PAC REPORT

Bayless School District

Plain & Company

Table of Contents
Introduction and Purpose ...................................................................................................................... 3
 Audience ................................................................................................................................................... 3
Context ........................................................................................................................................................ 7
Key Messages and Message Map ............................................................................................................... 9
Works Cited ..........................................................................................................................................11
Introduction and Purpose
Introduction
Purpose
This report provides a comprehensive overview of the Bayless School District and how it can
fulfill its mission in spreading its main core values through their unique initiatives, such as their
Portrait of a Graduate model. Bayless communicates these values as characteristics for a
graduate, consisting of Problem Solver, Critical and Creative Thinker, Collaborative
Communicator, and Global Citizen.

Problem Statement
The main dilemma faced by the school system lies in the balance between accommodating their
diverse student body and keeping true to their values and initiatives. Additionally, the school
system is currently underutilizing their communicative and collaborative strengths built by their
strong sense of diversity and inclusion.

Agenda
In this report, we analyze the school system and its opportunities for growth by delving into their
diverse student network and psychographics. We explore opportunities for growth in the
communication between the student body, alumni, and faculty. We look closely at the school’s
educational methodologies and recommend possible alternations to assure the success of the
task. Lastly, we develop strategies for how the school can continue to foster a collaborative
environment and how they can further tap into different methods of inclusivity inside and outside
the classroom.

Methodology
Research for this report was conducted using available databases, both from the Bayless School
District’s own files and from the statistics provided by the National Center for Education,
Statista and academic databases from Bayless itself. Lastly, aspects of our report are derived
from the sources themselves, including the staff members at Bayless and associated members,
assuring a personal and specific aspect to the report on the expectations and hopes for those
directly involved in the program.

Audience
The targeted subject of our research is the parents of the students in the Bayless School District.
The client intends to portray their longstanding values through a schoolwide promotive program.
Bayless parents come from a variety of different backgrounds, making up one of the “most
 diverse school districts per capita in the state of Missouri”.1 Parents of Bayless take an active
role in the district's betterment, with active participation in district initiatives such as Portrait of
a Graduate. These parents value the education of their children as well as their well-being. In
placing their students in a public school, parents cite proximity, affordability, and safety as their
top three reasons for doing so.2 Thus, parents clearly seek to maximize involvement in their
child’s education by placing them in a stress-free environment for both parties. However, at a
nation-wide level, parents are relatively dissatisfied with public school education. In a study
conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, it was found that only 54% of parents
whose students attended an assigned public school were satisfied with the institution. 3 In short,
parents in the United States and more specifically Bayless care deeply about the quality of
education their children receive, while also wishing for improvements in topics of interest.
Demographics
Bayless has a wide variety of backgrounds and ethnicities that they would need to get their
message across to. As seen in the chart below, Bayless has a Minority enrollment of almost 36%.
Bayless also has 35 different languages being spoken across students, with 32% of students
speaking a language other than English. While communicating the changes and improvements
they want to make, the Bayless administration needs to express them in a way that keeps the
diversity of the student population in mind. Bayless families could potentially benefit from a
Bosnian faculty member who oversees getting the message across to the minority enrollment of
Bayless. The Bosnian faculty member would work together with the administration on the
changes and implementation Bayless wants to bring and create a method of getting the message
across to the minority enrollment in a successful manner.

