Help! My kid is starting kindergarten this fall and have to send in a school choice application. I've never done this before and I'm feeling at a loss. Our public school district has a number of good magnet schools to choose from. The two at the top of my list are a Montessori school and one that offers an International Baccalaureate program.
I am hoping that there are some parents here on DKos who have experience with one or the other of these two types and can offer me advise. Good or bad, I'm interested in your experiences.
When I was in school the process was that you went to the nearest school. This choosing a school thing is daunting. What if I pick the wrong one? On the other hand, she's a smart kid with two involved parents which means that she's likely to well at most schools.
I haven't toured either school yet. and am hoping some one has some good tips on what to look for or a question or two that I should ask.
The first choice is the Montessori. It's not a full Montessori, as a public school it has to jump through the NCLB hoops and some things are different. The one thing I know is that they don't have the full music program, they get music for an hour a week. Kindergarten is a class by itself then grades 1-3 are in a classroom together and 4-6 share another. The school is about 20-25 blocks away. It feels like this school would be a good cultural fit for us.
The International Baccalaureate school will be accredited starting next year. I really don't know much about the program. It sounds academically challenging which I think would be good for her. What little I have read about it sounds more geared for older students. This school is about 12 blocks from my house, busing would be available but we could walk to school if I wanted.
My kid is more than school ready, able to easily read level one and two books though her attention span is not long enough to read level two books cover to cover in one sitting. She can say and write the alphabet and can copy words as well as continue a sequence of two or three digit numbers either verbally or on paper. She loves natural history especially reptiles and human anatomy. In other words, a bright kid who will likely be ahead of most of her class mates and possibly qualify for a TaG program if the school offers one.
What I am looking for in a school is one that will keep her engaged and interested. Her father and I were both bored in school and tended to work ahead back in the day when teachers frowned on such things. We likely would have been in TaG classes if such things had been offered back in the Neolithic. She has such a love of learning now, I'd hate to see anything happen to that.