UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. – At the “Save Our Schools” meeting, the focus was clear: citizens believe charter and public schools in St. Louis are in a critical time. With nearly 80% of all children struggling to read at grade level, parents and educators are calling for urgent reforms.
“For some reason, in education, you can fail and not educate kids and remain open. That’s literally not doing your job. So, I’m not sending my daughter anywhere; I’m seeing only 7 percent of your kids in your school can read,” parent and founder of Activate STL Tiara Jordan-Sutton said.
Attendees were asked to fill out surveys to voice their opinions on policy and budget preferences ahead of the April 2025 elections. The conclusion from the crowd was that teachers need better pay, with calls for a base salary of at least $60,000 in Missouri.
“We’re creating solutions. We have a school district, SLPS and other districts in the city, that are riddled with problems. We really have to ask ourselves, what is really happening in those eight hours where we’re having 87 percent of Black kids not reading on grade level or 92 percent not being able to do math on grade level?” Chester Asher, founder of Coalition With STL Kids.
Citizens had three committees they could join: “Starting Sixty,” which is leading the charge to raise teacher salaries, the tutoring committee, which focuses on helping students learn to read, and the SLPS accountability and behavioral support committee, which focuses on contacting legislators to step in to help improve the quality of education in St. Louis.
“There are kids in private schools that can’t read but I’m gonna tell you the difference—the difference in those schools is that it’s not even allowed. The moment they find out your child is suffering, they will provide every possible resource, every single resource person,” Krystal Barnett, CEO and founder of Bridge 2 Hope, said.
FOX 2 reached out to Saint Louis Public Schools for comment and we are still waiting for a response.
With the clock ticking, the founder of the “Save Our Schools” movement is rallying the community to take action, pushing for better support, better pay, and better futures for St. Louis children.
