Gravois Park Campus – Restructure 24/25

December 19, 2023

Dear Gravois Park Scholars, Families, and Team Members –
We know everyone is excited for the upcoming winter break as it will be much
needed for us all. Our Gravois Park community has lived in our Core Values,
dived into our academic priorities, and worked really hard to support one
another through some challenging days. As we continue to work towards
solutions for many of the concerns you have surfaced, we want to share an
important announcement.

We want Gravois Park to be a place where we all desire our children to attend
and to ensure our scholars are literate, joyful, and well. For the 2024-2025
school year, Gravois Park will transition from a school for kindergarten through
8th grade to a school for kindergarten through 5th grade. That is to say, for
the 2024-2025 school year, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade scholars will be provided a
place at one of our other campuses. Kindergarten through 5th grade
scholars will remain at Gravois Park for the 2024-2025 school year. There will
be no changes during the current school year.

This change to a K-5 school will bring with it many questions from our Gravois
Park community. Accordingly, and in alignment with our Momentum
Academy Guiding Principles, we held meetings for the community on Monday
and Tuesday of this week to share this announcement. At these meetings, we
discussed the changes in more detail; listened to community feedback; and
identified next steps. If needed, we will hold more meetings after winter break.

An initial reaction for our Gravois Park community will be to ask “why?”. Quite
simply, this change allows us to better focus on the unique needs of our K-5
scholars. Likewise, providing 6th, 7th, and 8th grade scholars a place in our
companion school communities will allow us to also better focus on their
unique needs. For example, having fewer grades will allow us to create a
more customized and individual focused environment for our K-5 scholars –
a timeframe in our scholars’ lives which is critical to ensuring future academic
success. An example for our 6-8 scholars is they will be taught by teachers
that provide instruction in one subject area only. Currently, Gravois Park
scholars in grades 6 through 8 are taught by teachers that provide instruction
in one or more subject areas. Having teachers that focus on one subject area
will provide a better educational experience for our 6th through 8th grade
scholars and help set them up for success in high school.

To support our affected scholars and families in choosing from among Fox
Park, Tower Grove East, or Tower Grove South, for their middle school
education, we plan field trips to our other campuses. During these trips,
scholars will be able to experience firsthand the culture and energy of each
school. For scholars that wish for a more personal visit to each school, we will
create opportunities for Gravois Park scholars to “shadow” individual scholars
at our other campuses.

Transportation to Fox Park, Tower Grove East, or Tower Grove South, is an issue
on which we will need input from our Gravois Park community. Each family’s
circumstance is different and how they respond to this announcement will be
different. Thus, we did not want to settle on a “one size fits all” solution until
we heard from our families. Transportation is a cost that Momentum
Academy has not traditionally incurred, and we must be responsible stewards
of the public dollars entrusted to us. However, we are committed to hearing
from our families and exploring options to address any challenges to
attending one of our companion schools.

Today’s announcement is the beginning of a several month conversation
amongst members of our Gravois Park community. We know that each of us
may experience a range of emotions, concerns, and hopes as we each take
part in this conversation. Each community member should feel free to
respectfully express these sentiments. Most importantly, we remind all
Gravois Park community members that they should feel free to reach out if
they have questions, if they need support, or just want to talk – we are here for
each other, and focused on the needs of our scholars and our families.

Sincerely,
Miranda Ming, PhD
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Kayla Case, EdS
PRINCIPAL, MOMENTUM GRAVOIS PARK

The Momentum admissions team is committed to supporting families through this transition, and learning more about the enrollment options available to them at our Fox Park, Tower Grove East and Tower Grove South campuses.

Click Here to explore what makes each of our communities unique

Click Here to schedule a tour at Fox Park, Tower Grove East and Tower Grove South

Click Here to re-commit for the 24/25 school year to rank your placement preference, and reserve your child’s 6-8th grade seat at one of the three campuses serving 6th-8th grade.