Profile: Ava Pool

by Aiko Uchiyama

Private School or Public Schools? It’s not quite common for kids to transition from small secluded private schools to crowded public schools or vice versa.

Ava Pool, a current sophomore, is one of the few kids that have made this switch from private to public school. Her experience before in a private school was a negative one that caused her to make a switch into an environment that she felt more welcome in. Pool went to a small private K-8 school called Cathedral up until 7th grade then switched over to West Sylvan her final year of middle school. 

“I didn’t enjoy [the private school] it at all. Sadly, being nice doesn’t help you get around at all. It’s more based of of wealth and just overall status that helps you survive,” Pool said sadly.

Pool describes her former school almost as creepy because everyone follows the same exact values and lifestyles. If those expectations weren’t met it typically ended in her being an outlier.

West Sylvan middle school was different story for Pool. It was a big transition that made a big impact. She describes her middle schools as polar opposites since everyone was so kind at West Sylvan and they opened her up to the real world situations that they have to deal with when they get older. That transition helped her feel more comfortable in school and prepared her for Lincoln. 

“I don’t think there is a single person that I enjoy talking to from Cathedral,” she says, “ just be cause it’s too hard to.”

She says that she has remained in contact with one individual at Cathedral but defends her reasoning that it’s more the matter that she doesn’t want to stay in contact with them because her experience was so negative. On the flip side, she says that she had different friend groups in West Sylvan compared to Lincoln. She says though that if “there’s a few familiar faces that she’ll [I’ll] wave to them in the hallway.” Pool feels very strongly on the transition between the schools. She recommend to anyone thinking about it,

“It’s a big transition but it’s a positive one. I think you should just do it if you are sure of it and feel comfortable about it,” she explains. “It’s more something to look forward to than to be afraid of.”