sfusd again

so , dear readers, if you exist

had a leisurely morning with my children, doing an exercise routine with ridiculous songs (i managed to rhyme cheetah and libido), then getting miles into the car, into preschool and leaving without him getting too upset. then i dragged maya to two more school visits. the last, i'm pretty sure. there are a lot of good schools on our list of seven that we submit to the sfusd lottery, but it kind of comes down to what you put first. it's wierd, because i have been obsessively reading a blog that many bernal/noe parents comment on, and the two schools i am focusing on end up being pretty off the radar for the blog readers and commenters. are we leaning towards these schools because they seem more likely to have spots? are we different than most of the readers and commenters? part of it is where we live.

school number one on mommy and maya's mini tour. it is a sunny bright day, and things are shiny and clean from the storms. this school is out mission, near room to grow preschool, where maya may be going. on the highway it is about 10 minutes from our house. i was welcomed in but there was no one to really talk to, except the not so exuberant parent liason. maya and i just wandered around and looked through windows. this school is not brimming over with parent involvement and donations. this is a small school with a long-established program. they have project-based learning, which means they work on a challenge-driven science project (for example, in studying body mechanics, the 2nd-3rd grade classes designed and built chairs--they looked pretty comfy!), alternating every nine weeks with regular curriculum. the grades are all combos, k-1, 2-3, etc. up through 8th. it is a very small school (less than 300 total). the upper grade classes are smaller than at many schools. many of the teachers have been there a long time, although one thing i wasn't psyched about it that one of the k teachers is new and looked less experienced, especially with the projects. you can request a teacher but there is no guarantee. there is a nice outside space with a small garden, a water feature, nice play structure. there is a great p.e. teacher the kids love. the population is very racially and socioeconomically diverse. the kids seemed pretty happy and peaceful and focused, except for a little more silliness in the new teacher's room. there is some art but not a ton. a small library and garden class. some music in the upper grades. i could see miles here.

the other school is a 2 block walk away and also has a long-established program--for spanish immersion. at the office they didn't seem that excited to have a drop in prospective parent and baby, but when the secretary asked the principal if i could look around he offered to show me the school. he invited me to his office and i don't know if it was because i name-dropped a mutual friend, but he ended up talking to us and taking us in lots of classrooms for almost an hour. i got to really see the immersion program a little more. this school is more traditional than the first, but would like to move toward more project learning. they are not a star school, so have a little more flexibility with the curriculum. they have a full-time arts coordinator so in a way the arts are the projects. less science. the kids in kinder were buzzy and happy and working on various things. there were toys available for free time. music played in one room. we talked to a few spanish learners in k and 1 and they were able to reply in spanish but you could see it was a little hard. in the upper grades the kids looked pretty engaged. the principal said there are a lot of gifted and talented kids in the school, and said one way to look at immersion is as a gifted program, because of the extra challenge. i saw a little of acrosports, which looked fun. the kids get some organized activities outside at recess, partly because of the smallish yard. by next fall the park should be accessible again and the school will use it. they have a greening grant which hasn't been used yet. there is before and after care which looks pretty fun. they are trying to move toward class size reduction in the upper grades but don't have it yet. the principal said he would send his own kid here (and many teachers do), but that he knows the school has its challenges and limitations. he would like to see more people in the school--resources, as well as projects and technology and ecological education. i think i can see miles here though naturally it is a little harder to imagine him there when all the teaching is going on in spanish.

so, one more traditional, closer by, and with the gift (and stress for miles in the beginning) of spanish immersion. the other more progressive, maybe more diverse, a little less art, a little more focused on teaching kids to be good learners, and a short drive rather than a walk.

what do you think????? is anyone out there? what would you do with your little guy if you were us??

of course there is a good chance we won't get either...

if you are out there, let me know.

love,
j