Christie Huck and Manuela Velasquez

[00:02] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: I'm Manuela Velasquez I'm 24 years old. Today is October 13, 2023, and I'm here in St. Louis, Missouri, with Christy.

[00:10] CHRISTIE HUCK: I'm Christy Huck I am 47 years old. I am here today on October 13, 2023, in St. Louis, Missouri, with Manuela

[00:20] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: Christy, we're so excited to get to talk to you today and learn a little bit more about you, about St. Louis, and especially about, you know, the Montessori school that you've been involved with. So I would love if you could tell me a little bit about, you know, what brought you into the booth today and what. Yeah. What are you hoping to share today?

[00:38] CHRISTIE HUCK: Yeah. Well, I was. I'm honored to be here. Thank you. And this is really fun. I've never, never been in a little sound booth in an airstream cave in here. I know. So I was invited to participate in StoryCorps by a colleague and I think to help share the story of City Garden and a little bit of my story and. Yeah. A little bit about education in St. Louis, I guess so.

[01:04] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: Yeah, it sounds lovely. Well, let's start with a little bit about you, then. Can you tell me a little bit about your background? Are you from St. Louis? What has led you to be who you are today, sitting here in the booth with me?

[01:17] CHRISTIE HUCK: Yeah, I am from St. Louis. I grew up in north St. Louis County. I actually was born in the city. And I'll actually start a little bit about my parents, because they obviously had a big role in shaping me, and I have inherited a lot from them. So my dad was actually in the catholic seminary. He grew up in the St. Louis area. His family was german and had settled in St. Genevieve, which is south of St. Louis. And then he grew up in the city of St. Louis, went to catholic seminary, and then actually met my mom when they both worked at a camp over one summer and fell in love. And she was from Kansas City, so she grew up in the Kansas city area.

[02:04] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: Meeting in the middle.

[02:06] CHRISTIE HUCK: Yeah. And she was in college at Mizzou. And so after that, my dad left the seminary, and they, you know, figured out how to be together. But he was actually recruited for the Vietnam war and or drafted and was a conscientious objector. And so they ended up. He had to do alternative service, and so they both ended up in Columbia, Missouri, and then they got married, moved to Kansas City after a little while, and then came back to St. Louis and worked at St. Francis. No, St. Francis de sales in south St. Louis City. So that's actually where I was born. But that's all just to say I had very catholic. I have a very catholic family and also very kind of justice minded and service minded parents who definitely had a big influence on me. So they both were teachers, actually, for a long time. My mom actually was a career elementary teacher for 35 or more years. And they were very passionate about social justice and kind of, like, very involved in post Vatican II catholic church stuff. And they decided to move out of the city, but very intentionally chose north county because of its racial and economic diversity. And so that's where I grew up in first the Ferguson area and then fluorescent. Sorry. It's, like, kind of hot in here. I'm, like, starting to.

[03:52] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: Oh, I hear you. If you want, we can turn a fan on.

[03:55] CHRISTIE HUCK: If you maybe a little bit, but it's also part of being 47.

[04:03] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: All right, you can continue.

