rooftop

i went and checked out the fabled rooftop k-8 to see what all the hoopla was about. there was a large room full of people there on my day for my tour--and these tours take place weekly for almost 3 months!! the school is a little hike from my house. i will give the facts and opinions:
principal speaks--very inspiring again, funny and smart and obviously dedicated. the school is focused on every child becoming a good learner--being able to face and deal with challenges. definitely not a teach to the test school but one with very good test scores. they integrate art across the curriculum. there is art everywhere. mosaics, murals, sculptures, fabrics, paintings, photos. the k classes we saw were definitely the most diverse i have seen in the district. also the most engaged and happy little groups so far. there is a sensory motor room with balance beams, swings, obstacle courses, themes (it was undersea month, oh miles you shoulda been there swinging on the giant jellyfish, putting your hands through the holes in the coral reef). there is a weekly gardening class under a tent in a beautiful big garden. the school is on the side of a hill and surrounded by trees. it was one of the first alternative schools in the city--meaning kids could come from anywhere in sf, and it really does feel like a close and diverse community. sounds like almost all kids continue through middle school, and then go where they want to high school.

i LOVED THIS SCHOOL. i could totally see miles thriving in those cramped little rooms, and i wouldn't mind the drive. sheesh. i was starting to think more about just going for it with immersion, but now i want miles and maya to go to rooftop. i was actually wondering who i could bribe as i got in my car to go in. anyone out there know who to bribe?

get this--last year 800 families applied for about 50 spots. so the chances are slim of getting in.

why aren't there more school like this? seems like location is a big part--a school like sf community is just in too rotton a neighborhood to ever pull in enough parents with resources to feel this energetic and positive. why aren't the two schools in bernal, where there are plenty of affluent families, doing better/more popular?

i see leonard flynn next week so i'll get my first look at immersion. i am trying hard to feel comfortable with the idea but somehow am not, even with every parent i meet with a kid in immersion singing praises for how great it is. i'm just a suspicious lady. it seems to me that immersion programs are designed for kids to learn english. of course i would love for my kids to be bilingual but it's just hard for me to imagine being put into a school where i couldn't communicate. and i still haven't seen all the strong research i keep hearing about that shows how kids who go throught this exact type of program do well later. it is just elementary school. everyone says we can just supplement at home. why can't i just jump on the immersion bandwagon?

my friend from writing class told me the new thing kids say is that you are "doing too much" when you obsess/stress,etc.

i am definitely doing too much.

it has been kind of tough over here lately. almost a month of at least someone sick rattles the already fragile ecosystem that is 1107 potrero ave. we had a nice visit yesterday with miles' school buddy and his cool mom who didn't seem to notice that my kids are little wild freakies who make swamps in the back yard and then jump hard into the swamps ,and enjoy the air on their derrieres, and boss me around, or that my kitchen has not really been cleaned in several years. but
today was all about adult and child temper tantrums and needs not being met and rain. we did make some awesome homeade playdough (thank you kim) and rich took an epic journey through craigslist, san jose, 5 mattress stores and target so that we could finally give our son a bed that wasn't so small he falls out of it every night. my little guy doesn't want to grow up , and he looks oh so small right now sleeping with twilight turtle in the starry expanse of his new twin bed. there is a trundle below with a nice comfy mattress. we are ready for sleepovers now.

by the way, i guess where we should live, for now, is here.

sweet dreams.