About North Side Community School

History, A Decade of Growth

North Side Community School opened in August 2009 as a public charter school on the former campus of Emergency Children’s Home (ECHO). We opened because our founders saw a pressing, unmet need for quality, accessible education for children living in St. Louis City, an area heavily challenged by poverty and violence.

In our first year, North Side served 51 kindergarten and first-grade students. The school has continued to grow, adding a new grade each year. In 2011, we launched a pre-kindergarten program that now serves 45 children each year. In 2018, we opened our middle school in Grand Center. We now serve nearly 500 students.

Vision, A Decade into the Future

North Side will remain a financially sound, high-quality public charter school serving low-income, under-served neighborhoods in St. Louis. We will serve students in grades pre-k through 8th grade and work closely with parents and guardians. Parents and the community will appreciate and support the commitment and quality of the school. Our graduates will perform successfully in high school because of the education they received at North Side. 

Education Methodology

North Side believes the best method of education is through regular personal attention and family involvement. We are committed to small class sizes that ensure our faculty work closely with our students and their families. To further the close relationships, we are a neighborhood school, predominantly serving the children in our attendance area, a radius of five miles around the school.

Local Focus

North Side was founded by John Grote, Ross Woolsey and Stella Erondu, long-time St. Louis residents and respected education professionals who care deeply about accessible, high-quality education of our city's children. Our Board of Directors is comprised of a group of community volunteers and business professionals who believe in the power of education.