Anna-Stacia Allen says that when she was in school, she benefited from having involved parents who sought out the best education options for her. But, the executive director of Navigate STL Schools recognizes, K-12 education in St. Louis can be overwhelming for families who aren’t familiar with all the options. With so many districts in addition to charter, magnet, and independent options, it can be hard to know where to begin. “I understand that not every family has time to do in-depth research, but that doesn’t mean that their children don’t deserve the best access to educational opportunities,” Allen says. That’s where Navigate STL Schools comes in. This local nonprofit helps St. Louis families find the right school for their children and recently relaunched the service portion of its website. Here, more with Allen.
How did Navigate STL Schools get started?
A group of parents in 2014 were fed up with the lack of resources and readily available information on schools in the area. They wanted to be able to find data-based information on schools, so they built it themselves. In 2019, Navigate began by updating the data and building resources to help families understand the data and how to apply it to their lives. We launched the rebranded website in April 2020 and the service side of the organization on October 15.
What barriers to education are you seeing in St. Louis?
The barriers have nothing to do with the students themselves; they are smart, capable, young people, but there are systemic inequities like lack of resources, a lack of institutional knowledge, and in some communities, this feeling that the education system has been failing them for generations, so they aren’t to be trusted.
How does Navigate STL Schools help these families?
We help the families redefine what quality education means for them, and we help them understand that any school has the potential to be a good school for your child if you understand how to make it work for you.
How do you continue to help families once their child is enrolled in school?
We make sure they are connected to community resources, have access to downloadable information to help prepare for testing or individualized education plans (IEP), and make sure that their child is being challenged in the classroom. We’re also available to answer questions or help parents with the educational landscape.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of this work for you?
My favorite part of what we do is when parents realize that they are in the driver’s seat, and they really start to ask questions about how they can improve school for their kids.
If families in the area want assistance with their school search process, what do they need to know?
We don’t have deadlines, but certain schools in the city have already opened up their applications and applications will close as soon as November 22, so it’s important to start your search early and use all every resource available to you to make sure that your child has as many options as possible.
For more information on Navigate STL Schools, you can visit its website.
