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St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley met with gifted students at Hazelwood East Middle School as part of a lesson associated with the MY LOGO program – Missouri Youth Engaged in Local Government.
It is a citizenship program sponsored by the University of Missouri-St. Louis College of Education and University of Missouri Extension that is designed to teach students in grades 4 through 12 about local government and involve them in issues in their communities. Five schools in the district participate in MY LOGO – Hazelwood Central Middle, Hazelwood East Middle, Hazelwood Northwest Middle, Hazelwood Southeast Middle and Hazelwood West Middle.
Dooley spoke to seventh and eighth graders in Sonja Brewer’s Student’s Activities in Investigative Learning (SAIL) class. The students had the opportunity to ask Dooley about the construction of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) building, which will be located on the east side of the school. The NARA building is the future site of the National Personnel Records Center for military personnel. The current records center is in Overland.
Dooley explained that the center is being built in a new location to meet expansion and modern technology needs. A groundbreaking for the NARA building is expected in June 2010. The building is expected to open in fall 2011.
Students asked questions such as “How long did it take to get approval for the building?” “Will the building bring money to the Hazelwood School District?” and “What kind of weather conditions can the building withstand?” Students also asked about security measures, the consideration of green resources and the impact of the building on the school, student safety and bus traffic.
Dooley told the students that relocating the center will save 800 jobs in the community. He talked about the process of gaining permits and securing funds for the cost of the building, which is $100 million. He explained how the downturn in the economy and real estate market affected the early planning stages of the project.
Monica Conners of the St. Louis County Economic Council spoke to the students about the potential impact of the building in the community. She talked about the need for more resources such as gas stations, restaurants and retail and consumer services and how those needs can provide more tax dollars for the school district.
Eighth grade students Larry Wilbon and Cyrus Daniel and seventh grader Sierra Conklin spoke about some of their concerns as they prepared for the session with Dooley.
“I wanted to know about safety measures because of the Oklahoma City bombing,” said Daniel. He also expressed concern about the impact on transportation for school buses.
“I wanted to know more about the purpose of moving next to our school,” said Wilbon. Conklin had the same concern.
“It was very informative. It was a nice experience to ask questions and talk to Mr. Dooley. It’s better than phone calls or e-mail. It’s much more memorable,” said Wilbon.
