In St. Louis City, parents have a wide choice of schools including public, magnet, public charter, private and virtual. County residents have the option of public charter schools if the school district in which they live participates in the VICC program. See this map for more information.
CEAM is happy to help you find the school that best suits your needs in the St. Louis area. Just contact Cici Tompkins at cici@ceamteam.org or 314-561-8646 to get advice about what school will work best for your child.
Contact the St. Louis Public Schools Recruitment and Counseling Center at 314-633-5200 or log on to www.slpsmagnetschools.org
Contact the Missouri Charter Public School Association at 314-776-3551 or log on to www.mocharterschools.org.
In Kansas City, parents have a wide choice of schools including public, signature, charter public, private and virtual. Residents living outside of the KCPS school district do not have the option of public charter schools.
To learn more about signature schools contact the Kansas City Public Schools at 816-418-7000 or visit https://www.kcpublicschools.org/Page/4808.
Contact the Missouri Charter Public School Association at 314-776-3551 or log on to www.mocharterschools.org.
Traditional district schools are assigned to your child based on your address. They are tuition-free and follow a state-mandated curriculum. Parents can request to send their child to a different zone if seats are available but must provide their own transportation.
St. Louis Public Schools also offer magnet and Kansas City Public Schools offer signature schools which serve the entire school district. These schools include elementary, middle and high school options that offer specialized courses and curricula.
Charter public schools are publicly funded, nonprofit schools with an independent governing board. They are held accountable by their sponsor (usually a university) for producing positive academic outcomes. Charter public schools are tuition-free schools that are required to enroll all students who live within their boundaries.
There are many private school or tuition based options throughout Missouri including a variety of religious options. Private schools offer parents curriculum that varies from State Standards.
Thanks to a 2018 law Missouri families in every school district in the state have growing access to virtual education through both the MOCAP program and the Missouri Online Summer Institute.
MOCAP provides students access to single virtual courses or full-time virtual programs through their home school district or charter school at no cost to the family.
As MOCAP works to implement the new law, courses are currently only available on the high school level, but the state is working to expand to full K-12 offerings in 2019.
The Missouri Online Summer Institute is completely free, but only available during the summer and only if students are not taking other summer courses in their home district.
Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Corporation (VICC)
In St. Louis City and, the interdistrict transfers are currently available through the Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Corporation (VICC).
Student Transfers Out of Unaccredited Districts
Missouri law allows students who attend school in a district that is classified as “unaccredited” to transfer to a neighboring school district. This law has affected families in the Normandy Schools Collaborative and the Riverview Gardens School District since June of 2013, but as both districts have regained provisional accreditation this option is no longer available. If you have questions about a current transfer student please contact Cici Tompkins at cici@ceamteam.org or 314-561-8646.
However good a school may look online or sound over the phone, you will not get a true feel for its personality and feel unless you visit the school yourself. In some areas of the state, there are a variety of options for students to find a great school and making the right choice depends on knowing firsthand how you feel about the school culture, climate and the building itself.
Some schools have application deadlines 10 months in advance. Charter schools typically start accepting applications in the winter and have their first round of lotteries in February and March. Make sure you know how long it will take to gather information needed to complete the application, know when tour dates and open houses for schools you are interested in are scheduled. Magnet and Signature schools often require entrance exams and interviews.
Make sure you apply to several schools as many of the top schools have long waiting lists or lottery systems and there is no guarantee that your child will win a seat. It may take several years of applying to get a spot at the school of your choice, but persistence and getting ahead of deadlines frequently pays off.