Most Spoken Languages other than English Percentage of Population Speaking Language

1
About Bayless. Bayless School District. (n.d.). https://www.baylessk12.org/about-us/about-bayless
2
Share of parents with various reasons why they chose to enroll their youngest child in a private or public school in
the United States in 2024. WU Libraries: Proxy Server Login. (n.d.). https://www-statista-
com.libproxy.wustl.edu/statistics/1457384/us-parents-main-reasons-to-choose-private-or-public-schools/
3
School Choice in the United States: 2019. School choice in the United States: 2019. (n.d.).
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/schoolchoice/ind_08.asp
 Bosnian 14

Vietnamese 7

Arabic 4

Spanish 3

Pashto 2

Nepali 2
Psychographics
Bayless School District families seem to struggle with poverty at an above-average rate
compared to Missouri. Per Bayless’ District Report Card, 52.7% of students receive free or
reduced lunch pricing packages. When compared to the Missouri average of 47.4%, Bayless
clearly has more students in need of financial assistance. 4
As for sports, Bayless high school has a notable soccer field with a track field around it, with a
recently renovated indoor basketball court for their sports teams as well. Bayless has many sports
team options for students, accompanied by new and quality sports facilities. Therefore, students
who are interested in sports have a great chance to play. Bayless has a very large Bosnian
population, and Bosnians are generally very interested in playing soccer. Therefore, promoting
soccer can be effective using students’ interests and aspirations toward a productive purpose.
As previously mentioned, parents emphasize the importance of safety in their child’s education.
In fact, a quarter of U.S. parents indicated safety as a primary reason for enrolling their students
in a public school. Therefore, the parents of Bayless likely have responded well to the school
district’s efforts towards increasing student safety. With resources such as yearly intruder
training and an anonymous bully reporting system, prioritizing student safety has encouraged
parents to feel comfortable with their Bayless student.

4
About Bayless. Bayless School District. (n.d.).
Motivators

Staff and administration: The staff are motivated by the success of their students, professional
growth opportunities, positive school culture, and recognition of their efforts. As seen in the
table, Bayless is not doing terribly on their education and test scores, but there is room for a lot
more improvement. With the changes they want to bring, the staff and administration are looking
to increase these numbers and their school rank.

Students: Academic success, recognition, social relationships, and extracurricular achievements

all motivate Bayless students. Moreover, receiving a high quality education leading to high
ACT/SAT exam scores further motivates these students. They hope to be involved in many
extracurricular activities so they can fill up their resume while applying for colleges.
Parents: The success and improvement of their kids primarily motivates Bayless parents. They
want their kids to get a proper education and be involved in extracurricular activities in order to
promote college-readiness.
Deterrents

The deterrents for parents of public-school students in the United States as a whole share
common concerns for a few pertinent issues. For example, in a study conducted for Statista, 50%
of parents reported high levels of concern for bullying in schools, with only 5% not concerned at
all. Bullying stood as the top issue for parents. Secondly, 83% of parents reported as being at
least somewhat concerned about students not meeting educational standards, a key issue facing
Bayless School District specifically. 5

Audience Persona

Our audience for our report includes Bayless School’s teachers, students, families, sponsors, and
even alumni. However, it will be more important for some audiences than others; the target
audience for this report will be the students going to Bayless and their families.
Given the factors of research outlined above, a typical Bayless parent takes a lot of care and
consideration into their child’s learning environment. While they may be less wealthy than the
typical Missouri parent, they still spend time being active in the school district’s community
engagement. Caring about things such as student safety, athletics, and academic achievement,
these parents hope to have their children near home and work to maximize involvement. The
typical Bayless parent belongs to a diverse community of different languages and cultures and
hopes to have their student engage with various walks of life.

Context
Industry, Economic, and Demographic Trends:

