For the past seven years Kayla Jarvis has experienced school choice through the transfer program, escaping her home district to excel in Pattonville schools.
“Being in school in Normandy was not ideal and I don’t think it is for a lot of people,” Kayla said. “I personally have like felt so much better going to Pattonville instead of being in Normandy. I think the whole dynamic of the school is a lot different. The environments are different. They’re more diverse and accepting and you have a lot of people you can go to and actually talk about things.”
Kayla said she has had many opportunities as a result of attending Pattonville that she would not have had in Normandy.
“I go to North Technical High School, which is a secondary high school where you can take a certain program to get certifications for certain careers,” she said. “Currently I’m in their EMT program and by the end of the year, I will have multiple certifications and basically a path into a college once I graduate.”
But maintaining her right to continue going to school in Pattonville has been difficult for Kayla.
“We had to go over the process each year, it’s really nerve-wracking,” she said. “It’s scary to think that you won’t be able to be happy.
“It’s very important for each student to get the chance to have the perfect education for them,” she added. “I think it’s important to be very careful about the choices that you make for your future generations because that makes up the entirety of how our world is going to continue.”