Early Childhood Center Project Updates

District Continues Preparing Land for Early Childhood Center Site Work

June 2023 — The Early Childhood Center project will be split into two bids, with dirt work and construction bid separately. This will provide crews time to begin preparing the property while plans for the building are being finalized.

To prepare the property, the district has submitted, and the City has approved, a petition to annex a portion of the land into the city. A proposal is being drafted for an easement for Citizens Electric to be able to access its substation under the new plan. The dirt work for the Early Childhood Center will be the next project to be bid after the SGMS project this summer.

Early Childhood Committee Tours Centers

April 2023 — The Early Childhood Committee recently toured two established Early Childhood Centers, one in Orchard Farms, and one in Troy, to observe the spaces and programming. The district compiled feedback from the committee members, and met with preschool and Early Childhood Special Education educators to review updated floor plans and make adjustments. The floor plan for the Early Childhood Center has been finalized, and can be seen below. Some of the photos from the tours are also included below!

Early Childhood Committee Launches

March 2023 — The high school project has recently had some significant site work challenges with increased costs (see more here). District administration met with KRJ Architects and Brockmiller Construction to discuss the increased costs associated with each project, and came to the conclusion that a shift in direction might be needed, and that the District Level Facilities Committee should reconvene to provide input and make a decision. The committee delved into the updated plans, cost estimates, and unexpected hurdles and discussed the best approach to take going forward.

The original timeline included the Early Childhood Center beginning construction last. The committee discussed how that project could not then be completed if funds ran out due to increased costs of the other projects.

The committee decided to put the high school gymnasium plans on hold, and ask KRJ Architects to shift their focus to the Early Childhood Center plans. Dr. Taylor stressed that the district is not cutting any of the projects at this time. The goal is to strive to save as we move through construction, and take advantage of the value engineering opportunities that Brockmiller Construction identifies. At this time, all of the projects are still on the table.

The plans for the Early Childhood site are moving forward in terms of what needs to be done to begin dirt work. Taylor Engineering is drafting a proposal for an easement for Citizens Electric to be able to access its substation. Some of the electrical poles in that area will need to be addressed, as they will be low with dirt moved to that area.

With the reorganization of the projects, the timelines are nearly the same, with the Ste. Genevieve Elementary timeline moving backward a few months due to the focus on the Early Childhood Center plans. All timelines are all contingent on updated costs, the availability of materials, and unexpected processes that may arise.

SG R-II Obtains Additional 5 Acres for Early Childhood Center

January 2023 — We are happy to share an important update regarding the location of the upcoming Early Childhood Center. The district has officially obtained an additional 5 acres adjacent to the 6.08 acres purchased in March of last year. This new parcel was acquired from Mississippi Lime, and is located at the western end of Maple Drive in Ste. Genevieve.

This additional parcel will better allow the district to build an Early Childhood Center with the necessary classrooms, resources, playground and parking for our preschool and early childhood special education students.

Now that the district has officially obtained sufficient space for building an Early Childhood Center, we will launch an Early Childhood Committee to determine specifics related to the Center’s development, including building plan and design, reorganization of current early childhood programs, before and after school childcare, transportation services, extended school year, and more.

SG R-II Launches Plans Early Childhood Committee

May 2022 — While our Facilities Committee developed a framework for what an Early Childhood Center might look like, specifics related to its development will be determined through an Early Childhood Committee.

This group will include parents, educators, and community members. It is vitally important to include our stakeholders in the Center’s development of specific areas, such as building plan and design, reorganization of our current early childhood programs, before and after school childcare, transportation services, extended school year, and much more. District administration are currently touring established Early Childhood Centers, and plan to take the Early Childhood Committee, once convened, to the most innovative of these Centers.

SG R-II Obtains Additional Property for Early Childhood Center

March 2022 — The district is excited to announce that it has obtained a piece of property in Ste. Genevieve, in hopes of being able to build an Early Childhood Center at this location. This property consists of three parcels and is located at the western end of Maple Drive in Ste. Genevieve.

As facility planning progressed the last few years, the district explored various avenues for a possible Early Childhood Center. Building on either the SG Campus or the Bloomsdale Elementary Campus both presented issues in terms of either space or transportation. The district then explored the possibility of purchasing and renovating existing buildings in Ste. Genevieve. As none of these properties fit our needs or were available at the right time, the district searched for other options in order to find the option that could culminate in the best possible outcome for our students and for our community. Fortunately, the district was able to acquire a parcel of land from private individuals, which would offer a small campus for the building of a future Early Childhood Center. This would allow the district to expand our services to our students and community, while keeping an Early Childhood Center close to existing emergency services, city sewer, and the majority of our current bus routes.

Area of Focus — Early Childhood

Rendering of Possible Early Childhood Center Entry

One of the most significant priorities our Facilities Committee identified was the need for an Early Childhood Center, an initiative that will:

offer preschool and early childhood services to more families in our community, as our community has been feeling the strain in terms of available early childhood education and preschool services. Our district programs, which provide services for children who are 3+ years old, have an ongoing waitlist.
allow Parents As Teachers, Early Childhood Special Education and Preschool classrooms to be in one location.
allow the creation of additional space for screenings, PAT visits, and community group connections.
allow for the repurposing of existing spaces at the elementary level for classrooms.

This area will be updated as more information becomes available!

~ This webpage will be updated as more information becomes available! ~

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Paid for by the Ste. Genevieve County R-II School District, Superintendent Dr. Paul Taylor

STE. GENEVIEVE R-II SCHOOL DISTRICT