Though it's hard to believe, in about 7 months, this little baby will be starting school. (That's Eleanor, not Charlotte, by the way.) Eleanor will begin kindergarten in September, shortly after her 5th birthday. We have been looking at schools to try to find the best fit for her and us. Our first visit was to McKinley School. It's a good school with a focus on the arts, which is nice since budget cuts have made it hard for schools to keep their music and art classes. This is our default school and is within walking distance (and right by Trader Joe's). There are a couple of things I really didn't like about this school, but overall, it seems like a nice place.
Also on our list of schools to visit are two public charter schools- Aveson and Odyssey. Admission to these schools is chosen by lottery. If your parent works there or a sibling already attends, a child can be guaranteed a spot, otherwise it's the luck of the draw. The school we visited today takes 44 kindergartners (22 per class) and hundreds apply.
One of the things I like about the charter schools is that they have more freedom to modify their approach to the needs of the children. While, unlike McKinley, they did not have the state standards for kindergarten posted on the wall, their test scores are still among the top in the city. We have two more schools to visit, one is a half day program. Eleanor really liked the school we visited today, but her first choice is to "stay home and have Mommy and Daddy teach" her.
The school we visited today had chickens.
And some good guiding principles.
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3 comments:
Are you considering Mommy and Daddy teaching her? That's probably what E's evil twin Cedar will be doing. It's not that we don't like our school options, but we don't really believe that conventional education would really be best for her. Seattle also has a very large and active homeschool group; the public school district even maintains a homeschooling resource center.
If you could come back to Arkansas...and live near me...I would try her best to teacher kindergarten...and my principal lets teacher's have their granddaughters in their rooms! And E. could feed grandfather's chickens! I know it won't happen but it could be fun!
Josh,
We haven't seriously considered it. I know a couple of people who are involved in home schooling co ops and I'm planning on talking to one of them. I really like the diversity that public school offers and I don't know that you would get that in a home school group. We are not closed to the idea though.
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