Tag Archives: Independence Charter

frankfordfriends

Why I Chose Frankford Friends: 2012-01-01 School Selection Report

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This is a snapshot of one parent’s school choice. You can read other parent testimonials and help other parents. Take five minutes to complete an anonymous survey to tell PSS and our readers about your school choice!

What school did you decide on? Frankford Friends

Calendar year your child entered 2009

Grade your child entered Pre-k

What neighborhood are you in? South Philly

What schools did you consider? Friends Select, Meredith, The Philadelphia School, Independence Charter

What factors were most important to you? Tuition, Reputation, School Performance (test scores, success of graduates), Teacher Quality, Diversity

What first attracted you to the school? Small size, the welcoming atmosphere, quality of education & affordability

What were the critical factors that led to your choice? Quality of education & affordability

Did you relocate in order to choose this school? No

On the political spectrum, I consider myself to be  Liberal

Please share anything else about your experience Frankford Friends is to our family the perfect school. My son is in a class of 14 students, each recognized and appreciated for their own individuality. This school is more affordable than most private schools and I believe that leads greater diversity as well as more parents that make a conscious sacrifice to send their children here and are very involved in the school. It’s like the little school that could… and does.

This is a snapshot of one parent’s school choice. You can read other parent testimonials and help other parents. Take five minutes to complete an anonymous survey to tell PSS and our readers about your school choice!

wissahickonchartermap

Why I Chose Wissahickon Charter: 2011-10-13 School Selection Report

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This is a snapshot of one parent’€™s school choice. You can read other parent testimonials and help other parents. Take five minutes to complete an anonymous survey to tell PSS and our readers about your school choice!

What school did you decide on? Wissahickon Charter School

Calendar year your child entered 2011

Grade your child entered Kindergarten

What neighborhood are you in? NW Philly

What schools did you consider? Applied:

Cook-Wissahickon

Henry

Green Woods

Wissahickon Charter School

Independence

Philadelphia Performing Arts Charter School

Miquon

Green Street Friends

Plymouth Meeting Friends School

 

Accepted:

Plymouth Meeting Friends School

St. Bridget

Philadelphia Performing Arts Charter School (from the waitlist – no # given)

Wissahickon Charter School (from the waitlist – #6)

What factors were most important to you? Tuition, Location, Financial Aid Package, Teaching Philosophy, Public Eduction, Teacher Quality, Principal Quality, Diversity, Special Programs (language immersion, music, etc.)

What first attracted you to the school? Appreciation for the environmental focus of the school.  (In the end, many other things make me happy with our decision…some of which are highlighted on their website, and in other parents’ choice questionnaires.)

What were the critical factors that led to your choice? Feeling of a right fit, finances, location.

Did you relocate in order to choose this school? No

On the political spectrum, I consider myself to be  open-minded

Please share anything else about your experience This was such a long and drawn out process.  We loved many of the schools we visited and applied to.  We enrolled in the neighborhood Catholic school in May, when we determined that that it would be irresponsible in our current situation to try and make even aid supported tuition at PMFS.  At the end of June, we were accepted off the waitlist a PPACS, and then at the end of July, at Wissahickon Charter School.  While the idea of the arts enriched curriculum at PPACS was a strong draw, the location and logistics did not work for us.  We are, so far, very pleased with our final decision, and….so glad the process is over.

This is a snapshot of one parent’€™s school choice. You can read other parent testimonials and help other parents. Take five minutes to complete an anonymous survey to tell PSS and our readers about your school choice!

McCall Mosaic

Why I Chose McCall: 2011-10-13 School Selection Report

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McCall Mosaic

This is a snapshot of one parent’s school choice. You can read other parent testimonials and help other parents. Take five minutes to complete an anonymous survey to tell PSS and our readers about your school choice!

