How to choose a kindergarten
My husband and I had great elementary school experiences - memorable, fun, love-of-learning kinds of experiences. We can even remember some of the actual things we learned and how we learned them.
We can't say so much about our high school experiences - great nationally-renown high schools, but not really all that memorable.
We'd love for our kids to have the same kind of mindblowing elementary experiences we had, but we don't know how to find it here, and don't know if we'd know it when we saw it.
It might be our local elementary school even, but how to tell? We think it may not be there (it follows the dictates of no child left behind, and desk time academics isn't what we're looking for in a kindergarten).
Any suggestions on where to start? Considerations or questions to ask?
Bonus points for any specific recommendations in and around Mountain View CA!
2 Answers
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Our oldest just started Kindergarten and we looked for schools with a nice community feel, that assigned no or minimal homework in the younger grades, had lots of time for kids to play and explore.
Size matters: We looked at a school with 4 grades, 10-12 students per grade and decided against it because we didn't think it would provide enough of a social pool for our son.
Distance matters: If it is too far for your kid to walk or bike to, you'll be making the round-trip twice a day for many years.
Whether you pick public or private, make sure you donate time and money. Just showing up counts for a lot.
For schools around Mountain View, I've heard good things about the Keys School in Palo Alto and the school associated with the JCC in Palo Alto.
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This is probably the most complicated and most often asked question I hear from other parents at our children's preschool.
The best advice I can offer is this:
- Take the time to go visit each school that is a possibility for your family.
- Go a year ahead of time if you can, and learn the way your school district assigns schools to each student. It differs from district to district.
- Meet the teachers at the schools you are interested in. They will make the difference between a good experience for your child or not. The school as a whole is less important.
- Don't make your decision based on test scores alone for that school. Those scores don't tell you what you might think they do. (for more info on this - http://www.parenting.com/article/Child/Daycare--Education/No-Child-Left-Behind-The-Good-And-The-Bad/3)
Wow, great article on No Child Left Behind - that helped a lot!
- andrea, Jan 4, 2010