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.