Date Submitted: 10/13/2011

What school did you decide on? McCall

Calendar year your child entered/will enter 2010

Grade your child entered/will enter kindergarten

What neighborhood are you in? Center City

What schools did you consider? Independence Charter, Meredith

What factors were most important to you? Location, Reputation, Public Eduction, School Performance (test scores, success of graduates), Teacher Quality, Principal Quality, Diversity

What first attracted you to the school? I knew McCall had a strong academic reputation and I really liked that it had a strong neighborhood feeling – almost all the students live in the neighborhood.  I was also drawn to the respect the school pays to the fact that over 60% of its students come from Chinatown – incorporating aspects of Chinese culture and language into the curriculum.  I liked the idea of my children being exposed to different cultures including non-native English speakers.

What were the critical factors that led to your choice?  PSSA scores, high praise from other parents for the teaching staff (praise I now share), a highly visible and engaged principal, touring the school (order in the hallways, active participation in the classrooms), and the diversity of the student body.

Did you relocate in order to choose this school? Yes

On the political spectrum, I consider myself to be  liberal

This is a snapshot of one parent’s school choice. You can read other parent testimonials and help other parents. Take five minutes to complete an anonymous survey to tell PSS and our readers about your school choice!

GWCS_MAP

Why I Chose Green Woods Charter: 2011-09-25 School Selection Report

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This is a snapshot of one parent’€™s school choice. You can read other parent testimonials and help other parents. Take five minutes to complete an anonymous survey to tell PSS and our readers about your school choice!

What school did you decide on? Green Woods Charter School

Calendar year your child entered 2011

Grade your child entered K

What neighborhood are you in? NW Philly

What schools did you consider? Greene Street Friends, Project Learn, Houston, Henry, Jenks, Powel, Independence Charter

What factors were most important to you? Public Eduction, Diversity, safety

What first attracted you to the school? The setting

What were the critical factors that led to your choice?  In the end, we got ZERO from the SDP voluntary transfer program and our local catchment school was not an option for us…making the choice between private and charter.  I am a product of public schools, the daughter of 2 public school teachers.  I really wanted public school to work.  So when we “hit the lottery” and got a spot at GWCS this was the next best thing.  Our son was excited about going to school in “the jungle” and we were excited that this guaranteed his younger brother a spot, saving untold $$ for college instead of grade school!

Did you relocate in order to choose this school? No

On the political spectrum, I consider myself to be  Democrat

Please share anything else about your experience I still have greater philosophical issues with GWCS.  Realizing that admission is a lottery process, the lottery itself and application process are far too complicated and non-transparent for my taste.  Further, I think they could do a far better job with outreach to increase diversity.  Many demographics are simply unable to apply to GWCS given the inaccessibility to the school itself by public transit as well as the convoluted process to even obtain an application.  This does really bother me and it is my hope that as a parent I can work from within to make some relatively easy changes in these areas.

That said, my son is doing fantastic.  He is well above his grade level in math and reading, but far from bored and really exploring things and issues I never thought about in kindergarten!

This is a snapshot of one parent’s school choice. You can read other parent testimonials and help other parents. Take five minutes to complete an anonymous survey to tell PSS and our readers about your school choice!

Bache-Martin

Why I Chose Bache Martin: 2011-10-11 School Selection Report

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This is a snapshot of one parent’€™s school choice. You can read other parent testimonials and help other parents. Take five minutes to complete an anonymous survey to tell PSS and our readers about your school choice!

What school did you decide on? Bache Martin

Calendar year your child entered 2011

Grade your child entered Kindergarten

What neighborhood are you in? Fairmount

What schools did you consider? Independence Charter, Wissahickon Charter, Russell Byers, Green Wood Charter.

What factors were most important to you? Tuition, Location, Reputation, Teacher Quality, Diversity, Special Programs (language immersion, music, etc.)

What first attracted you to the school? The involvement of parents and the positive changes that is happening at the school.

What were the critical factors that led to your choice?  The quality of teachers and the fact I am able to walk my child to school and I am able to social with the parents in the neighborhood who are also sending their kids to this school.

Did you relocate in order to choose this school? No

On the political spectrum, I consider myself to be  democrat

Please share anything else about your experience So far we have been very happy with our choice and our daughter looks forward to going to school everyday. Great teachers, great resources, great parents.

This is a snapshot of one parent’€™s school choice. You can read other parent testimonials and help other parents. Take five minutes to complete an anonymous survey to tell PSS and our readers about your school choice!