[04:04] CHRISTIE HUCK: Okay. So. So I grew up going to catholic schools, but also mostly diverse schools, which in St. Louis. In the St. Louis area, that's a little bit unique. The school that I went to for second through fourth grade had just been integrated. So a catholic black school in Kinloch nearby, had just closed. And all the students from that school came to our school, St. Bartholomew. And I just remember as a child, like, notice. You know, I mean, obviously I noticed race and. But I also felt the kind of the invisible wall between me and my black peers and actually had a really pretty poignant experience when a student, a black peers of mine who had a crush on me, like, made some, you know, what the adults perceived as threatening remarks. And then it turned into this huge thing where, like, lots of adults were involved, and he got in big trouble. But what I took away from that was I clearly can't be friends with him anymore because the adults had sort of decided that, you know, basically felt like that we don't belong together. So I think some of those early experiences really had a big impact on me and just wanting to understand more about race and racism and the divisions that exist between us as people. And so kind of fast forward then to. I went to Mizzou for college, and I. I remember taking my first sociology class, where my professor kind of began to lay out the social structures that have led to how things are today. And having my mind kind of blown because it was like, well, no wonder my peers didn't. It felt like my peers didn't trust me. And for all of these reasons, that now, as an emerging adulthood, I am starting to understand. And we lived in diverse neighborhoods, and we're generally, like, a pretty progressive and socially conscious family, but still didn't have a lot of open conversations about race and racism and understanding, kind of having open dialogue about differences and why things exist the way they do. So I ended up after college, coming back to St. Louis and joining the Catholic Worker community, which is. It actually just closed a couple years ago. Karen House. It was a house of hospitality for women and children. And I lived in community there for a while and then got involved in social justice activism in St. Louis and worked for a group called the Interfaith Committee on Latin America. But I also got married during that time and had my child, who's now 22, and as a parent, then kind of, like, applying all the. I mean, all this stuff sort of came full circle and had even more kind of meaning as I was contemplating how to, you know, how to raise child in St. Louis and in this world and, you know, kind of especially have. I have two young white men and wanting to think very intentionally and socialize them very intentionally to try to interrupt some of the patterns that exist in our society.

[08:00] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: It sounds like a really unique kind of angle to want to build that for your kids where, like, you, I feel, like, started on a path of being in diverse spaces and, like, understanding how that can be important and, like, how that can add to your understanding of, like, the world and your role in society and, like, how to be, I don't know, like, a better. A better civilian in a lot of ways, too, but, like, still understanding that there were a lot of shortcomings within the experience that you had, too. So in thinking about then, like, wanting to educate your son and, you know, put him in an environment in which he can learn in a more holistic way and learn more about race and about, like, the different experiences of people, especially in St. Louis. Like, what were some of the things you were taking into account when deciding, like, how to educate him, where to educate him, like, what was going through your head? Like, when you were thinking about what schools to put him in.

[08:56] CHRISTIE HUCK: Yeah. So I had gotten to know Trish Curtis, who she and Mary Mitchell were the founders of City garden, Montessori's preschool. So they opened the preschool in 1995, and it was in a super scrappy. It was in an old tavern in the forest park southeast neighborhood on Eastwood. Yeah.

[09:18] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: That is so cool.

[09:20] CHRISTIE HUCK: Yeah. So that was before my time, but, yeah, they started with four children and had Montessori materials, like, behind the bar, and got neighbors to help clean up the space. But I had met Trish and visited the preschool and just was like, enamored by the deep respect that was given to these very young children. So two and a half to five year olds. And so I think I. The first thing was, you know, having. So I also have a stepdaughter, Madeline, who now is 32. So she was, I guess, 13 at that time. She's ten years older than Jude, my 22 year old. And I think the first thing was, you know, just an education and environments that are deeply, deeply respectful of children. And Jude Washington, very sensitive child and very, very curious. And, I mean, every parent thinks their child is super smart, but, you know, so he was, you know, very smart and curious child. And part of what I kept, like, what kept coming up for me was it felt like most education environments would sort of stamp out some of that, you know, kind of natural curiosity and wonder and gentleness, honestly, that existed in him. So that was a big piece of it. But also, you know, just like, yeah, an education environment that would really, like, treat him as a whole person. So, I mean, our intellect is obviously really important to develop, but also, you know, all these other parts of ourselves. And then really wanting to be in a school that felt like a community of families that also was diverse and, you know, would give all of us an opportunity to interact with, you know, people different from us and really build community together.

[11:25] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: So I feel like I'm getting a good sense of, you know, the emphasis on community, respect, and, like, treating children as people from this school. And I would love if you could share a little more explicitly about, like, what makes a Montessori school a Montessori school. Because I. I went to public school growing up. I feel like I have, like, I'm kind of like a Waldorf school. Montessori school. And, yeah, I feel like I have trouble sometimes finding the distinctions. So, like, what? Yeah, what, when they founded it as, like, a Montessori high school, made it that.

