Unbelievable, shortsighted, and tragic. The SRC passed a budget without full day kindergarten. via the Philadelphia Public School Notebook.
It’s Official. No More Full Day Kindergarten in Philly
3 Replies
Monthly Archives: May 2011
Why I Chose St. Peter’s School: 2011-05-12 School Selection Report
This is a snapshot of one parent’s school choice. Help other parents–take five minutes to complete an anonymous survey to tell PSS and our readers about your school choice!
Date Submitted: 5/12/2011
What school did you decide on? St. Peter’s School
Calendar year your child entered/will enter 2011
Grade your child entered/will enter Pre-K
What neighborhood are you in? Center City
What schools did you consider? St. Peter’s school, Philadelphia School, Friends Select
What factors were most important to you? Location, Reputation, Teaching Philosophy, Teacher Quality
What first attracted you to the school? Location, reputation, connection with current parents.
What were the critical factors that led to your choice?
Small class size, which I see as ideal for my attention-demanding child.
Caliber of the students that I met.
Connection with current parents.
Quality of the director of Early Childhood Education.
Contributions of the school to the community.
Location–desire to stay within Center City.
Did you relocate in order to choose this school? No
On the political spectrum, I consider myself to be Liberal
Public Elementary Schools Fair for Center City/SOS [EVENTS]
Chester A. Arthur School 1933
The South of South Neighborhood Association (SOSNA) and the Friends of Chester Arthur are hosting a public schools fair on June 8 for neighborhood parents to learn more about local schools. They will have representatives (administrators, teachers, HSA members) from Greenfield, Arthur, Stanton, Independence and Universal Charter Schools.
The fair will be held from 6:30-9pm on June 8, at the St. Charles Senior Center (1941 Christian). For more information, visit the event page on the SOSNA website.
Don’t Trust Your Friends Redux
I recently spoke with a parent who told me a story. She had recently been cornered by her neighbor who spent 45 minutes extolling the virtues of a specific school, trying to convince her to send her child there. The neighbor went on and on about the great teachers, great families, great curriculum of the school. Then, a few weeks later, the neighbor withdraws the student from the school. WHAT???!!!
I remember observing this phenomenon with people and their cars. People spend a lot of money on their cars and understandably want to feel like they made the right decision. If your friends purchase the same car, it is a validation of your decision. When you tell people you are shopping for a new car, they go nuts–talking about how much they love whatever they happen to be driving at the moment.
Beyond cars, it is not surprising that people do the same thing when it comes to their school choices. A school choice is an investment of time, money, and values. It’s your child’s education, their future, at stake, and people understandably get worked up about it. When ultimately a choice is made, it makes sense that a parent wants reassurance that they have made the right one. Influencing a friend or neighbor to make the same school choice is a validation. And who needs a school choice validation more than the parent who is seriously questioning the suitability of the school? So, when your friend/neighbor/co-worker seems almost irrationally evangelizing for their school as a great choice for your child, take it with a grain of salt. It is entirely possible that they doth champion too much.
In Search of Perfect School
Hey look! I got featured in today’s Inquirer! In search of perfect school | Philadelphia Inquirer | 05/23/2011.