SLLIS Snapshot

Bonjour! Ni Hao! İHola! It’s time for the biannual SLLIS Snapshot! In this district-level newsletter that comes out at the end of each semester, SLLIS Superintendent Dr. Meghan Hill provides updates and highlights about the big-picture goings-on at SLLIS. Please read on to learn more!

July 2026

Dear SLLIS Community,

Happy Summer! I’m sharing some of our most exciting and impactful district-level news with you in our biannual SLLIS Snapshot.

We had another year full of language learning and growth at SLLIS in 2025-2026. Here are some of the highlights!

Academics

• SLLIS received three Saint Louis University PRiME Center Growth awards for promoting outstanding student growth during the 2024-25 school year: English Language Arts (2024-25), Mathematics (2024-25), and English Language Arts (3-year, ending 2024-25).

• This means that, based on growth in ELA and Math when compared to other schools in Missouri, SLLIS stands among the very best.

• Read more about the PRiME Growth Awards here.

• Thanks to our outstanding growth, SLLIS was invited to join the Growth, Achievement, and Innovation Network for Schools (GAINS): A High-Growth Schools Learning Cohort. Read more about GAINS here.

• SLLIS’ Dual Language Pre-K Classrooms had the highest achievement in the St. Louis Pre-K Cooperative once again this year!

• We launched stronger, more student-centered Standards Based Grading practices across SLLIS in Grades K-8.

Launching Capital Projects

• We are launching our 5th Floor Renovation Project in July 2026! This project includes a complete renovation of the 5th floor, stairwell improvements, and restroom updates. We are very excited to get started - you can read more about this project below!

• SLLIS is also preparing for an Elevator Modernization Project. This will take place after the completion of the 5th floor.

Board Leadership and Strategic Planning

• We want to thank our outgoing Board Chair, Mrs. Trudy Ingalls, for her service to SLLIS! You can read Mrs. Ingalls’ farewell message to the SLLIS community here.

• We are excited to welcome Mr. Ed O’Neal, a founding SLLIS Board Member, to the role of SLLIS Board Chair! Mr. O’Neal has been a part of the SLLIS community since 2009. You can read more about him here.

• As we complete Year 5 of our current 5-year Strategic Plan, we are finalizing our new, two-year Strategic Plan. The SLLIS Board will approve the new plan in August 2026.

Team and Leadership

• Mme Coumba Gueye assumed the role of Interim Principal in 25-26 and did an incredible job leading our staff, students, and community. We are thrilled she will continue as our Principal in 2026-2027!

• SLLIS continues to boast a very strong fund balance and growing enrollment. As a result, we continue to add numerous full time positions to our Organizational Chart. We updated the community about our expanding team in February 2026 and again in May 2026.

• In 2026-2027 we will add the following positions:

• Assistant Superintendent of Instruction

• Additional Assistant Principal (for a total of three)

• Additional Instructional Coach (for a total of three)

• Process Coordinator (for Special Education)

• Behavioral Health Therapist (this position will move from BJC to a SLLIS employee)

• French Program Pre-K Teacher

• French Program Pre-K Teacher Assistant

• Additional Spanish teacher (for two sections of 4th grade)

• This past school year, we added the following positions:

• School Counselor

• 2nd Instructional Coach

• Reading Interventionist

• 4th Paraprofessional

• Chinese Program Pre-K Teacher

• Chinese Program Pre-K Teacher Assistant

• Additional Bridge to French Program Teacher

• Operations Manager

• SLLIS continues to thrive as a highly diverse organization with an incredible, talented staff.

Finance and Budget Planning

• SLLIS maintained a very strong financial year in 2025-2026 and is projected to close out the fiscal year on June 30 with a 59.82% fund balance.

• SLLIS continues to stand in an excellent financial position. This Board Report from September 2025 outlines financial achievements from the past five years.

Community Connections

• Record-Setting Enrollment - This fall, SLLIS experienced another enrollment increase, and we now have over 500 students. This is an incredible achievement in a city with a declining birth rate and decreasing public school enrollment - and it will help ensure SLLIS’ long term organizational health.

