Best $10 We Spent At The School Halloween Fair

Quote of the Day

Me:  Boylee, what do you want to be when you grow up?

Boylee:  I first thought policeman, but I think I just want to be someone who always loves you.

An Explanation from the Principal

(I changed the identifying details)

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Dear First Grade Parents,

I would like to thank X and Y for communicating with all of you and bringing to light the concerns that many of you are having regarding the present size of each first grade class.

As mentioned in our letters to parents in the October 15th and October 22nd - Thursday packets, we have been in the process of an enrollment drive with a goal of 20 new students by November 1. I am pleased to report that we have met and exceeded that goal at this moment.

Prior to launching this enrollment drive, the teaching staff and I spent approximately 6 hours, over a three week period of time, developing contingency plans for a variety of possible classroom arrangements depending on the number of students we would attract and at what grade level they would enter. We made the decision to place the new students into the existing classrooms for the 10 day period from October 23 to November 1; thus giving us time to see where the growth occurred and only make one organizational shift of classrooms. By making only one shift it will cause the least amount of disruption to students.

In the past seven school days we have received the largest number of new students at the first grade level: Total = 9

Boylee's Class Size

Friday, October 16 = 24
Monday, October 19 = 26
Tuesday, October 20 = 26
Friday, October 23 = 28
Monday, October 26 =28

The Other 1st Grade
Friday, October 16 = 24
Monday, October 19 = 26
Tuesday, October 20 = 28
Friday, October 23 = 28
Monday, October 26 = 29

As I mentioned, the staff and I decided to enroll the students during the two week period of time into the existing classrooms; thus, for the past 4 days we have had more than 24 students in each of the first grade classes. To assist with this, yesterday, we assigned additional aide time to each of the classrooms to make sure that the teachers are able to continue the excellent program and to help with making our new students feel welcome.

Our Charter was written four years ago to include multi-age classrooms, as our possible classroom structure. Multi-age classrooms are a signature for the organization of teaching and learning at UCLA's Lab School, the instructional model we pattern much of our program after. The current enrollment situation looks like it will allow us to move in that direction and create one blended class for kindergarten and first grade by the end of this week.

This is a good classroom organization for K and 1 students. A small group of kindergarten students will be blended with a small group of first grade students into one classroom with each grade attending class for the same number of minutes they currently do. When the kindergarten students are not present, the first grade students will work in a small group with the teacher for the remainder of their instructional minutes. Depending on the final tally of students, the first grade students in this blended classroom could experience a 12:1 student - teacher ratio for part of their day. By carefully choosing the students for placement in this situation we will be able to better meet individual student needs.

Our intention is to begin the new classroom organization on Tuesday, November 3; so, by the end of the week, staff members will talk with the parents of the students that we feel will benefit from a blended grade level situation and explain our rationale. Additionally, on Monday, November 2, I will schedule time to meet with the parents of the students forming the new class and describe the benefits of this to the parents. I will email you with the time and place on Monday for the meeting.

As always, the staff and I remain committed to the best education possible for our students and I remain committed to having happy, enthusiastic learners in our school. If students want to come to school, they will learn!

Thank you so much for you help and understanding as we move through this exciting transition.

Dagnabit

Now Boylee's class size is up to 28.

My Boy and Astroboy!

Boylee laughed, and cried (3 times!) and laughed some more...then said he didn't like it!

Less Bad and So-So

Less bad: Boylee's class size is 26, not 28. Not great, but at least as I understand it, this is the max and it won't be going up again.

So-so: The school won't be able to move into its shiny new space until September. The permitting process is taking a long time, and they discovered that the earliest we'd be able to move in would be April, just a few weeks before the end of school. So they'll move over the summer and welcome us to the new space when school starts up again. I'm bummed, because that space is so great, but we'll deal with it. For now we'll just deal with the highly-urban experience of our current school location. I always wondered how kids go to school in crowded places like Manhattan. Now I'm experiencing something like that: a tiny school, wedged into a tiny spot, with traffic issues, a non-stop stream of "interesting" people on the sidewalks surrounding the place, graffiti, and assorted other elements.

After The Party

Saturday night we had a bunch of families over for dinner. I think it ended up being 13 adults and 11 kids between the ages of 2 and 6.5. (It was chaos! Fabulous chaos!)

Whenever we have a big group over, we fill a metal tub with ice and use that for our drinks. Boylee got in it the next morning, and apparently that melted ice water was still cold!

Why We Switched Schools

Uncle Kev asked.

Before kindergarten, we looked around our area for the "best" public school for Boylee -- not in terms of test scores, necessarily, but in terms of the kind of education going on. We applied at a magnet, two charters, and two "open enrollment" schools (places where they have extra spaces that they hand out via lottery.) We got rejected everywhere except one of the open enrollment places, which happened to be very near our house.

And we ended up really liking the public school that Boylee went to last year. It was very much a regular public school that had a great principal and a hardworking PTA. It was in a middle- to lower-middle class neighborhood. We were probably among the most well-off people at the school -- which means there was a definite limit to how much money the PTA could raise to pay for the extras that the district wasn't paying for, like field trips and arts education. But with the massive budget cuts that have been implemented and with more coming down the line, we knew that school was going to have a very tough time keeping up. And at one point there was a huge threat that the school would be closed altogether because of its small size -- around 210 students K-6.