5
How concerned are you about the following issues in public schools in your local area?. Statista. (n.d.).
https://www-statista-com.libproxy.wustl.edu/statistics/1455786/public-k-12-school-concerns-us/
Enrollment in Missouri public schools has fallen by 2.2%, or roughly 19,000 students, over the
last five academic years, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education (DESE) education dashboard. This mirrors a national trend, as public-school
enrollment nationwide has gradually declined. Conversely, private school enrollment has
increased nationwide, indicating a shift in educational options. In Missouri, it is unclear where
the students that have dropped out have gone, as Missouri does not track private school
enrollment or require parents to report homeschooling (KOMU 8). However, most STL districts
have plateaued or lost fewer students this year amid an overall downward trend in enrollment.
Since the fall of 2019, public schools have lost 5,500 students in St. Louis County and nearly
3,000 in St. Louis city (STL Today).
Assuming the nationwide trends of an increase in private school enrollment hold true in St.
Louis, it is important to consider what private schools are doing to attract students. One such
school, Columbia Independent School, has seen an influx of students, and is currently
undergoing renovations worth $18 million. CIS credits their growth to COVID, it “forced people
in many ways to look at different things,” Kinney said. “We've seen increased enrollment, over
10 years for us. But, I think that people started looking at other educational opportunities”
(KOMU 8). Parents saw the value in smaller classes, more individualized learning, and a closer
knit community. CIS has a vision of the “whole student” in mind, around which it bases the
curriculum: “We want our students to be seen and heard here, to feel like they belong, know that
they belong” Kinney said (KOMU 8). This commitment echoes that of Bayless, which has a
portrait for the Bayless graduate that it aims to achieve. Perhaps Bayless, as a smaller public
school, can attract parents that would send their children to private schools.
Zooming out, we can look at St. Louis’ economic and demographic trends, and how Bayless
School District compares. In St. Louis median per capita income is $36,722, 38.6% of the
population has a bachelor’s degree or higher, and 20.2% are in poverty. In Bayless, $37,957,
which is slightly above the St. Louis median, 25% hgave a bachelor's degree or higher, and 9.1%
are below the poverty line. Interestingly, though Bayless is above the average income and has
fewer than average people below the poverty line , it has a lower-than-average education level.
Demographically, Bayless also differs from St. Louis demographically as well. In St. Louis,
6.3% are born abroad, and 46.3% are white, while 43.9% are black. In Bayless, however, 21.3%
are foreign-born, and 77% are white, 6% are black, and 7% are Asian. While Bayless is less
demographically diverse than St. Louis as a whole, it does have more immigrants.
Competitor Analysis:
According to Niche, the best school district in the St. Louis area is Ladue School District. Ladue
is also a public district that has the most success, so thus it is beneficial to compare what they are
doing successfully. One thing Ladue is rooted in is tradition and places a lot of emphasis on
creating special events for their students. In their mission statement, they clearly outline that one
of their goals is “engaging parents and the community in the success of our students.” They
make their school board general information public for parents to access, such as their meeting
agendas, district goals, and policies. By making this information public, all parents feel involved
and like active participants in their children’s school district. Another thing that sets Ladue apart
from other school districts is that they have a foundation called the Ladue Education Foundation.
They have raised over four million dollars from various sponsors such as Sothebys and
Perkins&Will, and have provided financial support for over 79,000 of their students. Not only
does this money allow Ladue to create opportunities for their students in the classroom, but it
also builds loyalty between them and families. This loyalty makes parents want to become
involved in their children’s education and help in any way they can.
Another successful school district that Bayless can learn from is the School District of Clayton.
The School District of Clayton has an extraordinary strategic plan that they pride themselves in.
They create a ‘Profile of a Graduate’ for each of their students that maps out their progression
from pre-K all the way to senior year. They write themselves: “we begin with the end in mind,
using the voices of our community, our students, and our alumni to develop a profile of the
competencies we want for every Clayton graduate. We use that profile to shape the direction in
this strategic plan, influence our approach to learning and challenge the mental models of what
our school should look like for our students.” By involving alumni, parents, and current students,
the School District of Clayton creates an active community that impacts the learning
environment they foster in their schools. Having a clear plan also helps them get necessary
funding from the Clayton community in order to make the Profile of a Graduate become a
reality, so they can make their goals reality. Bayless can learn from this structured program, as it
hits a lot of the goals Bayless has on getting their community more active in their education.
Conclusion:

