ST. PETERS — Dozens of volunteers converged on Henderson Elementary this week to help staff get the school ready for the new year after delayed construction work squeezed teachers’ preparation time and left parts of the school under a layer of dust.
With school set to start on Monday, Francis Howell School District staff, parents and community members spent hours laminating labels, sweeping floors, hanging alphabet charts on walls, setting up bulletin boards and bringing boxes of supplies out of storage.
“It’s truly amazing to see the number of volunteers who have stepped up to help our teachers and staff,†Angie Scarfino, vice president of the school’s Parent Teacher Organization, said Friday morning.
A snowstorm in January led to eight snow days, which extended the school year past its scheduled end. That, in turn, delayed the start of summer renovation and construction projects at Henderson Elementary by a week.
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“Those seven lost days of construction during a pretty aggressive timeline made a big difference,†Superintendent Mark Delaney said.
The construction prevented teachers from getting into the school this summer to gradually prepare for the upcoming school year. Additionally, the fire marshal and city inspector did not determine the building was safe to work in until Wednesday afternoon, meaning most school staff were not able to enter the building until late this week.
Additional inspections over the weekend will ensure smoke alarms, strobes and other safety devices function properly.
Julia Rankey, who teaches first grade at Henderson, said teachers normally would have a full week to set up their classrooms.
“We’ve chunked it down to three days,†Rankey said. “The help has been amazing.â€
First-grade teacher Hailey Nichols said she would be working into the weekend to get her classroom ready for Monday.
“Ultimately, by Monday, our rooms are not going to be perfect,†Nichols said. “But just having a space for students to come into is good in itself, even if it’s not perfect or to our standards.â€
District spokesperson Jennifer Jolls said teachers will be compensated if they choose to work during the weekend to get their rooms ready. She said more than 40 parents and community members signed up to help through Sunday and at least 25 more showed up.
“It’s really all hands on deck over the weekend to get everything situated,†Jolls said.
By Friday, a few Board of Education members had come to help. They were joined by parents, teachers from other schools, custodial workers, retired staff, as well as community members, including some who never had kids at the school.
Henderson Elementary, a school with 677 students in 2024, has grown by about 100 students during the past 20 years, according to state data. A $244 million passed by voters in 2020 funded two additions and renovations to the school.
Measured by square footage, Henderson is one of the smallest schools in Francis Howell, a district with about 17,000 students.
The school ran out of classroom space in recent years. Storage spaces had to be converted for instructional use. The gym doubled as a cafeteria.
“We were bursting at the seams,†Principal Lisa Bohrmann said.
Bohrmann described Henderson as a “very close-knit community.†She said she was not surprised to see so many people come out to help.
“It’s been amazing to have the whole community come together.â€
