Chosing a school (elementary)

We live in an area where there are a lot of immigrants and therefore
the majority of kids at the local elementary are ESL kids. Since
Sophie does not fall into that category, I have some reservations that
she would thrive in a school that concentrates so much on the ESL
aspect. I have some other reasons for not wanting to send her there,
like it being a year round school that will cause conflicts with care
when I go back to work full time eventually, etc.

So, I need to start to figure out where I want to send her to school,
and I have NO idea how to go about finding one. We really don't have
any friends here, and our neighbors either don't have kids. Other than
her preschool teacher, who I will talk to, any suggestions? (She will
start in Fall 2006)

Thanks
Linda
Mommy to Sophie, 4
and Eva, 1.5

Hi --

Your first step should be to contact your local elementary school to
arrange a tour. Many districts offer tours to incoming parents in the
spring, especially for kindergarteners. Come prepared with a list of
questions, including how they handle the non-ESL kids, what is the class
size through elementary school, etc. You may, in the end, not have a
choice of school, so you want to know about the default and be prepared
to supplement as necessary.

Next, call the school district to find out about charter or magnet
programs. Some districts have a good variety, others have few or none.
You will want to know what your options are and what you have to do to
get into one of them.

Third, ask at a local bookstore or library if there's a book or
periodical about private schools in your area. Larger metropolitan
areas are likely to have something. Read through the book or ads in the
periodical and find out what you can. Arrange tours (in the fall,
probably) of the schools you find interesting.

Next, ask teachers and the principal of your preschool for advice. If
you're affiliated with a church or synagogue, ask there as well. Other
parents, even if they don't know you, will be happy to tell you what
they know.

Where do you live?
--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would
like me to reply.

goofeegyrl wrote:
So, I need to start to figure out where I want to send her to school,
and I have NO idea how to go about finding one. We really don't have
any friends here, and our neighbors either don't have kids. Other than
her preschool teacher, who I will talk to, any suggestions? (She will
start in Fall 2006)

We just finished an orientation and placement test for my 5yo, who
will be starting kindergarten this Fall. We live in an area with
a strong hispanic and asian subculture. There are tons of ESL
people here.

The elementary school was extremely vague about the placement test.
I suspect it's a "nice" way of grouping ESL students together without
invoking ugly PC debates. I'm not sure. There are eight classes.
So it's easy enough to pigeon hole students.

Call up the school. I don't think you'll get definitive answers
(at least we didn't) but you'll probably get enough info to infer
accurate answers.

"goofeegyrl" wrote in message
oups.com...
....
So, I need to start to figure out where I want to send her to school,
and I have NO idea how to go about finding one. We really don't have
any friends here, and our neighbors either don't have kids. ...

Find places where kids and parents congregate. This may include signing her
up for swimming lessons where you can sit at the side and talk to other
parents who have kids in lessons (a swim class may consist of 4 to 5 year
olds with older siblings). Or it could be kindermusic, an art class or
whatever. Or you may try hanging out at the local playgrounds. Try to
strike up a conversation.

Also, see if any of the schools in your area have websites or place notices
of their activities in the local papers. You can check out schools by
attending their PTA meetings (you don't get to vote unless you join), their
open houses, kid plays and performances (note: for the truly cheap, middle
school and high school music and theatrical productions are often fairly
good and downright cheap). At my daughter's school there are families who
come to the annual pancake breakfast to check out the school before they
tour.

Oh, we have lots of kids where English is a Second Language too (there is no
real "ESL" here, they start out in transitional program where they are
taught English, and then put into a school near where they live with some
supports)... but that is because we live near a university. Their parents
are often graduate students and visiting professors. Lots of these kids
also are also in the gifted and talented programs... they often speak
English better than their parents (though years ago one of the kids on my
son's U-9 soccer team did announce he was an "alien", he came to this
conclusion when he saw his parent's forms for "Resident Alien")

"Kevin" wrote in message
...
goofeegyrl wrote:
So, I need to start to figure out where I want to send her to school,
and I have NO idea how to go about finding one. We really don't have
any friends here, and our neighbors either don't have kids. Other than
her preschool teacher, who I will talk to, any suggestions? (She will
start in Fall 2006)

We just finished an orientation and placement test for my 5yo, who
will be starting kindergarten this Fall. We live in an area with
a strong hispanic and asian subculture. There are tons of ESL
people here.

The elementary school was extremely vague about the placement test.
I suspect it's a "nice" way of grouping ESL students together without
invoking ugly PC debates. I'm not sure. There are eight classes.
So it's easy enough to pigeon hole students.

In our school it's a nice way of ensuring each class is just like the next.
They each have the same number of ESL students. They each have the same
number of gifted students, the same number of kids with minor learning
disabilities, the same number of kids that come in for just for art or PE,
and the same number of parents who volunteer.

Call up the school. I don't think you'll get definitive answers
(at least we didn't) but you'll probably get enough info to infer
accurate answers.

