Pay no attention to the inequity

This week the hubby & I attended an open house at a public school with a gifted program. It's not just all gifted kids, but also 'regular' kids too. There were a NUMBER of problems with this school. Since I'm low on time, I'm going to list them and hopefully I can expand on them. I'm also still too hot to really be 100% rational. Here we go:

1. There was no formal welcome by anyone. The Vice principal walked past the crowd of parents a number of times and didn't address us until we were in the conference room.

2. The parent volunteer in charge of taking us to the conference room didn't say "HI, come this way please." No, she said, "This way."

3. No materials were handed out except the application. DESPITE a number of references to other material we can get from the front office.

4. The classroom tour was heart breaking. And I'm sure my teacher friends will tell me that it's typical. The neighborhood classroom was HALF the size of the gifted classroom. The gifted classroom had desks & chairs and was very orderly (the other classroom was so small that all the materials were packed against the walls up to the ceiling).

The ethnic diversity of the student population was similar in both classes. But since parents often fundraise and can direct their donations to certain programs & classes, I have to wonder what the hell is going on with economic diversity.

I think I'm going to call the Principal next week to voice my concern for the rudeness & the funding. Of course, my complaints will go on deaf ears as I know that they will have more applications than slots. It's not like they NEED Ella to be in their program.

So what is worse? Sending her to a school where we see the inequities day after day or sending her to a school where there are none because most of the parents are at the same economic status? Or at least, we're the poor family...

*sigh*

The race is back on!

Today the hubby & I went on our first school open house of this season!

Who are the candidates this season?

Private School A
Gifted School A
Many magnet schools including some that aren't just lottery admissions

Today was Private school A's turn. We really liked it. The only problems is that 1) The playlot has a lot to be desired and 2) it's not as diverse as we'd like.

But overall, if she got in and we didn't get into our #1 choice (Magnet School A), we'd be very happy.

Then again, there is a part of me that feels like I'm betraying my belief that public education is key. And I do want her to get into a public school...just a magnet school. I do plan on us checking out the neighborhood school soon as well. We have a whole year until we need to make a real decision thou. Almost all the schools we are looking at start at kindergarten.

A conclusion

It's been awhile since I blogged over here. It's over!

Ella will be staying at her daycare for another year and then we will go thru this crazy process again.

She did get into the only private school we applied to. When we declined, I got a call from the director of admissions and was told that it's very difficult to get her in at kindergarten time, but next year should be ok.

But I've been thinking a lot about what is best for Ella. A good school? A diverse school? Sadly, I don't think that there are many options for both. And the public school that we live by which might fit both criteria doesn't have a pre-school program. So Ella might end up at private school for a year and then move to public school. Which I guess is kinda the way I went too.

The Last Option

OK, it's not that dire.

But the hubby went to an orientation for our last pre-school option in December. He came away with a lot of enthusiasm for the school and its teaching philosophy. Of course he also came away with a lot of questions.

So...last week Miss Ella had her first interview. It was a playdate thing. Ella & 6 other kids played in a room while the parents were interviewed & asked questions. She did pretty good. She did show her stubbornness by refusing to give a chair to the teacher evaluating her, but that's Ella! If we don't get in because of that, then it's not the right place for her. The hubby thinks we're in due to what our Latin-flavor would bring to a fairly white school.

We should know in spring.

But in all honesty, I think we may stay in daycare for another year or two. We'll revisit the ordeal of schools when she's ready for kindergarten. For two main reasons: 1) MONEY and 2) Daycare is year-round. We won't have to worry about summer programs with daycare. Plus it looks like J & S, Ella's best buddies may be staying one more year as well. Certainly J will. J's mom & I are still trying to find a way to send the kids to school together. S is destined for Catholic school - not an option for J or Ella.

And yes, there are times when I think we should had just moved to the burbs where the options are smaller and mostly less expensive.