FINALLY!! A school for LMNOB!

Holy frijoles, we did it! LMNOB is going to a school which will meet her needs.

This process has been exhausting....and probably more extensive than those who don't have a lot of educational choice in their communities. First there's curricula to consider. Some schools around here do a Core Knowledge curriculum. Others go with International Baccalaureate programs. Still others abound, lab schools, charters, Montessori style learning, private schools, etc., etc.

Let me add, our physical address is in City X, however we are in the boundary for City Y's school district. There is some travel required to get to our assigned school, and I was leary over putting my baby on a bus for kindergarten. In Colorado, we have the option of doing "school of choice," and opting for schools which are not normally designated to the physical address of the student.

So, my daycare provider lives two streets down from an elementary school (#1) in City X's district. LMNOB could walk to and fro the daycare with daycare provider's children. Perfect. In February I went and registered LMNOB there, however, school of choice is not a guaranteed placement as the numbers for in-district kids have to be considered first.

Another nugget of interest...Colorado only requires school districts to offer 1/2 day kindergarten, and thus only funds them for this. Many parents want a full-day option, which the schools have made available, but it's at a price. Tuition for the half-day that is not funded by the state is paid by the parents. LMNOB has more than demonstrated her need of a full-day program - writing, spelling, critical thinking, etc. more that I can remember for the kindergarten level.

So, back to school #1. I LOVED the atmosphere, staff, etc. I registered, with school of choice paperwork, as well as my request for full-day. Later, I received a call saying we'd made it in, but only for a 1/2 day program. This meant that at some point LMNOB would walk to or from school without the other kids. Uh, no!

I work for City Y too...have I mentioned that? It's like we have dual citizenship or something, LOL.

Too keep my options open, I thought I would register at the school (#2) in City Y too. After all, I could stay at my current job and just drop her off along the way to work...and do a BASE camp. Not my favorite option, but it's there. LMNOB came with me to this registration, and I felt the atmosphere was cold and unfriendly. The kindergarten teachers who were there didn't interact at all with their prospective pupils. Parents didn't get any kind of information about a typical day there....I just wasn't thrilled, or worse, even comfortable with leaving my daughter as their charge. I registered, very ambivalently, and with a lot of concerns. Later, a mother of another child came up to me and put a bug in my ear about two new charter schools which were opening this fall. I went home and researched.

One of the charter schools is in City X, just down the road from my daycare provider. They go 5 weeks longer than the school district does and have 30 more minutes in their school day. With this in mind, from K-8th grade, their students would have 2 years of more instruction time than the regular school district kids! (Plus, it's a daycare break for working parents in the summer). They are a Mosaica school, using the Paragon curriculum and they emphasize all academics while blending them with the arts and cultural studies! All kids learn Spanish from K-8th grade....possiblement ma regrette tres grande. Hmmm.... They do require uniforms - which I never thought I would enforce upon my children, but after thinking about it, there wouldn't be any battling in the morning over clothes, and socio-economic issues that come up in the schools with clothing and brands all but disappear too. Not so bad after all. And another attraction? No tuition, even for full-day kindergarten! I pre-registered online.

The other charter school is in City Y, actually just down the street from my office. They do a Core Knowledge program, and had so much enthusiasm when I went to their open house. I'd be more than happy if LMNOB ended up there. I learned however, that the kindergarten already had a wait list, and well, it just wasn't for sure.

Yesterday, I was informed by the charter in City X that LMNOB would have a spot there, and was considered in! Now I can see why the PT nature of my job is not so bad - instead of working 2-3 full days, I can go to working 5 half days and spend time at LMNOB's school - as parent volunteerism is required by charters.

I can relax now.....sigh! choice is great and empowering, and I'm glad that it's there, but at the same time, it's totally overwhelming!