KIRKWOOD 鈥 The Kirkwood School District has relocated its central offices to the historically Black neighborhood of Meacham Park, a move designed to bring the community together.
鈥淲ho would have guessed in the 鈥80s that the Kirkwood School District would have come in this community? No one,鈥 said Harriet Patton, president of the Meacham Park Neighborhood Improvement Association.
The J. Milton Turner School building on Milwaukee Street on the southern edge of the district is now home to Superintendent David Ulrich and other administrators. The building opened as Meacham Park Elementary School in 1925 at the urging of Black parents who wanted a better education for their children in their own neighborhood.
Later renamed for former slave and educator James Milton Turner, it remained an all-Black school until the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional.
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After the school closed in 1976, efforts to turn it into a museum were unsuccessful. The district sold the building in 1980. Various businesses called the building home for decades before it was renovated in the 2000s.
The district bought the building back last year. The district鈥檚 former administrative offices on the North Kirkwood Middle School campus will be converted to eight classrooms. Office furniture and files are being installed this month.
鈥淭o have it back in the Kirkwood family is something we could only dream of,鈥 Ulrich said.
Some hints of the former school remain, including lockers lining the hallways and glazed tile on some walls.
Patton, who attended Turner Elementary and graduated from Kirkwood High in 1969, said the district鈥檚 return to the school is supported by Meacham Park neighborhood residents as the latest effort to relieve racial tension in the mostly white suburb of Kirkwood.
The racial tensions and neglect that plagued Meacham Park after it was annexed by the city of Kirkwood in 1991 culminated in a shooting rampage at City Hall in 2008. The tragedy took the lives of two city police officers, four city officials and the man who shot them, Charles Lee 鈥淐ookie鈥 Thornton of Meacham Park.
The U.S. Justice Department worked on a mediation agreement to address concerns of Meacham Park鈥檚 residents. In the nearly 15 years since the shooting, residents have made their own strides to connect the community.
The school district returning to its roots is a positive move, Patton said.
鈥淭he past is behind us. Some things you just have to let go,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 happy they鈥檙e there. They planted a seed, watered it and it鈥檚 growing.鈥
The legacy of Turner, one of the founders of Lincoln University in Jefferson City, is displayed in old clippings and photos at the school, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The district has hosted free COVID-19 testing for the community at the school. There are plans for volunteers to offer tutoring for students.
鈥淲e鈥檙e coming together, working together, and we need to stay together,鈥 Patton said.
