North County parents, teachers ask state leaders to provide more educational options for region

Parents and teachers from four North County school districts recently took an afternoon to share their educational struggles and hopes with two state legislators.

The group met with Senator Angela Mosley and Representative Jay Mosley at the Jamestown Bluff Branch of the St. Lois County Library in Florissant last weekend to talk about a variety of education issues facing North County residents.

Parents from the Riverview Gardens, Normandy, Hazlewood, and Pattonville school districts told their legislators about how they had felt trapped in their districts and were desperate for other options.

Several parents were in tears from their traumatic experiences with bullying and teachers and principals acting inappropriately and not responding to their concerns.

Two teachers also expressed concerns about teacher pay, recruitment, and retention issues in the North County school districts.

Parents told the legislators about the need for families to have better educational options and asked them to consider policies like open enrollment, expanding charter schools, and improving and expanding the MOScholars program to give families a chance to choose better learning environments for their children.

Sen. Mosley and Rep. Mosley thanked the parents for their advocacy and said they were overwhelmed by the stories they heard. Rep. Mosley said he knew these things were happening but hearing from parents was a lot to take in.  

CEAM regularly helps parents arrange meetings with their elected leaders to talk about education issues. We can help you arrange a meeting in your district or at the state capitol in Jefferson City. If you would like to organize a meeting please email CEAM’s Director of Outreach Cici Tompkins.