In December of 1998 legislation in the state of Missouri was passed to allow the existence of school choice and the opening of charter schools. Choice had always existed for those with the means to pursue a private school education for their student, or for those who were able to afford to move into a higher performing school district. With the passage of this new legislation choice became available to folks from every socio-economic background. You were no longer zoned to a school based on your zip code. With this legislation being passed charter schools began to emerge in the landscape of education here in Kansas City and also in St. Louis. However, with new choices also came great confusion and a lack of access to information about those new options.
In 2014 a small group of parents led by Tricia Johnson, our founder, got together around a kitchen table to talk about how difficult it was to understand school choice options in Kansas City. At that time there were over 25 options for FREE public education in our small school district. As you can imagine, that created quite a barrier for families who did not have a car, or time, families who did not speak English as a first language, or families who may have newly immigrated to Kansas City. What could be done to help make things more equitable, more transparent, and more accessible for ALL families? Tricia asked for small donations from friends, family, and community stakeholders to simply start with an informational website where all the options were listed in one place, and that is how Show Me KC Schools was born.
10 years later we are a staple of the Kansas City Education Landscape with four full and three part time employees. Each year we serve over 8000 families in the greater metro area with comprehensive services that support families in navigating a sometimes-daunting school choice landscape. This year, 2024, our board voted to expand our services to include the entire state of Missouri. We will be working with local partners in St. Louis to launch a common application system for St. Louis families. In 2024 with the passage of charter school expansion legislation, we will also be exploring the launch of an informational website for parents in Boone County. We are now SHOW ME MO SCHOOLS.
We couldn’t be more excited to take on the work of helping all families across our state to be able to access the highest quality education for their students.
