I first met Richard Beitler in early 1989 at a barbecue for new and soon-to-be residents on Nina Place. I was a little surprised when he told me he taught in East St. Louis. Although he acknowledged problems there, he was upbeat about his work and I admired his spirit.
Richard grew up just outside Pittsburgh and attended a Catholic military high school, St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minnesota. He received a B.A. in speech, theater, and English from Washington State University. He then traveled to Bitburg, Germany, where he taught speech and English to Army and Air Force dependents. He spent two years there and traveled extensively throughout Europe.
He then came to the St. Louis area in 1975. From 1975 to 1978, he taught English in the East St. Louis schools during the day and speech communication to adults at night.
From 1978 to 1990, Richard taught eighth grade remedial reading at the Hughes-Quinn Junior High School. In 1990, he became a Reading Teacher Monitor for a federally-funded Chapter 1 Reading Program at the Board of Education’s central facility.
In the meantime, he earned a Master’s in Education (Reading Specialist) from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 1984. In 1990, he began a second Master’s in Administration and Supervision at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. He receives this degree in August.
Richard Beitler works with at-risk students who come from low income backgrounds. They tend to utilize school as the focal point in their life. He feels that his job is “to help create an atmosphere of learning so that they can stay in school and not drop out.” He noted that there are many hardworking, dedicated educators in East St. Louis working under tremendous hardship. Yet, that city may be at a turning point. “There are visible signs of clean-up in the city and new hope and vitality.” He attributes this to the new mayor, the state’s help with the restructuring of the city’s finances, the expansion of the Jefferson Memorial, and riverboat gambling.
Richard calls the kids he works with in East St. Louis “throw-away kids.” Throw-away because there is no national commitment to put resources in the cities. The tax base in St. Louis has to be improved in order to improve schools and other conditions. He wants greater parental involvement and is working on it, but it is hard to achieve. More than anything else, he says “East St. Louis needs jobs. Then comes economic security and self esteem which transfers to the kids and makes them more positive about education.”
Beitler chose to buy a home on Nina Place because of the central location. He earlier had rented a unit on DeBaliviere Place for 10 years. His home in Skinker-DeBaliviere places him “only 5 or 10 minutes away from all points of interest.” He had admired the care given to homes on Waterman and DeGiverville and wanted to be part of that tradition of city home ownership. He participated in one of the famous SDCC plays, “Too Many Nights in a Barroom,” right after moving to the neighborhood. As time permits, he joins in neighborhood and ward activities. But, his major extracurricular activity is serving as vice-president of the condominium association. He is looking forward to the completion of the development and its being well-integrated to the neighborhood. He intends to “work closely with the developer and the alderman” to secure this end.
