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Ritenour board approves Ritenour Center for Educational Excellence; names early-childhood annex for longtime teacher
Summary
The Ritenour School District board approved naming the district's newly acquired building at 10901 Saint Henry Lane the Ritenour Center for Educational Excellence and designated program-specific names for spaces inside the building, including the Janine Myla Haynes Early Childhood Annex and the Hahn Center for International English Learners.
The Ritenour School District Board of Education voted to name the district's recently purchased facility at 10901 Saint Henry Lane the Ritenour Center for Educational Excellence and approved names for program spaces inside the building.
The board approved the name after a presentation by Superintendent Dr. Chris Kilbride, who said the former Holy Trinity property — acquired in August 2024 — will house the International Welcome Center, the Center for Gifted Education and expanded early-childhood classrooms. Kilbride said the district followed guidance from Missouri School Boards Association policy FF to form a community, student and staff naming committee that met three times and recommended the names.
Why it matters: The district said giving the building an official name is needed for mail, billing and state reporting. The Ritenour Center for Educational Excellence is intended as a flexible facility that can host multiple programs and allow the district to expand services without renaming the entire structure if programs move.
Board members also approved naming the early-childhood space within the building the Janine Myla Haynes Early Childhood Annex in honor of a former district teacher who spent 27 years with the district. Family members spoke at the meeting, and Rod Milam, identified as Haynes's brother, thanked the board and described the family's background in education.
Superintendent Kilbride said the annex will add space that permits the district to enroll more children in no-cost early childhood education; he said the building will add about 80 early-childhood seats beyond the district's current capacity of about 235 and that planning is underway for future needs if kindergarten enrollment reaches the district's projection of roughly 500 incoming students.
The board also approved naming the International Welcome Center the Hahn Center for International English Learners (presented in the meeting as a designation honoring Julie Hahn). The district said the IWC currently serves more than 145 students and will gain up to 12 additional instructional spaces at the Saint Henry Lane site. The Center for Gifted Education will move from Ritenour Middle School and have three instructional spaces at the new facility.
The board's votes were recorded as affirmative. The naming committee and district staff will proceed with signage, operational planning and moving schedules, and the district said program-level staffing and recurring operating costs for the facility will be folded into next fiscal year planning.
Board President Dr. Thomas called the naming recommendation; a motion and second were recorded and the roll call resulted in unanimous approval among the members who voted.
Looking ahead: The district will finalize timelines for moving programs and notify families about new site logistics, and staff said they will include the facility on state reports and district communications.
