—————————————————————————————————————————————————-
A two-year construction project, funded by Proposition 1, a no tax increase bond issue that voters approved in April 2021, is rebuilding the Meramec Valley R-III School District’s oldest and largest elementary school.
Zitzman Elementary School, 255 Indian Pride Drive, opened in 1965 to house grades one through six and one Special Education class.
Over the years, the grades in the school would change as the district accommodated a growing population, but the school would forever be identified with its namesake, Elda Zitzman, who taught in the district for 42 years and was the first woman principal in the district, a position she held for 23 years.
When the new Pacific Elementary School opened in 1965 Miss Zitzman would be at the helm for five years. When she retired in 1969 due to ill health, the Board of Education changed the name from Pacific Elementary School to Zitzman Elementary.
Zitzman is currently home to 322 students in grades k-4, making it by far the district’s largest elementary school. By comparison, 213 students attend Truman Elementary, 204 students attend Coleman, Nike has 167 students and Robertsville has 148 students. But the half-century old Zitzman classrooms were worn out.
“We’re not adding student population, this is a rebuilding project,” assistant superintendent Tom Sauvage said. “We’re adding four new kindergarten classrooms and four first grade classrooms. When the students move into the new rooms, the old classrooms will be demolished.”
Sauvage noted that the old school building had far exceeded district expectations.
“The building was originally built to house classrooms for thirty years,” Sauvage said. “It lasted more than 50 years. It’s been a good school.”
Students are expected to got into their new classrooms in January 2023, following the Christmas break. Work will continue for the remainder of the school year as a new full size gymnasium that will also serve as a storm shelter is constructed, the existing library will be expanded and moved into the old gym, and an array of safety and accessibility enhancements will be added.
To ease access to the school during construction, the district created a construction traffic safety management plan for parents of students attending Zitzman, Pacific Intermediate, and the Doris Hoffman Early Learning Center (all shown above).
The District asked for cooperation to ensure students and staff are safe in the school zone. The plan includes one way traffic on Indian Pride Drive with drivers having the option to exit onto West Union past the Fire House or drive past Zitzman to make a right onto Payne Street. Additionally, the District has a ‘no entry’ sign posted at the Zitzman gate on South Indian Pride Drive to keep vehicles from going against the traffic.
The new school, which will cost $9,200,000, is the largest beneficiary of Prop 1 funds.
In recognition of its elementary school heritage, when the groundbreaking ceremony was held to kick off construction in November 2021, Keith Orris, Zitzman principal asked a crew of students to move the the first shovels of dirt.
Other projects under way with Prop 1 funds include upgraded ADA playgrounds for all elementary schools, updated secure vestibules for all schools, upgraded security cameras across the district, and new school buses.
The district plans to hold ribbon cutting ceremonies for each school once the playgrounds are complete. The public will be invited.
Talk about walking down memory lane. My fondest years as a kid was attending this school. David Kendall was the Principal and I must have been about 8 years old. I learned to bond with classmates as a kid that would last a lifetime 🧐. I’ve learned a lot about life and myself since those days and it has been over 48 years since I was a student of Meramec Valley R3 School District. They did an outstanding job teaching us to learn and know the facts before making an informed decision. I am forever grateful.