New recovery school proposed for St. Louis

ST. LOUIS - A new recovery high school, Vivo St. Louis, is proposed to open in the St. Louis area, aiming to support teens in need of drug recovery.

If approved, Vivo St. Louis would become the first recovery high school in Missouri, backed by $3.6 million from opioid settlement funds.

“I’ve taught at the best district in the county. I’ve taught in the city and it didn’t matter if the kids came from that or they come from the city. There is drug problems everywhere… I think if they can catch kids early and help them early that could also help other kids," said Stephanie Zornes, former educator.

Governor Mike Kehoe signed a law this summer authorizing up to four recovery schools statewide, with the goal of combining education with peer support to help students maintain sobriety.

Educators are not the only ones voicing concerns--former librarian Cathy Reilly says drug use doesn't just affect teens; it impacts families.

“They’re stealing! Stealing from family members often. And sometimes they’re gone for days and the family doesn’t know where they are. They are often involved with law enforcement so it can be very trying for the family," Reilly said.

But not everyone agrees on whether a recovery school is the right solution.

“I think it could have benefits but also drawbacks…I think that it’s necessary but I don’t think we should have that type of fallback because that could lead to a bit of lazy parenting as with most things that are made to help people but sometimes backfire," said Derek Mills, a parent.

Advocates are currently searching for a host school district and a referral network to facilitate the opening of Vivo St. Louis.

There are already more than 40 recovery high schools nationwide, some of which have been operating successfully for decades with higher graduation and sobriety rates.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KTVI. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KTVI staff before being published.