No longer shall Westminster’s address be 10900 Ladue Road because, as of December 31, 2010, WCA reached their twenty million dollar milestone. But with a new campus comes changes not only for the atmosphere of the school but also the culture of the school.
A meeting hosted by the Board of Directors, on March 8th, discussed changes coming to WCA in the upcoming year. The meeting began by listing the numerous things the Westminster faculty is grateful for: the parents, the students, and the blessings they had received for WCA’s advancement team.
“At Westminster we are not just getting bigger, we are getting better,” said Peggy Johnson, Admissions Director.
This theme was seen all throughout the presentation that night. As various directors came to speak of where WCA is in advancement, admissions, and where they are financially, they also announced their goals of where they want the school to be in the future.
“God has blessed us in this gym for many years . . . the water that we swim in is challenging, but God is continually blessing us,” said Jim Marsh, Headmaster.
The most talked about topic of the night – whether or not the school would be requiring a uniform for next year – came with much anticipation. Marsh explained the majority of the people were dissatisfied with the current dress code. The Board was working hard to come up with ideas to improve Westminster in that sense. They said that, yes, uniforms did come up their discussion and that the school looked deeply into the issue. They have had the Ambassadors of the school “test drive” possible options for the dress code. However, a decision has not yet been made, and soon there will be another meeting.
In addition, Marsh emphasized strengthening different aspects of the Westminster environment. The teachers will have several opportunities to attend seminars on leadership and to sit in on other classes in different schools so they can improve their own teaching skills.
Academics in Westminster will be changing as well. The Practical Arts Department has been changed to Business, Communications, and Technology. Middle school keyboarding classes are to be improved, and the high school will be offering a Seminar Program to give opportunities to students to take courses just for learning purposes, not grading purposes.
With the change of campus for WCA, the Board kept in mind the social environment of WCA. To bring the school and grades closer together as a community there will be a Commons for each grade. In addition to the added common space, the library hours will be extended to possibly six or seven at night. To further improve the social aspect of Westminster, additional counselors will be added to the Upper School Guidance Department. The Board hopes that with the more “open” campus, the school will be an even more inviting place.
Marsh closed the meeting by telling the audience the following: “The goal is that realize something different . . . a different place . . . a great place. God has given us a great gift.”