more on kindergarten

Why isn’t it simple? Why can’t we just find a school that fits Damian perfectly, apply, get him in, and fall asleep easily knowing he’s covered for the next six years?

Maybe it will be that smooth, I don’t know. Right now it doesn’t feel that way. Last time I talked about this I covered private school (can’t) and his home school (won’t) and homeschooling (I’m exhausted already) and touched on but didn’t cover the other options. Which of course have been obsessing me for months. If you need your child in the public school system but abhor the school in your neighborhood (ie: his home school), that leaves charter, magnet, and open enrollment.

Charter schools are schools within the system that have some autonomy, thanks to the charter drawn up by each school’s founders. Theoretically they each have a specific mandate, a thematic focus. So there’d be one with an emphasis in science, one that’s more artsy and so on. In practice, though, the idea seems to mostly be “we can have a better school if we can have our own fiefdom here.” I’m all for better schools, but what I really want is a school whose philosophy matches my own. There are a handful of private schools (at least) that do, why not public? And yes, there are some. One is in the Valley, too far away even for me. One is in Santa Monica, and we’re in the wrong school district for that. Two are in the Los Angeles basin. One is a regular charter school, the other is a charter and a magnet school. Confused? Yeah. You’re not the only one.

Magnet schools differ from charter schools mainly in how they gather students to enroll. Each charter school has a lottery. Completely random. Everyone has the same chance as everyone else. If you’ve applied before, well, that doesn’t matter. Your odds don’t get better. Also, the two most respected charter schools (they don’t have open houses till March) only have a few available slots because they mostly get kids from their home district. So the odds are worse than Vegas. Might as well forget it, but of course you can’t forget it because it’s your kid.

The theory behind the magnet system, on the other hand, is to give children a chance to get out of their overcrowded, underachieving home schools. There’s a lottery for magnets too, but the lottery is weighted. You get a certain number of points if your home school is overcrowded, a certain number if it’s more than 50% non-white, and a certain number if you’ve been wait-listed before. After that they sort kids by ethnicity so each magnet school will have a nice diversity.

I’m applying to one magnet school and a few charter schools, but there are just two schools I’m serious about.

The magnet/charter school, School FarAway is, well, far away. A trek again. But there’s a bus. That would be okay. And if he got in, we’d probably move closer within a year or so. That would be more okay. And it’s an amazing school. That’s the best part.

I spent some time there Tuesday, touring the place with a gaggle of other hopeful parents. We were all drooling, I think. The place is – I want to hug it. Nearly everything is project-based and theme-based. One class has been learning about folk tales; they’re reading a dozen versions of Cinderella and making charts comparing them (the teacher’s favorite is the one where the glass slipper is a loafer). Another is learning about cities. Ecology, architecture, economy. It takes the whole year.

But that’s just the academics. What I like is how the kids break into small groups, how they sit or lie on the floor if they want to do their work that way (or sit at desks if they prefer), how the teachers pay attention to each child’s strengths and interests and tailor assignments so that there’s more than one way to do the work (you can draw a comic, make up a story, or just list your spelling words). I love how they pay attention to social empathy and teach tolerance, how they know that there’s more to learning than academics, and how they make sure there’s no bullying. My kid would be safe there. He’d be respected and allowed to be his adorably quirky self. That’s more important than anything.

I like the teachers, too. I toured another highly respected school last year and I hated what I saw. The teachers seemed irritable. The kids were all grimly focused. It looked hard. This place looks like fun and the teachers are all relaxed and chatty. And there’s music (lots of rhythm and movement) and art (no details on this) and gardening (They mulch! They grow things! They layer plantings like the Native Americans!) and PE (only they call it “Coach”) once a week each, and you can sign your kid up for drama after school twice a week. Which Damian would love. Oh, and they have several iMacs in every classroom. Under the desks, with clear panels so you can see through to the screen but still can use the desk as a desk. And the library is pleasant and open all the time, especially including recess. And they lay out board games during recess too, for the kids who don’t want to play ball games. And it’s public! With high test scores!

Yeah, okay, I fell in love. What are our chances of getting Damian in? Unknown. We’re not the only people who think this school is the best around. It’s really just a question of how his home school scores; those numbers change every year. And yes, it will drive me crazy for the next few months, this huge question mark. Thanks for asking.

The other serious possibility, let’s just call it School NotSoFar. It’s charter-only. It’s a new school, only a few years old. This means there’s a very small waiting list. Which means Damian can probably get in, at least in theory. It too is project-based. When I visited, the third graders were measuring a miniature terrier. Learning circumference, diameter, fractions. Also how cute a small dog is when you hold it aloft and wrap your tape measure around its torso. This too seems like a nurturing place with fun work instead of drudgery. I like the small class sizes (the other school doesn’t have this) and the small school size (the other school is twice as big) and the compassionate, nonviolent philosophy.

I worry that it’s too new, that it’s got too many kinks yet to untangle. A typical child could go with the flow. My child? I want somewhere solid and streamlined for him. And I worry that they might not know what to make of my kid. The teachers are much less experienced. This can be a plus (they’re not jaded) but also a minus (“High functioning autism? How do I handle that?”). I worry also that the kids seemed to be from blue collar backgrounds, and I want Damian to be in the middle of a wide-ranging pack, neither the poorest in a rich school nor the richest in a poor school. Again, he’s got enough making him different, he doesn’t need more. I worry that their test scores are pretty bad. (Not as important as other factors, but I do after all want him to learn.)

But mostly I’m worried because I talked to the head of the school about our situation and she wanted to meet and look over Damian’s IEP, make sure they can accommodate his needs. Which is reasonable, but when I emailed her as requested, she emailed back (weeks later) and said to call. When I called this morning, she was brusque, with no memory of me, and rushed off to help a kid having an asthma attack. I appreciate that the child needed an assist but weren’t there any capable teachers around? Maybe this was her way of blowing me off because she wasn’t comfortable with the idea of a special needs kid in her school. And that worries me. She never did call back today to schedule that meeting.

On the other hand, after I went on that tour last month, I got to the car and sat down and tears unexpectedly welled up. The place feels like a home, sweet and nurturing. I do think he’d be okay there. If they’ll let him in. And if School FarAway doesn’t. Maybe I was reading too much into her tone.

In the meantime, I’m off to look at other schools. Other charter schools and other neighborhood schools we could apply to via open enrollment. I already know I won’t like them as much. I’m not into traditional sit-at-your-desk do-the-work-this-way schooling. I have a feeling Damian wouldn’t like it much either. He’d fidget and zone out and want to sprawl. He needs more interaction and flexibility and as much teacher-warmth as possible. But I can’t put all my hopes in two places, that’s a recipe for lost sleep.

So on it goes. Wish us luck.

Posted by Tamar at January 22, 2004 09:46 PM