Kaya Williams graduated from The Children’s School in 2023, and now attends Dekalb School of the Arts where she’s a part of the Class of 2027. We asked Kaya about her transition to high school, and how it felt going from a progressive, child-centered school like TCS to a more traditional, public school school like Dekalb School of the Arts.
Here’s what she had to say about the transition and how project-based learning at TCS has helped her with her schoolwork in high school:
Q: What classes did you take last year?
Kaya: I took Visual Arts, Drama, Econ, Spanish, Government, Algebra, and Lit Comp.
Q: You mentioned your school’s policy about AP classes. Can you explain that?
Kaya: Yeah, we can’t take AP classes until 10th grade, but when we can, we can take a lot! I’m planning to take at least two, but I’m aiming for five because I want the cord for it.
Q: How are your grades?
Kaya: I’ve always had a 4.0 GPA.
Q: Since DeKalb School of the Arts is an arts school, how does your school handle extracurriculars?
Kaya: We don’t really have sports, but at the beginning of the year, there’s a club fair where you can find clubs that interest you. I did yearbook and the LGBTQ+ club, and next year, I’m planning to join the National Honor Society.
Q: How did TCS prepare you for high school?
Kaya: The project-based learning at TCS helped me think more critically and bring new ideas to class. In eighth grade, we also got a lot of help learning about high school things like GPAs and AP classes, which made the transition easier.
Q: Was the transition from TCS, where there are no grades, to a school with grades difficult?
Kaya: Not really. If you were doing well at TCS, it’s easy to keep up with your work in high school. The transition wasn’t hard for me or my friends.
Q: What do you miss most about TCS?
Kaya: I miss the little buddies and the project-based learning. We had a lot of recess and fun projects at TCS, which I really enjoyed.
Q: What do you want to do after high school?
Kaya: I definitely want to go into arts and acting. I chose DeKalb School of the Arts because of that. I’m most interested in film and on-screen acting.
Q: You’re also a talented artist. Do you plan to pursue that too?
Kaya: Art is more of a hobby for me. I love expressing myself through it, but acting is something I’m really passionate about. It doesn’t feel like work when I’m acting, and I think it would be a fun career.
Q: How was the transition from TCS, with a class of 18, to a larger high school class?
Kaya: My current school is still pretty small with about 100 students per grade, but the kids are really nice, so it was easy to make friends. TCS taught me how to speak up and advocate for myself, which helped a lot when making new friends.
Q: Would you say learning to advocate for yourself is a skill you got from TCS?
Kaya: Definitely! It was even part of my graduation speech—TCS taught me how to advocate for myself.
