2013 graduate celebrates the diversity of her urban high school

As she prepared to graduate last weekend, Tiffani Painter said coming to DeLaSalle Charter High School from her small rural community changed her life – in a good way. Photo by Mike Sinclair.

Tiffani Painter was living a normal life in Warsaw, Missouri until her mother passed away in 2005.

“It was all about hunting and fishing,” she says.

Her mother arranged for her to live with family friends after her death, but eventually Painter wound up in the foster care system in Kansas City.

She was put into a group home and started school at DeLaSalle Charter High School at 3740 Forest. That was a big change.

“I had a strong country accent,” she notes.

Also, it was the first time Painter was introduced to a variety of people from different races and cultures. She now celebrates the diversity she found at DeLaSalle.

“Every one of the different races really helped me grow,” she says.

DeLeSalle serves urban students who need an alternative to traditional schools.

When she graduated last week, Painter had just finished her first semester at Penn Valley Community College. She’s interested in criminal justice and wants to be a crime scene investigator.

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