DeLaSalle High School has been labeled an “alternative school,” but that’s the wrong way to think about its successes.
Facebook/DeLaSalle Education Center
In classrooms, we teach young people a simple but powerful lesson: Don’t judge others based on labels. Yet too often, adults fail to live by that principle.
For years, DeLaSalle High School has been labeled an “alternative school.” This may have described where we started, but it no longer reflects who we are or what our students can achieve. It also distracts from a more urgent question: What kind of education works for kids?
Over the past six years, we have answered that question.
When I arrived at DeLaSalle, the school was near the bottom in state performance rankings. Today, we have climbed more than 100 places, now ranking in the middle among Missouri charter schools. That progress didn’t happen because we changed who we serve, but rather how we serve them.
We leaned into approaches often associated with alternative education, but that benefit every student. Smaller class sizes. Personalized instruction. Strong support for social-emotional needs and trauma. These are not specialized interventions. They are the building blocks of an effective school model.
We’ve built DeLaSalle into a comprehensive high school around those principles, complete with a ninth-grade academy, access to more challenging coursework and the opportunity to earn college credit, and career pathways in technology, agriculture and skilled trades.
We serve students who need a second chance, including those returning from juvenile detention or getting back on track academically. But DeLaSalle is not an alternative education. It shows what education can be when designed around students’ needs.
Now, we have an opportunity to extend that model to transform an entire community.
Many people saw the impending closure of Tolbert Elementary as another loss for the Troost corridor that has experienced too many of them. I saw a chance to build something stronger. By bringing together DeLaSalle, Tolbert and Breakthrough Academy with Operation Breakthrough, we can create a pathway that gives families access to high-quality schools, as well as supports that make those schools work: mental health services, family resources and a community that stands with them.
This vision is inspired by efforts such as the Harlem Children’s Zone in New York City, but it is rooted in Kansas City. The Troost Education Covenant is about making a promise to families in KC: If you choose to be part of this community, we will not just educate your children. We will support them every step of the way, from the cradle to college and career.
That promise matters, especially in a part of our city that has long been defined by division. But that history does not have to define our future. We can turn it into a corridor of hope and possibility.
I understand there are concerns about change, and I understand conversations about charter schools can quickly become political. But this work is not about politics. It is about children.
Public education shouldn’t be defined by systems or labels. It should be defined by whether we are meeting needs. At DeLaSalle, we believe all children deserve to be challenged, supported and known. We believe they should never have to navigate their education alone. And above all, we believe we should never give up on them. Those beliefs should not belong to one type of school. They should define all public education.
So instead of wondering whether DeLaSalle is an “alternative school” or a “charter school,” let’s ask: Are we doing what’s best for kids? If the answer is yes, then we should move forward together, united by a commitment to the children and families of Kansas City.
Sean Stalling is executive director of DeLaSalle High School in Kansas City.
