Christy Joyce Moreno knows how important having choices is, which is why when her daughters were ready for school she took advantage of the choices she had in Kansas City and sent them to a charter school.
As an immigrant from Mexico City, finding a school that celebrated a love of different languages and cultures was a key priority for Christy. She found the perfect fit for her kids at Crossroads Charter Schools.
“I am just very grateful that I live in a place where I can have an option,” she said. “I know that not every family depending on where they live has that option and so I have exercised the right to partake in the decision of where I want my kids to be educated.”
As her daughters have thrived at school, Christy has gotten more involved in helping other parents gain the power to choose their children’s education, working to help create funding equity for charter school students and this year joining the National Parent’s Union as the Missouri delegate and as a representative of immigrant families across the country.
“It was very eye-opening to me to realize the power that parents have,” she said. “We are not just the people that the educational systems serve but we are stakeholders. We have a voice and we have a choice. We have a say and we have rights.
“We have to actively seek a seat at the table and we have to come together to build support with each other,” she added. “You have to ask the right questions and demand the services that our children deserve. I have never met a single parent who has said that they don’t think that the education of their children is important. But I have met a lot of parents who have no idea they actually have choices.”