CON V ERGING CA MPUS & COMMUNIT Y
NORTHWEST MISSOURIAN THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2023
MARYVILLE, MISSOURI
NWMISSOURINEWS.COM
VOL. 112, NO. 3
@THEMISSOURIAN
Teacher retention rates increase with 4-day week HANNAH CLAYWELL News Editor | @Hannah_9504
Tailgate lot shut down, owners prepared to sell SIDNEY LOWRY Editor-in-Chief | @sidney_lowry
T
he lot across the street from the Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse, known as the grass lot, is no longer open for parking or tailgating as the football season starts. As the owner of the lot is looking to sell the land, students will have to find a new place to tailgate for the football seasons and future seasons. The lot that once was full during game days now will have a farm gate installed at the main entry and multiple no trespassing signs placed among the outline of the property.
The grass lot is being sold for by Shirley’s Realty.
$788,000
The 12.29-acre lot is being sold by Shirley’s Realty for $788,000 and has been listed since the spring. Originally, the owners planned on developing the land, but have since relocated and are now looking to sell the residential development property. Student Senate President Elizabeth Motazedi said she learned of the closure three weeks ago and has heard negative feedback from students. “I have heard that students are pretty upset about it, just because that is kind of one of those traditions I guess that students look forward to when game days approach,” Motazedi said. University Police Chief Clarence Green said the realtor who is selling the property has notified local law enforcement asking them that all those who park in the lot to be arrested for trespassing. Motazedi said that even though students are upset, the University is prioritizing student safety.
SEE TAILGATE | A4 WATCH THIS STORY ONLINE This story is available online in a video format at NWMISSOURINEWS.COM KNWT CHANNEL 8
Last year, West Nodaway and Nodaway Holt transitioned to four-day school weeks taking away Monday class. This change added 20 minutes to each school day. West Nodaway made this transition after it was voted on by the West Nodaway Board of Education Feb. 9, 2022. At a different meeting Jan. 26, 2022, parents had concerns about the transition to the four-day week. Studies have shown that students perform better with four-day weeks, according to National Conference of State Legislatures. West Nodaway Principal Tim Conn talked about the impacts of the transition. Throughout the year, there are several holidays that fall on Mondays where school would have already been out and professional development happened once or twice a month, which was another Monday students would not have been in school with a five-day week. Conn said the reason four-day school weeks were started was to save money, but the main goal was to retain teachers. Conn said he was happy with the amount of applications the school received for elementary teachers, and he hopes it continues. “We were pretty fortunate in the elementary side for sure,” Conn said. “We had all our teacher positions filled earlier than most this year.” Conn said some of the teachers said the transition to four-day weeks was something that made them interested in applying or kept them at West Nodaway. It was to increase student and teacher attendance and create a consistent school calendar. Studies have shown this to be affective for retaining teachers. After the COVID-19 pandemic, there was some concern for hiring teachers, but this year West Nodaway did not have to be concerned with that because of the early filling of the teaching positions. “Last year being our first of it, it just became normal,” Conn said. “There was hardly any feedback during the year.” Conn said most initial feedback were questions and people trying to get more information, though several parents expressed concerns, some about finding childcare. As the year progressed, he said there was not much feedback.
SEE RETENTION | A4
New Diversity and Inclusion VP talks excitement for year HANNAH CLAYWELL News Editor | @Hannah_9504
Northwest has welcomed Shay Malone as the new vice president of Diversity and Inclusion. Malone started this summer and is excited to learn more about diversity and inclusion at Northwest. Malone is originally from Memphis, Tennessee, but lived in St. Louis for 10 years. She started with dance and English majors and did not realize until her senior year that she wanted to work in higher education.
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“I know change takes time, specifically strategic change takes time. And so I am loving getting to know Northwest and getting to know Maryville.”
SHAY MALONE VICE PRESIDENT OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
“I knew it was time for me to grow professionally, and when I looked at the job here, I saw some of the great things that Northwest was already doing and things that I am already invested in and some things that I really hold true to how to do this work in diversity and inclusion,” Malone said. She said she fell in love with the campus and the people. She went to school in Missouri as a first generation student, so she said this felt like coming back home. ILLUSTRATION BY JULIANNA LAWRENCE ASST. DESIGN EDITOR
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