[11:55] CHRISTIE HUCK: Yeah. So. So Maria Montessori was this total badass woman who lived in the early 20th century, and she was one of the first female physicians in Italy. She's brilliant. She was. So she was a scientist, and I think she also studied psychology, but she ended up being very curious about how children learn. And, I mean, so she had some fundamental beliefs. One of them was that all humans are born with inherent intelligence, brilliance, and that if children are not, you know, what we call succeeding in school, then there's something wrong with the system and not the child. So, I mean, that was pretty radical at that time. And she ended up. There's a whole lot to the story, but she ended up working with children in housing tenements in Rome. And so these were children who were very poor, whose parents were working in the factories nearby. And some of them had been cast off as, like, unteachable. And so she started observing children and kind of like, what made them tick, and ended up realizing that even if children only had, like, crumbs or little, you know, little things, that they were, like, always manipulating them. And so there's a really strong connection between what children do with their hands and brain development. So she ended up developing these incredible hands on materials that are kind of core to the Montessori curriculum and pedagogy and philosophy, and really asserted that as adults, one of our most important jobs is to prepare the environment so that children's full potential, that natural intelligence and a child's unique kind of path to development can unfold and that children can flourish. So a Montessori school, the Montessori preschool that they founded was very simple and, like, you know, nothing fancy, but because some Montessori schools are, you know, mostly elite families, very affluent, and are quite fancy, but it doesn't have to be fancy. It really was designed to be this very child centered environment where children are drawn to the materials and are really allowed to have freedom to explore what is drawing them. You know, Maria Montessori believe children have sensitive periods and they kind of, you know, they're, they know, or they, you know, they can help guide us in how to support of, in their development. So, yeah. Does that give you a little bit of a sense?

[14:47] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: Gives a great sense. And it sounds like more than wanting, like, a Montessori style of education for Jude. Like, you were really drawn to the community, specifically around this school. And so take me back then. So you said this was founded in 1995, Jude, I guess you were probably thinking about preschools in, like, the two thousands at some, yeah.

[15:08] CHRISTIE HUCK: So I enrolled Jude in, like, 2004. Okay.

[15:13] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: Yeah. So tell me what it was like enrolling him at that time. And, like, what, like, how big was the school at that time? How had it grown? Was it just a preschool or is there more grades beyond that?

[15:25] CHRISTIE HUCK: Yes, it was just a preschool. So two and a half to five year olds, it was in the little house. So they were in a tavern, and then they got a little one room house across the street. And so this little shotgun style house in Forest Park Southeast, it had a big yard and gardens and this mulberry tree that they climbed on. And there were probably about 20 families. So about twelve kids at a time were served and, yeah, so it was just a really sweet environment. And I think one of the things that was really powerful then and still is true in our school today is that the space was clearly, clearly belonged to the children. And so, you know, like, when I dropped him off in the morning, we opened the door and, you know, his Cubby is right here, his little hook that he knows exactly where things go. One of the things about Montessori is that the goal is to support children being as independent as possible as early as possible. And it's amazing what that does in terms of developing a sense of empowerment and confidence even in the youngest children.

[16:38] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: I'm, like, thinking now, I'm like, how was I developing, like, going to school? Like, that is like a really. I mean, and I don't have a child, but that sounds like a really unique approach to those early years. And it seems like the kind of thing where every day, I'm sure, like, when he would come back from preschool, you could probably feel like, that confidence developing and that independence developing. That's really cool.

[16:59] CHRISTIE HUCK: Yeah.

[17:00] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: So how, you know, how has your and Jude's journey with City Garden Montessori, you know, changed since the years that he was in preschool? Like, has your involvement continued into. I mean, I'm wondering. I'm like, are there more grades available at city card? And now. But I'm curious, like, yeah, like, how your relationship with the school. School has progressed, especially now that he's an adult, too. And, like, what did the rest of his journey look like in schools?

