This is an article from the June 2025 Civitas Examiner (Volume 2, No. 3) and was written by one of our students, Gavin D. The opinions expressed herein do not reflect those of Civitas other than respect for the value of open dialogue. To read more Civitas Examiner stories or to submit your own, click here.
The May 16th tornado may have been over a month ago, but many citizens in St. Louis are still feeling the impact the storm left behind. This is particularly true of the staff and students of public schools across the city who may not have a school to return to next fall. Ashland Elementary, Hickey Elementary, Washington Montessori, Yeatman-Liddell Middle, Soldan International Studies High School, Sumner High School, and Beaumont Technical Center were all significantly damaged by the tornado and will not be opening in the fall. As a result, the students who were going to these schools will be relocated to different schools across the city. These relocations pose a threat to the education of many students, as relocation means longer commute times, crowded classes, and less room for sports and other extracurricular activities. Furthermore, the combination of students from different neighborhoods may lead to increased violence throughout the schools as students from different areas become territorial. Students in St. Louis, particularly middle school and high school students, have very strong rivalries with other schools. These rivalries could potentially turn violent as students from these damaged schools arrive in rival territories.
As Ray Cummings, president of the American Federation of Teachers Local 420, said in an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “Some people say that people who are not from St. Louis don’t understand … it’s very dangerous for students crossing boundaries.” Likewise, Paul April, a former teacher at Soldan International Studies High School, stated that he is worried about the relocations because “groups of students have trouble acclimating to each other.”
Unfortunately, for the 2,000 or so students who will have to move schools this fall, the moves may end up being permanent. The St. Louis Public Schools, or SLPS, has already set out to close down and consolidate under-enrolled schools starting in 2026, but due to the recent damage to many of the schools, this process may be sped up. This is due to the fact that all of the schools that will not open in the fall were under-enrolled this previous year. This leaves their future up in the air, as these schools may not be seen as worthwhile to rebuild, even if they were planned to stay open during the consolidation. For the SLPS, this would be a solution to multiple problems. They would be able to consolidate schools as planned, and they could trim down the amount of money needed to repair the schools damaged by the storm. Currently, the estimated cost to repair the twelve St. Louis public schools that were damaged is $77 million dollars. By permanently closing some of the underenrolled schools, the SLPS would save millions of dollars. However, by doing so, the SLPS would leave thousands of children in a situation that negatively impacts their education. All of the issues with the temporary relocations mentioned above would be magnified even more if the relocations turned permanent. Many schools would remain crowded and potentially violent, making it harder to learn in the classroom.
Overall, the damage done to many St. Louis public schools may lead to permanent closure and student relocation. This would lead to the remaining schools that were able to recover from the storm being distant, crowded, and potentially violent. These circumstances would leave many children at a disadvantage in their education, especially in hard-hit and less well-off neighborhoods. Ultimately, many children would end up at risk of slipping through the cracks and missing out on a much-needed education.
Special thanks to Blythe Bernhard, Christian Gooden, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for providing pictures and information for this article.
