Laura Hepburn For Kirkwood

06/13/2026

Hi friends! I hope your summer is off to a wonderful start! My 11 year old daughter just finished reading this “Seraphina” series by Robert Beatty and said it was one of the best series she has read so far. If your kiddo is into magical tales, this one has her stamp of approval to get those summer reading hours in.

What recommendations do you have for kids of different ages (or parents)? 📚 ✨

06/08/2026

Tonight's BOE meeting is a Work Session with a short "Special Session" at the beginning. This means we will not have public comments tonight as we only have those at our "Business Meetings" (next scheduled Business Meeting is June 22).

Our "Special Meeting" will be a short opportunity to approve our 26-27 Personnel Report which factors into our budget and helps us map out hiring needs before the start of the school year.

Our "Work Session" is entirely devoted to our Budget Hearing. Behing the scenes, our entire board has been doing very deep dives into our proposed budget - looking at each line item and evaluating our forecasted revenues and fund balances for the next several years. This is a great opportunity for me to help everyone understand how much work we do in between meetings. We are constantly asking questions of our district administration and thinking the big questions about how we can best position KSD to serve students and the community. Over the past couple weeks, I have asked a ton of questions of Dr. Roumpos and our CFO, Scott Cook, and I am incredibly grateful that our district is in such a strong financial position. I do not take for granted that to maintain this position we need to stay vigilant and we need to keep an eye on legislation that could impact funding formulas and tax revenue. However, I did want to share with you that our district is currently on solid ground and I am appreciative of our former CFO Mike Romay and our current CFO Scott Cook for their dedication and skill.

06/05/2026

Don’t miss this chance to enjoy some delicious food and support a wonderful cause! I hope to see you there! 🐝 ♥️

06/03/2026

Since I was a student at Kirkwood High School, I have passionately believed in the inherent dignity and value of everyone. I was a KHS freshman when Matthew Shepard was beaten and tortured and left to die because of who he loved. I was a member of the GSA at Kirkwood High and have never wavered in my support and advocacy for a more tolerant and compassionate world where everyone is treated with respect and has access to the same opportunities for success and happiness. This extends to my role on the Board of Education.

I believe my most important priorities are to keep our students safe and to do everything in my power to help them succeed both academically and socially. There is so much data on how LGBTQIA+ youth are at risk for violence, self-harm, and mental distress. The data also shows that policies supporting their identities and helping them feel seen, included, and valued not only increase mental wellness but also create an environment that fosters academic success.

In Community Conversations, my email inbox, and in passing with neighbors and friends, I have heard similar sentiments from many of you here in this district. I want you to know how much I appreciate your support for our kids and your passion for building welcoming school communities. Thank you!

*Be warned that unkind comments will be hidden on this post as it is my personal promise and note to some of my vulnerable constituents. If this message does not apply to you, you needn't respond.

05/21/2026

That’s a wrap on the 2025-2026 School Year! It was a great first year with our new Superintendent, Dr. Roumpos, and I’m excited for what the future will bring. While most of the kids will get a break from school this summer, the Board of Education and Administrators will still be discussing ways to better serve our students and community, so don’t hesitate to reach out and stay tuned in to this space for updates and meeting agendas.

Have a safe, fun, and restorative summer! ♥️

05/21/2026

📖 Summer reading perks. 😊

We looked at each other the other day and realized something tragic: somewhere along the line, the world decided that trading a finished book list for free food is a privilege that expires when you turn twelve.

We think that’s wrong. Free food for reading books is an elite childhood tradition that never should have gone away.

So, we’re bringing it back for adults (and kids, too).

Introducing Steve’s Reading Rockstars. The rules are exactly how you remember them: Read 20 books, get free food. It's for everyone.

I’m currently filling out my own tracking sheet right now alongside Anthony Bourdain’s Medium Raw. I started strong with an easy warm-up classic: Go, Dog, Go (a classic) and then on to The Art of War (crucial for lunch rush strategy).

Join me? Stop in the shop to get your tracker - or we made it printable online as well! Kids read 20 books and get a FREE Kids Meal (with purchase of adult meal) and Adults who read 20 books get a free dog of their choice with purchase of another (excluding our monster Horseshoe Dog).

Yes, audiobooks and graphic novels count. No, reading the comments section on Facebook does not.

Come grab your tracker at either location, start reading, and let us buy you lunch. Comment your first book below!

https://www.steveshotdogsstl.com/reading-rockstars

05/18/2026

Tonight's Business Meeting is *packed* with info. We will have two presentations that were moved from our April meeting that was impacted by the severe weather warnings, as well as several new topics.

Our district Library Media Specialists will present on their wonderful programming (this was one of the April topics that was rescheduled).

We will review and approve our April Financial Report.

Dr. Liz Grana will review a new ELA Resource we plan to pilot for our Elementary learners and request approval. Our district is currently cycling through our curriculum resources and evaluating them for meaningful updates. Recently we implemented the Desmos Math resources and now we are looking into how we can support ELA learning.

Dr. Matt Bailey will present a report from the Wellness Committee (this was the second presentation that was rescheduled from April). This will hit on mental health topics and updates on how the district has dealt with the new cell phone restrictions.

CFO Scott Cook will present a preliminary budget for the 2026-2027 School Year. This is an early version and gives us several weeks to review it in detail before we approve it. Mr. Cook will fill us in on significant changes to our forecasted funding and expenditures.

As a reminder, Business Meetings are opportunities for the community to not only observe, but make public comments. To do so, you must arrive early enough to fill out a comment card before the meeting starts.

Our meeting will take place at 6:30 PM in the Board Room at NKMS on the East side of the building, near the Mid Meadows parking lot.

05/14/2026

I want to thank Ms. DePasquale's AP Language Arts class for hosting an incredible symposium this morning about Artificial Intelligence. They presented many well-researched perspectives and answered a lot of questions from several board members, KHS leadership, and district administrators including Dr. Roumpos.

I thought this was a great time to remind families that we are currently accepting survey responses about YOUR thoughts about district use of technology in our classrooms. This survey has been placed in recent "KSD Spotlight" emails, but I will include the link here. I am not sure when this survey closes, so if you want to participate (and also have the opportunity to volunteer for future focus groups), please do so ASAP. Thank you!

https://survey.sogolytics.com/survey/form?k=RQsSRXSWYsRPsPsPsP&lang=0

05/14/2026

I've been a little "MIA" from my page and district events these past few weeks because I have been grieving the passing of my Grandfather, with whom I was extremely close. He was an exceptional person and he taught me so much. While I could go on and on and on about him, I thought it was worth telling you that he was someone who had volunteered in our district back when I was a student at Keysor Elementary. So if you were in Mrs. Stobbe's class at Keysor in the mid-late 90's, you may remember my grandfather helping out. His name was Irving Burrows, but the kids called him "Mr. Brows" due to the similarity to his name as well as his impressive eyebrows.

I am proud to volunteer for the Kirkwood School District in my role as a Board Member and he was so proud of me too. He still lived here in Kirkwood and followed the local news, asking me about any items related to the schools.

Shout out to all of our district volunteers who help us make magic for our students and staff. These days, time is one of our most valuable resources and to give any of it away is truly a gift. And another shout out to Grandparents. You play such a special role in your grandkids' lives.

04/27/2026