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Health & Fitness

Together, We Are Affton Strong

When my husband and I moved to Affton 10 years ago, we’d been married just a few years with shiny new jobs – me in marketing at the Fabulous Fox Theatre, Aaron as a brass instrument repair tech – and the future lying wide open in front of us. We thought we’d live in our “starter” home for maybe three to five years, then move on. We’d move back to Jefferson County (where I’m from originally) or to Lindbergh (for better schools). Affton was just a pause in our lives, not our destination.

A few cars, a new job or two, and a couple of babies later, we’re still here – and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Affton is centrally-located, at least to just about anything we’ve ever needed. It’s a quiet community (except maybe when the train comes through), and one that we find more and more close knit. And the reason we really stayed? The schools.

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Affton School District is a well-kept secret, especially to those who don’t have children in school. It’s a district filled with heritage and multiple generations of family echoing through the halls.  While Affton may not be thought of as one of the “premier” districts in St. Louis County, the schools are high-performing, offering innovative learning opportunities, and the best kept secret of all? The one that kept us in Affton? Free full day kindergarten.

I’m a sucker for a good deal, and free kindergarten was enough to keep me here. I figured we could give it a year or so, and then move. Except that the more we learned about the schools and the students and the staff, the more I believed in Affton – the district and the community.

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So much so, I volunteered my time to help the district with their communications. We started a Facebook page for the district, redesigned the website, made a concerted effort to better communicate with the media and community. And in October 2012, I was honored to join the Affton School District as their Community Relations Director.

Hopefully you’ve been seeing more of Affton Schools over the last couple of years, and if you keep reading this blog, rest assured you’ll see even more. The very best part of my job is getting to tell the story of our schools, our students, our staff, and our community. I am reminded each and every day that Affton is a place to be proud of; the place Aaron and I are happy to call home and where we will raise our boys.

I hope I can share this Affton pride with you. Together, we are Affton Strong.

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