Friday, March 26, 2010

Public School

Husband and I have been obsessing the past two weeks over which (if any) public schools* Miss D will be accepted to. I applied to about 30. So far I have received 2 acceptances (from schools who accepted everyone) two waitlists and one no. The clock is ticking and you have to let the schools know by mid-April if you want the slot or not. It's enough to drive anyone batshit!

If you were wondering what public school in the urban market is looking like these days, here is a list of things you may be surprised to learn the children are not entitled to:

RECESS: Many schools do not offer recess. I visited one that only has it during the warmer months (during the winter they have free play in their classrooms, but no running around time). There is another local school where the teachers got together and voted to offer recess to the children, because they felt it was important, but the teachers are not paid for the recess time.

GYM: Many schools do not offer gym at all. Others may have it once a week or on a limited basis.

LUNCH THAT IS LONGER THAN 15 MINUTES: Seriously. 15 minutes to eat.

ARTS: Music, Visual Arts, Drama, etc. I guess this is no surprise. If your school still offers even one of these, it is probably because you have a strong parents group that has raised the funds for it themselves.

ATHLETICS: See above

COMPUTERS, SCIENCE LAB (FOR OLDER GRADES), ETC.

This is why people move to the suburbs.

*If you're wondering why I don't have my daughter attend our neighborhood school, it's because we live in an immigrant-heavy neighborhood and the school is majority ESL.

8 comments:

Bernice said...

I recall some of these dilemmas we had to chose for our children. It is hard.

Anonymous said...

Yes, and what is more mind-boggling is all schools are different. Some offer recess, some don't. Some offer gym or art, some don't. Keeping it all straight is enough to drive anyone insane. And yes, I do think there is more to school than academics. That is why I have not decided yet whether we are actually taking the gifted spot or staying at Saint Matthias. All that extra stuff is worth something to me - even though it breaks the bank. Lisa

Anonymous said...

It sounds like a tough decision. I wish you luck and hope you find something that makes you (and Miss D) happy.

Dad said...

the whole thing just sucks.

alexis said...

holy crap!! No wonder people who have any option flee to paid schools or the suburbs..

Lakeview Coffee Joe said...

Wow, that DOES suck. Our church school has all of those things, but it also costs $6k a year.

Jason Loper said...

This also explains the increase in home schooling, I guess.

Pulisha said...

You know where I stand on this whole debate. The public school system is a massive failure across this whole country IMHO (and we've been to them in three states and overseas!). Some private schools offer scholarships based on need, you might take a look at that as an alternative. I would homeschool if I could, but then we wouldn't have any money for a home, hah!((big hugs)) in making your decision!!