• Pre-K Expansion

• SLLIS opened our Chinese Dual Language Pre-K Classroom in Fall 2025 and will open our French Dual Language Pre-K Classroom in Fall 2026.

• The Chinese Pre-K Program had a fabulous first year, and planning for the TFP classroom is well underway!

We are very excited to continue supporting our staff, students, and community as we plan for 2026-2027 at SLLIS! I wish each of you a wonderful summer break!

Sincerely,

Dr. Meghan Hill

Superintendent

As SLLIS continues to grow, we are moving forward with two important capital improvement projects that will strengthen our programs, improve our facility, and support students and families for years to come.

The first project is the renovation of the 5th floor to create a dedicated middle school space. This project has been in development for several years and represents the first phase of the SLLIS Master Campus Plan. Beginning in 2021, SLLIS partnered with Trivers and engaged board members, staff, families, students, and community stakeholders in a comprehensive planning process to develop a long-term vision for our campus. The resulting Master Campus Plan, completed in 2022, identified the 5th floor renovation as a top priority aligned with our Strategic Plan goal of redesigning our middle school into a robust, top-tier, sought-after program.

In addition to creating dedicated learning spaces for middle school students, the project includes several facility improvements that will benefit the entire school community. First floor restrooms will be renovated to provide greater flexibility and accessibility for students, staff, families, and visitors. Currently, the first floor includes only an adult restroom. The project will also add individual adult restrooms on multiple floors, which will provide more convenient access for staff throughout the building. Stairwells will be improved to create a more student-centered environment. This will enhance the safety, appearance, and functionality of these heavily used spaces. Together, these improvements will better support daily operations while creating a more welcoming and functional learning environment.

The construction project for the 5th floor, restrooms, and stairwells will begin in July 2026. While efforts will be made to complete the work on floors 1-4 before staff and students return to campus, it is likely there will still be some construction on going through early fall on our lower floors. Once projects impacting floors 1-4 are completed, our construction team will begin work on the 5th floor. We anticipate completing the entire project by January 2027.

The second project is the modernization of our building’s elevators. In a five-story school serving more than 500 students, reliable elevator service is essential for accessibility and daily operations. Modernizing these systems will improve reliability, functionality, and access throughout the building while reducing disruptions caused by aging infrastructure. The elevator modernization project will conclude in Summer 2027.

Together, these projects represent a thoughtful investment in the future of SLLIS and a significant step toward realizing the long-term vision outlined in our Master Campus Plan. By improving the learning environment, increasing operational efficiency, and creating space to support continued growth, these investments will help ensure SLLIS can continue providing an exceptional bilingual, culturally responsive education for years to come.

We have learned through parent surveys that many parents are seeking more information about academic programming at SLLIS, including how the Dual Language Model works, what curriculum programs are used and why, and how we assess and grade students.

Instructional Framework: SLLIS implements a Dual Language Model framework for language immersion instruction. The model is based on research-based best practices for language acquisition. Click the button below to learn more.

Curriculum, Assessment, and Grading: SLLIS has developed a written curriculum for all core content areas and all three languages based on the Missouri Learning Standards and the ACTFL standards for French, Spanish and Chinese. SLLIS teachers leverage curriculum programs to lead students to mastery of these standards each day. Through Standards Based Grading, SLLIS teachers can evaluate student mastery of the standards taught. Read more about curriculum, assessment, and grading at SLLIS by clicking the button below.

As a language immersion school with staff from 20 countries, SLLIS has a very unique teaching team! This means that teacher certification looks different at SLLIS than at other public schools. Click here to read more.

Despite our best efforts, SLLIS may not be able to host interns for 2026-2027. Click here to read more.

We look forward to seeing you in August!

Important 26-27 Dates:

• August 20, 2026 - Back to School Block Party
• August 24, 2026 - First Day of School for Pre-K and Kindergarten
• August 25, 2026 - First Day of School For Grades 1-8