What are you asking about kindergarten enrollment?

[TtownAnne]

As we are considering our options for Caroline next year (after some problems with her current school), I have started calling other local schools to find out their enrollment requirements. But if there has been an open house or an opportunity to talk to the kindergarten teacher, what are you asking them? What specific answers are you looking for to help you decide that THIS is the school for your kid? (DH and I can't agree, because his philosophy is pretty much that private schools have to be better because you pay for them)

[Jayne]

Well We know what school Alyssa will go to but some good things to do and or ask.

Visitation policy - Can you come buy and observe a class setting, can Caroline have a trial day, how involved are you allowed to be as a parent.

Test scores

Philosophy of education

student/teacher ratio

I know I have more..I will get back to you

[Kara]

Well Austin's going...LOL. And to our public schools so we don't need to explore our options I guess as some may need to do.

so I'm just keeping my eye out for the signups for the screening!

[Nocona]

We were choosing between public school and the Catholic school by our house. We have chosen the public school as it the highest rated in our district and only a couple blocks from our house.

Our school district is having a kindergarten information night in a couple weeks there and this thread reminded me to call about registering for it, so thank you :lol:

Our school district is very good with kindergarten preparedness and I've went to one meeting (one more coming up next month) regarding what they learn in kindergarten, what they focus on, questions about kids who are at different levels with learning, etc. and I've really liked all the answers I've gotten. Our district is going to full day kindergarten next year and they've sent every current kindergarten teacher to observe at a school that currently has full day (different school districts) to get ideas on how their day will look next year so they can be better prepared and better prepare the parents.

[gulp!]

Jayne's list is a great place to start. We found that going on a tour was a huge help, b/c you could see the classrooms in action. We asked about how the day is structured, what students are expected to learn in that class. Do they group like readers together, and if so, is it obvious which kids are strong readers and which aren't? Do they do inclusion for special needs, or are there separate classes for that?

We also noted differences in the use of computers in the classroom- some encouraged it, some did not. We saw differences in teaching styles. For us, diversity was important. Really, observing the schools was the best method we found to getting a real "flavor" of the school.

ETA: we also took a close look at the upper grades, to see what they were studying and looked at some of the work the students had done. Ideally you're not going to change schools again, so you want to be impressed by the whole school and all the grades, not just kindergarten or 1st grade.

[Cami]

I would find out about:
*how they expect children to act/what children should know when the enter K
*what the learning goals are for the year (ie, how should they act/what should they know when they leave K)
*what the focus of the class is (socialization? academics?)
*what the daily routine/schedule is
*how much free play, physical playtime, small group time, one on one time with teacher there is (which you'll find out from the schedule)
*how the teacher communicates with the parents during the year (to find out how open and available he/she is)
*how the teacher/school helps children adjust to school, what issues they normally experience, and how they deal with them
*what the teacher expects of parents

eta: I meant to mention what Stef just said about looking at the upper grades too!

[TtownAnne]

I thought about that, Stef - the only problem with that is that our current school requires current students to reinroll THIS WEEK, while enrollment at the elementary schools isn't until March. So I kind of need some answers now, and can't necessarily wait until their schedule class observations and parent open houses are. :dunno:

[Kimberly]

(DH and I can't agree, because his philosophy is pretty much that private schools have to be better because you pay for them)

This wasn't true at all in my old district. Teachers that had been let go from the public school were hired by the private school without question. I would be sure to ask about hiring procedures/teacher qualifications at the private school.

I have to run now, but I will come back and add some questions for you.

[Jayne]

Anne...Any school should have an open policy. You should be able to call and ask to watch tomorrow if you wanted.

Oh..something you might want to ask about too is their testing..What are their scores..when do they test..(what age groups) Cami has some good one's on the K level

[Jayne]

Kimberly has a great point..Around here Teachers must have their Masters within the 10 years from getting their Bachelor degree..That is public school requirements. I can tell you that at a lot of private schools they will use anyone with a degree..My friend taught Music with a business degree in a private school because they were hurting for a teacher

[Dennis]

How much of a deposit does the current school want, and is it refundable? If it's only $50 or something that you are risking, it might be worth it to cover your bases. If it's $500 or something, probably not.

[Jayne]

You should be able to check online for a lot of answers. I know our school has a web page and a lot of info is there for parents

[gulp!]

Dennis is right- if the amt. isn't much, it's worth it to hold her spot.

And Jayne is right, too- you should be able to tour a school anytime. See if the school has a Parent Liason and give them a call to see if they can squeeze you in tomorrow or the next day.

(oh, and I know it's only my opinion, but Caroline's current school has yet to show me anything redeeming about it- including the registration deadline that is well before public school. And, we were more impressed by the public school than we were the $17k/year private school we looked at.)

[TtownAnne]

Unfortunately, the amount of the deposit is alot - 10% of tuition for the year, which would be around $450. So if we do that, we have to MEAN it. Unfortunately, living in a pretty rural area, there are only three schools that she could even attend, one of which is her current school. Out of the others, one is a public school which DH doesn't even want to consider, and the other is a parochial school that I am not interested in as it is not our religion, and being as we are not particularly religous people it seems rather hypocritical to attend a school whose basic tenets are different than those we do practice!

Am I the only one that thinks it just shouldn't be this hard to make these type of decisions? Parenting is just so darned UNFAIR! :raspberry

[Cami]

What does Caroline think about staying at this school? Would she have any friends at the other two schools?

If he's not budging on one and you don't want the other, then that only leaves the current school. :scratch: I think for the sake of knowing, you should both visit the other schools. What grade does the current school go up to?

