Conference moira::parenting

I liked the idea of looking at the kids and had a chance to 
watch them from inside as they arrived in the building. They
looked pretty anxious to get to class. Some were running, a few
were lagging behind...the "I'm not a morning person" crowd.

I was disapointd that teh school curriculum wasn't in writing. 
Everything is under review, in draft, etc. I did get some written 
orientation materials which I have not yet reviewed.

Class size is 22...don't seem to be any aides...wasn't mentioned 
I saw only 1 adult per class.

The school is overcrowded. It's part of the scandal in Marlboro. 
However, the kids seemed comfortable. Desks pushed together to
create group work tables. More stuff than I could stand hanging 
on walls and from the ceilings. A reasonable level of noise. 

Today the kids were wearing red white and blue as part of 
Patriot's fever. It was clear some of them got into it..and
soem of the teachers, too.

They have on site after school care...a plus if you need to 
keep a job.

I could have imagined a warmer welcome but I am probably naive.
There's probably a big difference between this and a private school
where the principal would be selling the school to prospecting
families.

There are 750 kids in the building in 1st to 3rd grades...welcome
to the city. It's not Boston but there is at least some racial/ethnic 
diversity. About 25% turnover...attributed to family moves, downsizing,
etc.

DISCIPLINE: One boy asked the principal if he still had any days left
on his naughty note. Evidently punishment is to miss recess and go to
study hall for some number of days. She was a little vague but was
certainly not trying to convince me that order had to be upheld. Kids
are not expected to sit in their chairs.

They have Mac's and Internet access. I didn't see the lab and expect
access is pretty limited but I'm not too worried about that.

I left feeling that principals aren't used to parents and that the 
system (overcrowding, changes in administration, ambiguity...just like
Digital) makes people tired. The teachers were a mix...but I didn't
have enough time in any classroom to comment. 

So, what did I miss ?

    22 kids in a class?  Lucky you.  It is about the optimum size,
    according to many studies.  Lolita and Carrie never were in a class
    smaller than 26 kids.  
    
    The principal may not have had many parents interested enough in the
    education of their kids to check the school out.  If the have been in
    major reorg mode, that also can leave a person not sure what to say.  
    
    sounds pretty much like a normal public school to me.  
    
    meg

    
    I agree.  In general a class size of 22 is considered very reasonable.  The
    dependency here is the make-up of the class (ie: How many over-active
    kids in the class that may take the teacher's time away from the rest)
    
    The school is indeed large.  One of our elementary schools is Prefirst,
    and K-2, 6 classes each of K-2, with average class size of 25-26. Total
    this year=472. And, yes, I also agree that it is hard to judge the
    whole school based on a visit with one or two teachers.  My husband and
    I relied heavily on other parents and the PTO/PTA for information that
    allowed us to come to our own conclusions.  The network is there, you
    just need to tap in.  This would be great time to attend their monthly
    meetings, and make the connection.
    
    The previous notes all included great input for you.
    I would suggest that you continue your comparison, but it was not clear
    to me that you were seriously considering options-based on the need for
    after school care/logistics. You will need to decide what your
    priorities are for your child.  As you know, debates rage on as to what
    is truly important for a child's education.  Remember, this is only first
    grade.  Although it is always preferable not to have to change systems,
    you will have this same option next year.  Get as much info. as
    possible, talk to other parents, and mother and child will survive.
                                                               

    	You may consider 22 to be reasonable, but I have been told that
    16 is THE magic number (below 16 much more actual learning takes place,
    and all the best private high schools know this).  You are unlikely
    to see this in nearly all public schools.  Don't laugh, I know many
    high schools where the LARGEST class is around 16 (and the parents
    pay dearly for this).
    
    	I live near Marlboro, know several parents.  They are nervous.
    Accreditation is very touchy right now.  It could be withdrawn at
    any time.  And while you may think that this does not directly
    affect your child (they have the "good" classes), the colleges
    may not see it that way at all.
    