In conclusion, after looking at Bayless’s competitors and analyzing trends, Bayless needs more
structure to get more of their community involved. Ladue’s Education Foundation and Clayton’s
‘Profile of a Graduate’ create obtainable goals that involve parents and students, which then
dominoes into a more active district community and satisfied parents. By creating a big picture
statement of how a student will be impacted from Pre-K through Senior year, Ladue and Clayton
districts are more appealing to parents and are seeing higher rankings and enrollment numbers.
Bayless has the resources it needs to be a competitive school district. They have a variety of
backgrounds, racial diversity, and economic status, all of which can be incorporated to create a
balanced portrait of a student. Furthermore, the rise in popularity in private schools may be a
positive sign for Bayless, as Bayless is a smaller school district that prides itself on its
personalized schooling and dedication to students, is able to imitate what is attractive about
private schools.

Key Messages and Message Map

Our key messages for the Bayless School District are incorporating diversity into their
curriculum to improve student success, further involving the community (faculty, parents,
students) into their programing, motivating students to excel in standardized testing like AP tests
and the SAT, and attracting more students to their school district to combat the decrease in
public school enrollment. By addressing these points, Bayless will be able to build a portrait of a
graduate that appeals to students and parents alike, thus fortifying Bayless as a district and
increasing student success.
WORK B REA KDOWN

• Introduction/Purpose- Jack
• Audience- Vahdet and Aaron
• Context- Ty and Sophie
• Message Map- Vahdet, Aaron, Ty, Sophie
 Works Cited
“About Bayless.” Bayless School District. Accessed March 24, 2024.
https://www.baylessk12.org/about-us/about-bayless.

Bernhard, Blythe. 2023. “Public School Enrollment Stabilizes in St. Louis after Pandemic
Losses.” STLtoday.com. November 29, 2023.
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/public-school-enrollment-stabilizes-in-st-
louis-after-pandemic-losses/article_b9f31834-8e19-11ee-a319-
4349e4f8a509.html#:~:text=Most%20districts%20have%20plateaued%20or.

“Census Profile: Bayless School District, MO.” n.d. Census Reporter. Accessed March 25, 2024.
https://censusreporter.org/profiles/97000US2904500-bayless-school-district-mo/.

“How concerned are you about the following issues in public schools in your local area?”
Statista. (n.d.). https://www-statista-com.libproxy.wustl.edu/statistics/1455786/public-k-
12-school-concerns-us/

“How does Bayless Sr.. high school rank among America’s best high ...” Accessed March 24,
2024. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-
schools/missouri/districts/bayless/bayless-sr-high-school-11503.

Reporter, Siobhan Harms, KOMU 8. 2024. “Statewide Decrease in Public School Enrollment
Mirrors National Trends.” KOMU 8. March 23, 2024.
https://www.komu.com/news/midmissourinews/statewide-decrease-in-public-school-
enrollment-mirrors-national-trends/article_c37507a0-dda1-11ee-8833-
0ff66b069a96.html#:~:text=Enrollment%20in%20Missouri%20public%20schools.

“School Choice in the United States: 2019. School choice in the United States: 2019.” (n.d.).
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/schoolchoice/ind_08.asp

“Share of parents with various reasons why they chose to enroll their youngest child in a private
or public school in the United States in 2024.” WU Libraries: Proxy Server Login. (n.d.).
https://www-statista-com.libproxy.wustl.edu/statistics/1457384/us-parents-main-reasons-
to-choose-private-or-public-schools/

STLtoday.com, St Louis Post-Dispatch &. 2023. “Bayless School District Salaries | Public Pay |
Stltoday.com.” Graphics.stltoday.com. September 7, 2023.
https://graphics.stltoday.com/apps/payrolls/salaries_2023/teachers/96099/.

St. Louis Area Economic Summary, www.bls.gov/regions/mountain-

plains/summary/blssummary_stlouis.pdf. Accessed 25 Mar. 2024.

“U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: United States.” 2023. Www.census.gov. 2023.

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/.