You can always stay put for next year and then switch. But I'd think the parochial school would be harder to get into in first grade, so you'd probably only have the public school as an option.

oh, also, my impression is that some Catholic schools can be pretty popular with non-Catholics. Maybe you could ask about the enrollment?

[Shel]

When Kaleb and Jacob were at the Christian school, there were a lot of other people with different religion and faiths there. They had a Bible class and chapel, but one of the other parents who was Muslim said they had told their child to see the Bible classes and chapel as a history-type class since they didn't believe in it. They just knew the education was top notch and that's why they had their kids there. You could talk to the parochial school and see how much they actually stress "religion".

[Lora]

Christopher is continuing on to kindergarten at our Catholic school that he has attended preschool at for the past two years. It is a highly regarded school in our diocese with the highest enrollment of students. So far we have been happy with the school.

Lora

[Karri]

Unfortunately, living in a pretty rural area, there are only three schools that she could even attend, one of which is her current school. Out of the others, one is a public school which DH doesn't even want to consider, and the other is a parochial school that I am not interested in as it is not our religion,

So are you saying that there are no other places and its open and shut :scratch:
Why won't James consider that public school? Is it a bad school?

Shel brought up good points about the religious schools. Its like that at many faith-based schools around here. Matter of fact, some schools are not stressing the particular religion itself, but more just taking a general faith-based approach. But even if that isn't the case, its not the end of the world for a child to be exposed to a religion other than the one they practice. Chris and his brothers went to a religious school that was not the religion that his family practiced b/c there wasn't a school in the area. He's no worse for the wearing. And he's really educated about anything to do with God :lol:

[TtownAnne]

James won't consider the public school because it's public. He firmly believes that a private school HAS to be better just because you are paying for it.

I've got phone calls into a few schools a bit further out as well, so hopefully people will start calling me back.

And of course now our thoughts are complicated by the fact that Caroline heard me calling a school yesterday and said that she wants to stay at Montessori, she doesn't want to go to another school. :dunno:

[AmyP]

Could that just be her anxiety? Maybe she's afraid to go to another school because she's afraid to make a change.

[Dennis]

Have you mentioned to James that public schools usually pay higher salaries for teachers than private schools? So by his logic, public schools must be better because they pay the teachers more so therefore they have better teachers.

[Jayne]

I am sorry but I really think that James is being bull headed on this. This is your daughters future..He really shouldn't just make assumptions like that. He needs hard core facts..Public schools can be very good and better then private depending on the area.

[Kara]

Unfortunately, the amount of the deposit is alot - 10% of tuition for the year, which would be around $450. So if we do that, we have to MEAN it. Unfortunately, living in a pretty rural area, there are only three schools that she could even attend, one of which is her current school. Out of the others, one is a public school which DH doesn't even want to consider, and the other is a parochial school that I am not interested in as it is not our religion, and being as we are not particularly religous people it seems rather hypocritical to attend a school whose basic tenets are different than those we do practice!

Am I the only one that thinks it just shouldn't be this hard to make these type of decisions? Parenting is just so darned UNFAIR! :raspberry

We have alot of kids here that aren't Catholic going to a Catholic school.
Do you feel better with the things going on at Carolines school to put down $450 to send her again in the fall?

[Kara]

So the Montessori includes kindergarten or this would be another year of preschool?

[Karri]

James won't consider the public school because it's public. He firmly believes that a private school HAS to be better just because you are paying for it.

Anne, i am sorry, but that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. This is where you, as Caroline's mother, put your foot down, and stand up to him. Because he's being ignorant and his statement is just untrue.

I am sorry but I really think that James is being bull headed on this. This is your daughters future..He really shouldn't just make assumptions like that. He needs hard core facts..Public schools can be very good and better then private depending on the area.

Jayne is right. If you are going to look at other schools, aside from looking at them (and looking at everything Stef pointed out), look at hard core facts. Look at scores, etc. As someone with a degree in education I can tell you 100% that James is wrong in his assumption.

[Michele]

If you are paying taxes, then you are also paying for public school, no?

I don't have much to add, but I hope you find a solution soon!

[TtownAnne]

Thanks for your thoughts, everyone. We're still working on it.

Kara, our local Montessori goes through the 8th grade, so starting in Sept. 2007 Caroline would be in kindergarten, a/k/a the third year of Primary class (they don't break down the classes per year, they are done by age groups)

[Kimberly]

As someone with a degree in education I can tell you 100% that James is wrong in his assumption.

I fully agree with this! There is so much more than just public/private to consider. I can tell you first hand that the main private school where we used to live hired teachers that had been "let go" from the public school because they just weren't up to par. They also didn't have to follow the same rigorous state standards and curriculum that we followed.

[Stacey]

Anne, I really hope you can get James to come to his senses on this. It doesn't matter how much something costs... if it's not good for Caroline, it's not good for Caroline. I don't know the full story on how she's doing lately, but I know that you've had concerns about her current school in the past.

I wouldn't kick the religious school off your list without checking it out. I grew up going to Catholic schools. There were many kids who went to the schools who weren't even Christian. They went b/c that was the school that their parents thought provided the best education. Plus, religion wasn't a huge part of the day at the schools I went to.

Brad and I aren't very religious these days, but the kids go to a Lutheran school. I'd much rather them at a parochial school where they're thriving than at a secular school where they're not.

Good luck with this.

[Kimmy0712]

Anne I completely agree with Karri that James is just wrong about the private school. I was going back and forth as to whether or not to put Alex in a provate school vs. public and decided against it. One of my closest friends went to the privat school from K-8th grade and she now teaches in a public school. She has said to me put him in the public school. The education they would get is not much different with the exceptiuon of the religion which he can get at Sunday school and I can save $5K a year!