    	There are many good to excellent public school systems nearby
    (Northboro, Southboro, Westboro, Harvard, Stow, Newton to name
    just a few).  Any of these would be a far better choice in the
    long run if you can manage it.
    
    	On the extreme end of the spectrum, I will suggest that you
    visit the Fay School in Southboro to see just how good a school
    can be.  My impression (none of my kids wanted to go there, despite
    my urging) is that they were capable of providing the best education
    that money can buy.  I believe they start in first grade.  They
    have an international reputation, and are nothing short of
    excellent.  Small classes, much individual attention, large
    sports program, dedicated teachers, selective enrollment - all
    the ingredients for a fine experience.  Pricey, too (day students
    were more than $5000 per year even in the lower grades, probably
    much more now).  I fully believed that they would extract the
    best out of each student, according to their abilities.  And that's
    high praise, coming from me!
      
    Cheers!
    Dave Eklund
    

    Lucille,
    
    I can hardly believe that your Marianna ( and my Gregory) will be
    entering first grade next year ... where has the time gone?
    
    I was trying to resist entering this discussion, but I can't help
    myself.  I currently have 3 children in the Marlboro School system - a
    fourth grader at Hildreth, a second grader at Kane and a Kindergartner
    at Jaworek.  I have been actively involved in the school system,
    serving on the Hildreth/Kane PTA Board for the past 3 years, a member
    of the Schools Space Needs Committee, and a regular attendee at most of 
    the school committee meeetings over the past three years.
    
    First, the High School accredidation is not in jeopardy.  Probation has
    been lifted, the Principal and his Improvement Team continue to
    diligently address any open issues.  It is my expectation based on the 
    meetings I have attended ande conversations I have had with the
    Principal, that accredidation will not rear its ugly head again.
    
    Second, The city has just has a ground-breaking ceremony last week to
    start construction of a major addition to the Middle School.  When
    completed, the enhanced space will included upgraded core facilities
    such as library, cafeteria, gymnasium & fields, computers - to handle
    the increased number of students and meet the curriculm requirements.
    In addition, the 8th grade class will be moved back from the High
    School.  While the facility alone does not make the education offerred
    exceptional, it does provide the means to do so effectively.  The
    Curriculm at the Midle School I know about only second-hand.  The
    school does offer an enrichment program, DELVE, to ALL of its students.
    The students are grouped in pods and are team taught by 4 teachers
    dedicated to a particular pod.
    
    The elementary schools are grouped into 2 districts - East and West.
    The districts each are comprised of two buildings - 1 for grades 1-3 and 
    1 for grades 4.  An enrichment program (CITY KIDS) is offerred to selected
    third and fourth grade students. This program has been recognized as an
    outstanding example of enrichment programs.  In addition, the CITY KIDS
    teacher works with all the 4th graders in both districts to incorporate
    different approaches to learning.  The same teacher runs a Current
    Events league for the 4th grade - last year a team from Marlboro
    finished in the top 10 Nation-wide.  
    
    The elementary program is based on active learning of the student, is
    child-centered ( working with each child to progress at his/her own
    level while meeting grade level expectations) and a centered-based
    where the classroom is offers areas focused on Writing, Math, Science, 
    Social Studies, ect.  To a first time visitor the classrooms can appear
    to be very full of "Stuff" - and they are, this may be an issue for a
    child who can become overwhelmed with the "Stuff" - however my
    experience has been that my children (including my 10-yr old daughter
    who is ADD) really have benefitted form the active learning.  The arts
    are supplemented by an active PTA sponsored Cultural Arts program which
    brings into the schools many wonderful enrichment opportunities.  In
    the 4th grade, each student is able and encouraged to participate in
    BAND and/or CHORUS.  Free (to the student) instrument lessons are
    offered.  This is the basis for a wonderful Music program thoughout the
    Marlboro school system - with many victories at competitions and more
    importantly, many students actively participating in the programs.
    