[17:29] CHRISTIE HUCK: Yeah, so actually, he had a classmate named journey, who. So they were both in preschool together, and journey lived in the neighborhood. Her family still lives in the same neighborhood as us, the Shaw neighborhood. And I got to know her parents, Rene and Kababi, and my ex husband, Jude's dad, Jeff, and I started, you know, we became friends with Raine and Kababi, and our families kind of started hanging out, and Jude and journey were buddies. And rain and I started having big conversations about kindergarten and looking at schools, you know, like, really talking and kind of discerning where we were going to send journey into elementary school. Part of those conversations were definitely about race and racism and how. How segregated our schools are, our neighborhoods are. Like I said, I grew up in north St. Louis County. Rain had grown up in the city. Well, she also moved out of town for parts of. Well, she moved to other cities and then back to St. Louis, but she did go through the degree irrigation program and went to Kirkwood. But we both really wanted a diverse school. Environment for our kids where our children, you know, would both. We both felt like we had these, like, very sensitive, thoughtful, wonderful, you know, children who were full of wonder and wanted a school that would really see them as whole people and really nurture them. And of course, wanted a great education and. And we both were kind of social justice minded families and really wanted that as part of the school experience too. So we ended up visiting schools together and talking a whole lot about what we might do and ended up then going to the founder of City Garden, Trish, and asking if she had ever thought about expanding. So, long story short, we ended up getting parents together and Trish and the team, other teachers that were there, and over the next couple years ended up creating the vision for what became city gardens charter school. So we are now preschool through 8th grade.

[19:44] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: Oh, wow.

[19:45] CHRISTIE HUCK: And we have been serving k through eight for. We're in our 16th year as a charter school and we now have 590 students in two buildings. So it's been quite. Jude and then my younger son Nicholas actually both went through preschool all the way through 8th grade.

[20:03] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: Oh, wow. Yeah, that sounds really wonderful. Especially because, I mean, you grew up knowing that, like, diversity and learning from people who have different experiences or are of a different race. Like, it's about so much more than just throwing different people into a room together. Like, I think the intention sounds like a really core element of the Montessori school's approach at city garden, for sure.

[20:26] CHRISTIE HUCK: Yeah, so we. Yes, we developed, we were very core to, our mission was to create a school that is racially and economically diverse, integrated, which then also led us to developing a really intentional commitment to anti bias, anti racism. And so that's something we've been, you know, and we have. It's an ongoing journey. So I'm not gonna say that we have figured it all out by any means, but for the past, I guess, about twelve years, that's been a really core part of our institution, our community, our curriculum, and what we strive to do with our students and our families.

[21:04] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: I would love to know a little more about what the process of expanding the school was like, especially in those early years. Like, how was it for you as a mom? Also kind of like, maybe like, as you're walking, like, needing to lay the next railroad track for your son to like, continue his education. Like, what did it feel like to be getting all of those plans in place for the school to expand?

[21:27] CHRISTIE HUCK: Yeah, it's been. It's been a wild journey and lots and lots of ups and downs, so many challenges and also, like, the one, you know, besides having my children, probably the most amazing experience that I've had in my life. I mean, it's been such a privilege and honor to be part of it. And I think so, yeah. In those early days, you know, rain and rain and I, you know, kind of helped get this group together and then worked with Trish to write the charter and apply for startup funding. But we actually. The way that we set up the school and the way charter schools work was that we couldn't actually guarantee that our kids would get a seat. We, that group of founding parents really had to make a commitment to kind of something bigger than ourselves, that it had to be more than just about. I mean, we were driven by what we wanted for our own kids, but it had to be about more than just our kids. And now, in, like, really committing to. We believe this is something that St. Louis needs, and hopefully, in the process of us doing this kind of. Of motivation rooted in our own children and our family's experiences and needs, that we would hopefully contribute something to the broader community. It did end up that we were able to send Jude and journey to the charter school, which is great and amazing, but, yeah, so. And then every step along the way, like, I got involved as a parent and was a volunteer. Never intended to be more than that, but then ended up getting very involved in a lot of the figuring stuff out and helping get things off the ground. And I ended up becoming executive director in 2010.

[23:24] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: Oh, my gosh. We've been sitting on this fact.

[23:27] CHRISTIE HUCK: Yeah, so, yeah, so I've been in a leadership role at the school since then, and again, it's been. Been lots and lots of. I think anytime you do work with community and, like, are really striving to do. To be in community. Community can be messy. It is messy. And then, you know, school is also just messy and challenging, and there's lots of constantly changing dynamics and also trying to do things really differently, you know, kind of has led to all kinds of very exciting challenges and really amazing opportunities.