When the enrollment period came around, we tried again at a magnet and two charter schools, just to keep our options open. We got rejected everywhere, but by then we heard that our current school wasn't closing and we were prepared to stay, to participate as much as possible, raise money, etc. Then suddenly just before the end of the school year we heard that we won a spot at one of the charter schools we'd applied to. We took it.

Boylee's school is an arts charter. Which means, basically, that instead of doing a unit of dance, a unit of drama, a unit of fine arts and a unit of music, spread out all throughout the school year (as it was at last year's school), they do all of that each week. And because the arts are an integral part of their learning system, these elements won't be cut when budgets are right. That's really the only reason we switched.

The current school really feels like a work-in-progress. This is only their fourth year in existence, and they're fighting to get into a permanent location, hopefully by this spring. I have a feeling that at the end of the school year, once we're settled in the new space, I'm going to say that this is a GREAT school. Right now it feels like it's trying very hard to be great. Hopefully we will get there.

Meanwhile, almost all of the friends we made at the old school have left. One moved, two went to a different public charter school. One stayed, and then had a horrible experience with first grade -- apparently life in the main part of school is quite harsh compared to the gentle kindergarten yard we experienced last year. Her child was being bullied. And the budget cuts are being felt, though the PTA raised enough money to keep the library open. When my friend went to tell the principal they were switching schools, he told her that the situation would be getting worse before it gets better.

I Really Want To Love This School

But they're making it hard. I'm pretty sure Boylee's class size just went up to 28. That really bums me out. It's too many kids, in general, for first grade. And the classroom is tiny. And I'm just pissed about it.

How He's Doing

Great, as a matter of fact.

He's playing, having fun, going to school, and getting it all done with his left hand. Plus we've convinced him that all this lefty stuff is only going to improve his piano and gymnastics.

I Stopped Working On The Fancy Pants

For Boylee one of the hardest things about having a cast is how hard it is to pull up and zip and/or button his pants. So I've been hard at work making soft, easy-pull-up pants out of jersey. Boylee approves heartily. Next I'm trying some fleece.

What Happened Was

Around 10am, Boylee was running during P.E. and a friend somehow accidentally tripped him. He fell onto his back, with his arm somehow twisting underneath him.  His arm hurt right away, and the P.E. teacher gave him a basic check -- he could wiggle his fingers, he could move his arm, and he could give the teacher a high five.  So they gave him an ice pack and contacted us.

Here's where the total fail starts:  They called our house, got the answering machine, but didn't leave a message.  They called my cell, got my voicemail, but didn't leave a message.  They called Scott's cell, got voicemail and did leave a message.  Then they sent a text to Scott's phone.  But Scott  has been working nights and was asleep, his phone tucked away somewhere.  And I was oblivious, since no one had left a message on my cell or the home phone.  

Scott woke up a few hours later and first saw the text.   I called the school, totally outraged, but at that point they all thought Boylee was basically fine.  But they did call him to the office, and when I asked him if he wanted to stay at school or be picked up he asked to be picked up.   But when we got home, he was crying about his arm and it seemed more than just a boo-boo.  Coincidentally, we had an appointment to get his H1N1 vaccine, so we went off to the doctor...and the receptionist took one look at him and said, "His arm is broken!"  She was right. 

Luckily the orthopedist is right across the street from the pediatrician, and they fit us in right away, and that was that.  But I'm still ticked off at the school for not leaving more messages for us.  I mean, if they're going to take the time to call all the numbers, it only takes 30 seconds more to leave a message!

Turns Out The Mohawk Was Not The Most Dramatic Event Of The Week

Story to come...but basically Boylee broke two bones near his elbow today in P.E.

And then there was a major communication FAIL at school and we didn't hear about it for three hours, while he sat in class, and did music, with a broken arm.  I'm definitely beginning to develop a love/hate relationship with his school. 

Reactions

Everybody loves the new 'do.  Teachers, kids, random people on the street, everyone. Except one kid at school who told Boylee he looks like a pony.  Oh, well.

  

My Sensitive Thug

We read this book last night at bedtime and Boylee was appalled to find out that when Hillary Rodham Clinton was a kid, women were not allowed to be astronauts!

Rest Assured, He Still Loves Winnie the Pooh

Before, During, After

Please Stand By

Boylee has announced that he wants a mohawk.  We are going to the barbershop this afternoon.

Getting Bigger, But Still Very Small

Class Schedule

The Open House was interesting. It was also hectic and a little unorganized. Parents who don't follow directions also make things harder. So I did not get all my questions answered. But here is one thing I learned. Boylee's daily schedule:

8:30 - 9:30  Morning routine with morning message, shared and interactive writing, calendar

9:00 - 9:40  Special Arts and PE

9:40 - 10:20  Math

10:20 - 10:40  Word Study

10:40 - 11:00  Recess

11:00 - 11:40  Readers Workshop

11:40 - 12:00  Interactive Writing

12:00 - 12: 45  Writers Workshop

12:45 - 1:20  Lunch

1:20 - 2:00 DWOK (Different Ways of Knowing)

2:00 - 2:15  Closing Activities

2:20  Dismissal