"goofeegyrl" wrote in message
oups.com...
We live in an area where there are a lot of immigrants and therefore
the majority of kids at the local elementary are ESL kids. Since
Sophie does not fall into that category, I have some reservations that
she would thrive in a school that concentrates so much on the ESL
aspect. I have some other reasons for not wanting to send her there,
like it being a year round school that will cause conflicts with care
when I go back to work full time eventually, etc.


For a start, you may want to look at www.greatschools.net and check out the
schools in your area.
For my state, it provides information about free/reduced lunch
participation, ESL students and those dreaded test scores. For a few (very
few) schools, parents write in comments. In any case, you would at least
find out if in fact the majority of kids are ESL students.

It's interesting what you said about being a year-round school. I had the
impression that year-round schooling would ease the care situation. But
since I have no experience, I'm obviously wrong.


So, I need to start to figure out where I want to send her to school,
and I have NO idea how to go about finding one. We really don't have
any friends here, and our neighbors either don't have kids. Other than
her preschool teacher, who I will talk to, any suggestions? (She will
start in Fall 2006)


Have your husband ask his colleagues. The Washington Post (where I live)
has extensive reporting on the various school systems and even individual
schools. So, maybe the local paper where you live can provide similar
information?

Lastly, it's very very important to visit your neighborhood school and meet
the principal. Ideally, you can call and make an appointment to visit the
school and not wait for Kindergarten orientation. That's what I did - and I
got a good impression of the principal and front office. They knew the
children coming in and out of the office. At DD's school, there are lots
of volunteers and each grade has several mothers (and fathers) who are more
than willing to talk to new parents and answer questions. Ask the principal
if there are volunteers like that.

I wasn't impressed with DD's school demographics because it is a bit too
white and too much of the same socio-economic level for me. Very little
diversity of any sorts. So, there is a subtle pressure to conform to some
ideal image. I would have preferred a more diverse population for DD.

Jeanne

goofeegyrl wrote:



So, I need to start to figure out where I want to send her to school,
and I have NO idea how to go about finding one. We really don't have
any friends here, and our neighbors either don't have kids. Other than
her preschool teacher, who I will talk to, any suggestions? (She will
start in Fall 2006)


Assuming you're talking about public schools - do you have any choice in
where you send her? I'd find that out first. If you don't have a
choice, then you're looking at either moving into the area of a school
you would like; private school; or homeschooling.

Clisby

"goofeegyrl" wrote in message
oups.com...
We live in an area where there are a lot of immigrants and therefore
the majority of kids at the local elementary are ESL kids. Since
Sophie does not fall into that category, I have some reservations that
she would thrive in a school that concentrates so much on the ESL
aspect. I have some other reasons for not wanting to send her there,
like it being a year round school that will cause conflicts with care
when I go back to work full time eventually, etc.

So, I need to start to figure out where I want to send her to school,
and I have NO idea how to go about finding one. We really don't have
any friends here, and our neighbors either don't have kids. Other than
her preschool teacher, who I will talk to, any suggestions? (She will
start in Fall 2006)

Do you have public school choice? Charther or magnets?
Are you thinking of private options as well? That info is
essential before figure out the details of where to send her.
Every area is quite different.


P. Tierney

Yes, there is a period of open enrollment, so I was hoping to look into
the public schools first. I have access to test scores, and this
school is in the middle. Seems in our district, a large number of
schools are in the extreme of one end or another, so it's strange to
find one smack dab in the middle. I would rather not go private,
because of the expense, but it has not been ruled out as an option.

I know this was a really broad question to ask, so I appreciate those
who put in their two cents.

About the year round question somebody asked, they are off for a month
at a time in their three breaks. March, July, and November. DH works
at a community college with a great care program that includes school
aged kids in the summer, so that would be where I would place them in
summer when I work full time.

We plan on moving from here in 3-5 years, assuming all goes well with
our Master Plan, so if I she/they don't get accepted in the open
enrollment process to another school and they have to be sent to the
one a couple blocks down, it's not the end of the world I guess!

Thanks again Everybody

Linda
Mommy to Sophie, 4
and Eva, 1.5

"goofeegyrl" wrote in message
oups.com...
Yes, there is a period of open enrollment, so I was hoping to look into
the public schools first. I have access to test scores, and this
school is in the middle. Seems in our district, a large number of
schools are in the extreme of one end or another, so it's strange to
find one smack dab in the middle.

Given that, I'd ask around and find a few to visit when
the time comes. See how your local one compares as
far as staff, facilities, atmosphere, principal accessibility,
and what their core educational values are. Test scores
matter, but they are only one small piece of the pie, imo.

We also have open enrollment, and the city magazine
publishes loads of stats in an easy-to-compare chart
form -- test scores, diversity stats, free lunch numbers,
capacity and enrollment, etc. Still, I'm hoping to gain
more from my visits in the coming fall.


P. Tierney