Kindergarten Search: Zoned Public School Option

Future kindergartener snuggling with Tigey

Charlie and I toured our "zoned" public school.  Technically, we can apply to any public school within our district but the only school where we have priority is at the school within our zone.  Generally speaking, the desirable public schools in our district fill all of their seats with kids within the zone so the chances of getting into a district school we aren't zoned for is slim, unless scoring 99th percentile and applying to the G&T program at that school.

We've registered Freddie for our "zoned" school.  I toured it some time ago and wanted Charlie to see it as well.

Some notes:

• The principal addressed the group, which she didn't do last time.  She came across well.
• The facility is one of the nicest I've seen for a public school.  Sadly there aren't resources to use the campus as it was intended.  There is a music room, library, auditorium, art room, science lab, gym.  There are "teachers" and technically kids are getting one "special" (art, music, PE, Spanish) each day of week, but the quality is definitely limited.  Supposedly they have art once a week, but the art teacher is there only two days a week so I'm not certain how she's able to see everyone considering there are 4 classes of kindergarten alone.  
• There are four kindergarten classes, 2 of which are general ed and the other two are gifted and talented classes.  The kindergarten classes have 25ish kids and one teacher.  This increases to about 30 in grade 1.
• There are some "combo" classes in the G&T program, meaning ages are mixed because there aren't enough students to necessitate separate classes.  This was surprising considering the 2 GT kindergarten classes.  I'm not sure if this means the GT program is growing and gaining stability or if perhaps kids leave after kindergarten.  Although this isn't something we have to consider unless Freddie scores high enough on the GT test, it is concerning because the school could be in danger of losing the GT program if enrollment isn't stable.
• The school is very diverse, which is to be expected considering our neighborhood.
• It reminds me very much of the last public school where I taught in that it was a pretty average example of public education…not a whole lot of resources, middle to working class families, and an ok education where kids learn particularly if parents are involved.  
• One thing which is a definitely plus for the school it is a 5 minute walk from our building.
• Another positive is we knew probably 75% of the families on the tour.  There is a lot to be said for being part of the community.

What we hear from families:

• Some families are happy.  Although no one raves about it, most families think it is fine for the youngest years.  I think many of these families plan on leaving the city before hitting 3 grade and at the very latest before middle school.  
• Some families aren't happy and are exploring other options, including moving.  The general sentiment has been the general ed classrooms aren't as good as the GT classrooms, there are some behaviors that not all teachers can keep in check, and overall they want more extras in an eduction.