CORE VALUES MATTER

Angela DiPlacido

Parent

Angela DiPlacido’s family moved from Overland Park to Kansas City last year, and she needed to find a new school for her son. “We were trying to find a school that would fit with what we believed in and that had a curriculum that we liked. Citizens stood out because it is fairly new and because of the diversity of students at the school,” Angela said. She said they liked that the student body had students from all walks of life, and that their curriculum incorporates a lot of community-based type projects. “It’s all about community, and we liked that,” she said. The school’s Friday all-school assembly, Friday Sing, embodies what Angela likes about the school’s focus on community and how parents are invited to attend each week. “It gives you a chance to meet other Citizens families and a chance to meet your child’s friends,” she said. 

What is something you have really enjoyed about Citizens of the World Kansas City and its focus on one of the school’s core values of Community?

They did this super cute thing where they had students bring a song to school that is important to their family. It was a chance for everyone to learn about that student and to learn about why the song they chose is important to their family. One was “You are my Sunshine,” and we got to hear a really cute back story about why that student liked that song. For that song, I think it had to do with how the student’s father sang it to her before she went to bed. It was super cute!

Excellence is one another one of Citizens’ core values. There is a focus on rigorous academics as well as a focus on the fact that there is a lot that contributes to a kid’s success beyond test scores. How have you seen this ring true with your child?

I really like how they have reading groups at Citizens. They don’t have one class that is all reading one specific book. They have different reading groups that pair students by the level of their reading, so you could have a couple of 3rd graders and a couple 4th graders in the same group because it all goes by their level of reading. So students are with students who are reading at the same level they are, so students don’t feel like they are being left out or like they are falling behind, and they also don’t feel bored. I also like that the reading groups meet in an area that encourages students to relax and enjoy reading. So with my son, who is in 3rd grade this year, when he started at Citizens he just didn’t want to read. He knew how, but he just didn’t like to do it. But it’s helped that he is now in a reading group with other kids who are at his level. That has encouraged him.

What has been one of your favorite memories of your son’s time at Citizens?
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My son is very into sports, and they don’t yet have sports at Citizens. We knew that when he started there, but a group of parents decided to start a baseball team for students in his grade, which was wonderful! So we formed a team and played against other teams in Kansas City, and a couple of the Citizens dads coached. It was just really fun for him, and he met one of his best friends from playing on that team. He’s now got a friend for life! This was just a really cool experience because we were a new family at Citizens, and we got to experience the sense of community at the school.