[24:06] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: Absolutely. Well, so what is your current role or relationship to the school?

[24:12] CHRISTIE HUCK: Yeah, I am. I'm the executive director. Still.

[24:14] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: Oh, still? Wow. You came in here, like, I don't know. I got asked to do this. I guess I'll say something like, you are. I mean, not only, like, leading the school into the future and into this, like, continued direction of, like, building community and strong relationships, no matter how messy it is, but, like, you were fundamental in the founding elements of having the community that it is now, like, it's not like you just dropped in. I think that's really powerful to be. To have been involved at so many different levels of it.

[24:45] CHRISTIE HUCK: Thanks. Yeah, like I said, it's really been one of the greatest, like, privileges of my life. And I think one of the things that has always been so amazing about city garden is that it is powered by community and especially parents. And so, yeah, I can in no way kind of claim responsibility for it. It's been this really pretty incredible community effort all along.

[25:13] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: So looking at where you started and where you are now, how far. How far City Garden has come as a community and, like, an institution of education, what are your hopes for the school, for the future?

[25:28] CHRISTIE HUCK: Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I think, you know, one great hope is that it's around for a really long time so that it can continue to serve many, many children and families. In St. Louis. We did, a few years ago, open a teacher education program, and, you know, for. We didn't really know if we would be successful. It turned out that we were getting pretty good academic outcomes and were a model that a lot of families wanted. So we'd been encouraged to grow for a long time and held off. And then in 2021, we began a pretty big growth plan. And I think it's possible that we might grow some more and see if there are other neighborhoods or communities in St. Louis who might want something like we have. But I think, you know, the biggest thing is to try to continue to keep learning and growing in what we are and to hopefully, you know, be an institution in St. Louis that's around for a long time.

[26:32] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: I think as we approach the end of our conversation, I'm curious, like, what, you know, what advice or hopes do you have for maybe, like, your children's future children or like, just the continued youth that might come into your family or community. Like, what do you hope for those kids as they start their hypothetical future journeys of learning and being?

[26:58] CHRISTIE HUCK: Yeah, I think, and I do have to make sure I mention, I mentioned so, my three children are the most amazing people in the world, Madeline, Jude, and Nicholas. And then I have a grandbaby who's in preschool at City Garden, Henry. And I think I hope that future generations can really, like, just relish the brilliance and uniqueness of childhood. And I think one of the most radical things in the world is to center children. And even, I mean, it's been constantly humbling to try to be a person and lead an organization that truly tries to center children, because our society is just not set up to center children and then particularly to try to, you know, center children who have historically been marginalized. And so I think just really, like, relishing childhood and figuring out how, as people, we can continue to really center that and center children.

[28:10] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: Yeah, that sounds really special. And I'm so glad that all your kids, like Madeline and Jude and Nicholas and the grandbaby in the preschool, have all had such a supportive, you know, sense of family and community in being able to be centered when they were growing up, too.

[28:26] CHRISTIE HUCK: So thank you.

[28:28] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: As we were wrapping up, are there any final thoughts that you would like to have recorded for the record?

[28:35] CHRISTIE HUCK: I think the only last thing that I would say is that, you know, one of my, one of my other really kind of personal passions and motivations is to work to end racism. And that is, you know, kind of a thread throughout what we are trying to do at city Garden. But I really believe that one of the main ways to end racism is to have relationship with each other across difference. And so that's part of why I am so passionate and kind of from my kind of full circle back to the beginning of the conversation, from my experiences as a child to the experiences my children have had. And just like seeing St. Louis and where we are now and the world, really, I think the more we all engage with each other, the better off our world will be.

[29:23] MANUELA VELASQUEZ: Absolutely. Racism is something taught and learned, and so there are a lot of ways that we can work to change that from an early age and build those relationships. Well, Christy, thank you so much for coming and sharing more with us about your journey and about all the work you've done for City Garden Montessori. It was really nice to meet you and get to talk more about it.

[29:44] CHRISTIE HUCK: Thank you, Manuela This was really a pleasure, and I'm, yeah, really grateful to be here.