Kenny Klostermeyer, junior, ditched the private school polo for a KHS sweatshirt this semester. Although Klostermeyer has switched schools before, he has attended private schools until this year.
“I have been to three high schools: Desmet, Vianney and now Kirkwood,” Klostermeyer said. “I made a deal with my dad that if I didn’t get all C’s [at Vianney], I would come to KHS. I ended up getting a D in geometry.”
Klostermeyer said he was surprised at the calm tone of the students and staff at KHS, a huge contrast to the uptight attitude of a private school.
“If you get out of line even a little bit at Catholic school, you are in deep trouble. At KHS, you don’t have to watch what you do as closely.” Klostemeyer said. “It’s a lot more laid back and you have a lot more freedom going from a private school to a public school.”
Some students may not realize many of these freedoms are restricted in other schools.
“At Desmet and Vianney, you could never have your phone out. You couldn’t have it out between classes, during lunch, in the halls and sometimes not even before school started.” Klostermeyer said. “You can also go to lunch wherever you want or even choose to not go to lunch, whereas at my old schools, you would go to the cafeteria and you have to stay there until lunch is over.”
Klostermeyer said even the grading is more relaxed. He claims that private schools have a stricter grading system than KHS.
“An F at Kirkwood is a 59 and an F at Vianney is a 69, and it goes like that all the way up the grading scale,” Klostermeyer said.
Stephen Bregande, sophomore, made the switch from private to public school his freshman year and thinks making the transition would be tougher in the middle of the year.
“I think it would be difficult in a sense,” Bregande said. “If I spent that much of my life seeing the same opinion, because private schools are typically more conservative, it would take a while to to get used to all the different kinds of people here, but [the different kinds of people] is what makes it easy to fit in.”
Bregande said most private school students notice the relaxation Klostermeyer described.
“In my experience, the environment is much more friendly, much more open and a lot less restrictive. At private schools, they had all kinds of rules, and the uniforms were ridiculous,” Bregande said.
Although Klostermeyer transferred for academic purposes, KHS receives ex-private school students for several reasons.
“If [the student] started with us at Nipher or North, they are typically more comfortable,” Cheryl McClure, resource counselor, said. “Students may come because they want to fit in better, or want to be happier.”
Overall, Klostermeyer thinks switching to KHS was a good move. He said not having to wear a uniform helps him concentrate better and he feels much more relaxed in the public school environment.
“It’s impacted me very well. The relaxation has helped me be able to focus on my work. Because I’m so relaxed, focusing takes half as much work,” Klostermeyer said.
View Klostermeyer’s Schools in a larger map.
