rates?

Where are our regulators?

>> And it's more than other other utilities and and you know, the heads of other utilities.

I think it's obscene.

And when they try to, you know, explain it away, well, you know, he needs to fly uh private uh because for for reasons that we're not comfortable discussing.

Like, >> well, you know, I don't even think they should be able to advertise.

I I mean, like, who are they advertising against?

Candles.

I mean, you know, I mean, we we need electricity.

So, so I watch, you know, sponsoring this and I go, well, you know, it make me feel good.

Yeah.

>> I think I'll use electricity again this year.

>> I'm not going to go with that other electric company.

>> That's right.

>> Jack's electric company.

>> As James Bond said in Goldfinger shocking.

Thank you guys for watching.

We'll catch you next week on Donnybrook and Last Cop.

>> Hey, well done.