In the fall of 2012, just as the Normandy School District was losing its accreditation, T-Herbert Jeffrey — known as T.J. — enrolled for his junior year at Normandy High School.
He was coming from Metro High, a city magnet school that is generally considered one of the top schools in the state. Actually, it has a national reputation. Kids have to meet academic requirements to enroll.
What circumstances would take a kid from a top-rated school to an unaccredited one?
T.J.’s family lives in Pasadena Hills, which is in the Normandy district. His parents are educators. His dad is a math teacher in the ºüÀêÊÓƵ public school system. (That’s how T.J. was able to attend a city school.) His mother works for the Urban League Head Start program. Her dad was in education.
But just as the family values education, they have strong ties to their community. T.J.’s mom grew up in Pasadena Hills. In fact, her parents still live in the house where she grew up. She and her husband bought a house right behind it, and that is where they have raised their family.
People are also reading…
“I think my great-great-grandmother worked as a maid in the house my grandparents live in,†T.J. said.
So there was a push and a pull. Perhaps the best way to support the community was to support the local school. But could a student get a superior education at a poorly rated school?
They talked about it, and prayed about it. “We are a Christian family. We rely on faith,†said T.J.
The decision was he would try it.
“It was definitely a different environment,†T.J. said. “But I didn’t suffer intellectually.â€
Did that mean he suffered in other ways? He’s not a large young man. He’s slightly built, a math whiz. Was he fearful?
He laughed and shook his head. He said the notion that Normandy High School was a violent and frightening place was overplayed.
Kids are kids, he said. “I’m not saying anything negative about Metro, but it’s a misconception that higher-performing schools don’t have issues.â€
So his transfer to Normandy was without incident. Plus, he had a great math teacher, Erik Kennelly. He was brand new to the classroom, a lightly trained, highly motivated product of Teach for America. A couple of months into the semester, news came that Kennelly would be laid off. T.J. was one of a number of students who rallied to save Kennelly’s job.
The layoff was rescinded. No reason given.
T.J. had Kennelly for pre-calculus, and they spent time together after school as Kennelly helped T.J. prep for the ACT and SAT tests.
All in all, that first year at Normandy High was successful for T.J.
But after that first year, another decision loomed. The courts upheld a law that said students could transfer from an unaccredited district to any other district in the same county or an adjoining county. With parents in education who knew how to navigate the system, T.J. had plenty of options. His dad said to him, “There’s a spot in Clayton if you want it.â€
So there was another family discussion. This one was not as long or as emotional as the one the previous year. T.J. would stay at Normandy High.
That is not to suggest that all is well with the district. The family decided that T.J.’s younger brother would transfer to the Brentwood School District.
T.J. is glad he stayed. In many ways, this year has been even better than last. For one thing, the class sizes are smaller. This is especially true in the higher-level math classes. Many of the kids who would have been taking those classes .
“If I had 20 to 25 kids in a class last year, it’s maybe 10 or 15 this year,†Kennelly said.
T.J. is in his Advanced Placement calculus class. This is the first year that class has been offered at Normandy High.
Kennelly, who will be going to Duke Law School next year, is enthusiastic about Normandy High. He said the new principal, Derrick Mitchell, has made a big difference. Kennelly also thinks the public has the wrong perception of the kids who have chosen not to transfer. His classes are , and he said the majority of them are going to college — many of them are going to four-year colleges.
For instance, T.J.
He’s going to Washington University with a full scholarship. Actually, a couple of scholarships. He’ll be living on campus. He’s not sure if he will major in biology or a program called Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology. He plans eventually to go to medical school.
He will do so as a Normandy High alum.