Students, staff recognized at the March 10 board meeting

Each month during the school year, the Pattonville Board of Education honors students, staff and volunteers who have gained recognition outside of the district or who’ve made a special contribution to Pattonville. Learn more about students and staff who were recognized this month.

Pattonville Early Childhood

FBA Certification

Pattonville Early Childhood Center registered behavior technician Lora Monroe completed a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) Certification Course and was the first educator in the program to do so. The course was offered through Missouri State University to increase knowledge for writing a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) and Behavior Intervention Plan for students. Lora participated in observations, data collection, behavioral intervention analysis and a written assessment to complete the certification.

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Willow Brook Elementary School

National Youth Leadership Forum

Willow Brook Elementary School fourth grader Nyasha Matarise was invited to attend the National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF): Pathways to STEM program. The forum, taking place this summer, is a six-day program that allows elementary school students to discover their personal strengths and begin to acquire the leadership and life skills needed for academic and career success. The program begins with students as shipwrecked explorers on STEM Island, solving daily challenges to make it home. Participants investigate missing maps and engineer robotic rovers and explore medicine through calf heart dissection, dive into forensic science with fingerprinting and tackle engineering challenges like bridge building and amusement park design. The program is sponsored by Envision by WorldStrides, an organization that helps students reach their dreams through immersive pre-college career programs. Matarise was nominated by her teacher Melissa Capstick.

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Pattonville Heights Middle School

id2 National Training Camp

Pattonville Heights Middle School eighth grader Khaleb Bills was invited to attend an id2 National Training Camp on Feb. 18 through 22 in Chula Vista, California. The training camp is part of U.S. Club Soccer’s id2 National Identification and Development Program, which provides opportunities for youth soccer players to be identified, developed and scouted for potential inclusion in U.S. soccer national teams programs. The program is recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and U.S. Soccer Federation.

MMEA board

Pattonville Heights Middle School band director Liz Pace was elected as band vice president of the Missouri Music Educators Association (MMEA) and will serve on the board of directors representing band directors across the state. Liz’s work will include coordinating presenters and clinic sessions for the annual MMEA In-Service Workshop/Conference, leading band-related concerts and clinics and contributing articles to Missouri School Music magazine.

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Pattonville High School

Congressional App Challenge

Tanish Dorasani was selected as the winner of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge for Missouri’s First District. The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives that encourages middle and high school students to learn to code, explore computer science and build practical technology solutions for their communities. Each participating member of Congress selects a winning app from their district. Honorees are invited to showcase their project at the annual House of Code celebration on Capitol Hill. Dorasani was selected by Rep. Wesley Bell for his app OptiSense Glucose Trend Monitor, which serves as a companion for the OptiSense Band, a device he created that continuously tracks and displays glucose direction trends and notifies the user of significant changes in glucose levels. His work will be showcased on the U.S. Capitol website and displayed in the U.S. Capitol for the next year. Dorasani is taught by computer science teacher Stephanie Carson.

Project MFG Competition

Four students representing Pattonville High School placed fifth in the region in the Project MFG Additive Manufacturing competition. The competition tests skills related to the additive manufacturing process, from design, economics and change orders to slicing, post-processing and assembly. The students competed regionally against other high school and college teams in a five-hour event during which they had to assemble a robotic arm. The students who competed were Aiden Alvey, Tiffany Chu, Tanish Dorasani and Evan Spell. The group was sponsored by computer science teacher Stephanie Carson.

Cybersecurity Challenge

Three Pattonville teams competed in the final round of the seventh annual Missouri High School Cybersecurity Challenge, which took place on Feb. 17 in Columbia, Missouri. The top 10 teams from across the state competed in a four-hour capture-the-flag style competition where students had to identify and prevent common cybersecurity threats in a safe, controlled virtual environment. The challenge was hosted by the Missouri Research and Education Network (MOREnet), with support from both the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as well as EnterpriseKC. Members of the team placing second were Daniel Clifford, Lucas Konopka and Nicholas Shao. Members of the team that paced third were Harrison Lee and Xander Willingham. Members of the team that placed 10th were Eli Dukes, Parker Hasenkamp and Logan McCuistion. The group was sponsored by computer science teacher Stephanie Carson.

Yearbook honorees

Pattonville High School yearbook students earned a First Class rating, the second highest rating possible, from the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), for its 2025 “Echo” yearbook. The yearbook  was judged on scores out of 100 in the categories of essentials, coverage, writing and editing, design and photography. Pattonville’s judge commented, "The staff and adviser are to be commended for all the work that was done to create a publication that represents the school community so well. The theme was carried through with phrases and graphics. There was strong photography, and coverage of many aspects of the school year with stories and designs." Students who were part of the yearbook class included Jenna Cochran,  Troy King, William Norman and Lorelai Otto. These students were taught by Madison Lehmann.

Florissant Valley art exhibit

Two students had their artwork selected to be featured in the 2026 High School Student Art Exhibition at St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley. A closing reception and awards ceremony was held on Feb. 19 in the Florissant Valley Contemporary Art Gallery. Students whose work was selected were Olivia Anderson and Levi Cole. These students were taught by art teachers Danielle Adams and Scott Fader.

Youth Art Month Exhibit

Pattonville students were selected to have their artwork featured in the Missouri Art Education Association’s annual Youth Art Month Exhibit to celebrate March as Youth Art Month (YAM). Artwork will be on display on the third floor rotunda at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City.  A closing ceremony is planned for April 9. The following students were selected: Kate Bockhorst, Kylar Burns and Gabriella Serra. These students were taught by Danielle Adams.

Des Lee Fine Arts Festival

Five Pattonville High School students were nominated by their art teachers to participate in a visual art workshop as part of the Des Lee Fine Arts Festival held at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) on Feb. 3. Alice Katysevas received an honorable mention for her work created while attending the festival. Students who participated were Sophia Fernandez,  Parker May, Jayla Melton and Summer Ros. These students are taught by art teachers Chris Casaine, who serves as the visual arts chair of the festival, and Marcia Mueller.

Maryland Heights Art Exhibit

The Maryland Heights Community Center invited Pattonville High School students to display artwork at the center’s visual arts gallery space. Their work was on display from Feb. 12 to March 6. Student artwork included a diverse range of media, including photography, graphic design, felting, painting, drawing and mixed media. A reception celebrating the students took place at the community center on Feb. 12. The following students had their artwork selected: Eva Benson, Kate Bockhorst, Nicholas Carroll, Kevin Crawford III, Sophia Fernandez, Bryce Foti, Adison Gunter, Liyan Jaber, Alice Katysevas, Raegan May, Iana Medley, Jacob Snowden, Isabella Weeks and Kylee Worsham. These students were taught by Chris Casaine.

Swim and dive honors

Students from the girls swim and dive team competed and placed at the state competition after qualifying at the conference meet. Tiyah McCoy placed seventh in one meter diving after placing first at the conference meet. She was also named conference diver of the year. The 200 freestyle relay team placed 25th at state after placing sixth at conferences and the 200 medley relay team placed 27th after placing fifth at the conference meet. Students who were part of both relay teams were Nora Barry, Mackenzie Newell, Jenna Ridings and Ella Tinnon. Ridings also placed second in the 100 fly at state after placing first at the conference meet and holds the conference record for this event. She also placed third in the 200 freestyle at state after placing first at the conference meet. Gillian Volz was part of the state team as an alternate. The swim and dive team was coached by Anna Braswell with the assistance of Ashley Haar and Madeline Marren.