    More classroom space is needed beyond the portable classrooms installed
    last year.  The Space Needs plan recommeded an additional district to
    house the students.  While not accepted, the need still exists.  It is
    still not clear to me how it will be resolved.
     
    The Early Childhood center at the Jaworek houses the kindergarten
    program (half-day)for the city. It also offers a 3-day 3-yr old and 4-day
    4-yr old inclusion based preschool.  This school is just wonderful!  The
    program is well designed and the children really thrive!  The space
    plan also called for additional space at the Early Childhood Center to
    accommodate projected increased enrollments and to prepare for an
    all-day kindergarten program (assuming School Committee direction).
    
    I believe my children are getting a solid education - I am pleased with
    their progress.  I have committed myself to be a visible, vocal member
    of the system.  I know my children's teachers, staff and principals, I 
    monitor their work closely, I volunteer in the classroom when my work 
    schedule allows, attend all (practically) school functions, I provide 
    feedback to the teachers regarding my expectations and assessment of how 
    they are meeting them, I know the elected school officials and work hard 
    to hold them accountable, I have become very informed about the city 
    politics which affect the schools... in short you have to be involved! 
    
    The school budget is the largest single line item on the city budget. 
    The City Council could use an infusion of reality - more homes =more
    students = more space = more teachers and the programs need to continue
    to evolve to meet the expanding education standards and expectation of
    the community.  This issue - while painful - continues to be addressed
    - the new Superintendent will be watched closly as he prepares for his 
    first budget cycle with the city.
     
    Is all perfect? ... no.  But all is not bad.  I am a proponent of the
    public school system and believe it is important for my children to
    attend school with the children in our neighborhood. However, if it did
    not meet my child's needs, then I would look at other options.  To
    date, their needs have been met.
    
    Lucille, just my personal thoughts and experiences - in the end we each 
    have to decide what is best for our children ... good luck with your 
    selection -
    
    Rgds,
    
    Sharon

The parochial school had an open house.

I was impressed with the openness. They just told parents
to go into the classrooms and spend a little time. The
principal and teachers were there to answer questions.

I was relieved to find the children were moving around a bit.
My fear was that the environment would be very rigid. (My 
brother went to parochial school and all I ever heard about
was how it was harder and more strict than public. I went to
public.) 

The focus is on reading, reading, reading. They spend all but two 
hours of the day on literacy skills. The first graders could read
the word payment and were working on identifying the syllables. The
K-2 class was putting simple words into sentences...Dad had a bat.

Class size was 22-25..pretty close to the public school. There were 
lots of things hanging on the wall but either there was less than in 
the public school or I was ready for it; it seemed more orderly. There
is an aide part time in the class to offer remedial help and enrichment.

There is an extended day program but I have to call for info.

Overall, I was very comfortable with the environment. I guess it felt
a little like my old public school.

I have a lot of thinking to do to figure out what will work best. And, of
course, we have to deal with the screenings to see whether the systems will
accept her into first grade. 

Nothing about this feels easy. Maybe the adoption process really 
is good practice for parenting !

>                      <<< Note 1237.15 by SUBSYS::SPERA >>>
>                            -< saw another school >-
>
>The parochial school had an open house.

    just wondering...what was the tuition?
    thanks
    bob

Believe it or not I did not pick up a tuition schedule.
I did see one and what I remember is something in the
neighborhood of $2400. This changes depending upon
whether one is in the parish and, presumably, supporting
the school indirectly by supporting the parish. So it would
go up for folks not in the parish. It also varied a bit by
grade. I'll try to get a schedule and post it.

It's not that anyone can afford this...I'm telling myself it
is less than what I'm paying for daycare now. Private kindegarten
is running about 130 per week...including the second child discount.
That is a full day versus part of a day. When I add in extended day
care and school vacations, I'll always be broke....