In 1973, I entered the public school system. Things were so much different back then. I lived an equal distance away from two elementary schools as a child growing up in Upland, California, yet there was never any question as to which school I would be going to. You were assigned a school based on which street you lived on. Certainly there were private schools, but I had only heard of them while attending elementary school and never knew anyone that went to one...at least not on an elementary level. A picture of nuns smacking kids across the knuckles comes to mind as evidence of the stories that I once heard back in those early days about private schools.
Fast forward exactly 40 years; it is Apollo's turn to enter kindergarten. I cant even tell you which public school Apollo would be assigned to, because I really don't know. We literally have an elementary and middle school about 12 houses away, but they are not public schools, at least not anymore. They have transitioned into charter schools where enrollment is not automatic nor is it guaranteed. For the past two plus years, we had been doing an informal search for where we wanted Apollo to attend school, what type of school, and what curriculum, and programs they would have to offer. The amount of choices were overwhelming; public, charter, magnet, academy, Waldorf, language immersion...etc.
I deliberately left out homeschooling as this was not an option that we wanted to consider. I confess that I have had very strong opinions against homeschooling as I have worked with and employed people that were home schooled, and have found them extremely socially awkward, and unable to cope with slightly stressful situation, constructive criticism, nor did they have the ability to filter thoughts or emotions when needed. Now, before a lynch mob forms to take exception with my stereotyping comments, I have modified my opinion on homeschooling substantially, as I have seen some incredible kids being home schooled by incredible parents. I admit my sampling of home-schooled adults was small, but no less than 15 individuals, however I can safely say 100% of them fell into the parameters that I have mentioned above. That said, I feel there is a new generation of home schooling parents that are doing it right and making extraordinary efforts to socialize their children. I can certainly see the appeal to wanting to homeschool in light of all the horrors that this world has to offer. Who can blame anyone for wanting to protect their children. Still, for Melanie and I (and our sanity), we have decided against homeschooling. We would, under certain circumstances, reverse that decision, but for now, we will pass.
One of the things that I was amazed by, was the cost of some of the private schools in our area; Over $20,000 annually for K through 5th, and over $23,000 for 6th-8th! Wow! Yes, some of these schools offer scholarships of upwards of 50% in some cases, but the cost is insane, in my opinion. I do not dispute the fact that these are amazing schools, but at this point I would rather save the money for college.
By eliminating tuition based private schools, this narrowed our search down a bit further. Charter schools offer a certain amount of appeal to Melanie and I, and we are not totally against the public school system, but we wanted to make sure that we gave Apollo (and Orion, in a few years) the best opportunity to thrive in this rapidly changing world. We explored the world of charter schools, but then we heard about Spanish -immersion schools. This sounded like it might be what we were looking for. Upon asking around, we found that several friends had their children enrolled in the school we were interested in. I interviewed the parents and their kids and become even more interested but still had many concerns. The school teaches all courses in spanish from K-2nd grade and then they slowly start adding in english in the 3rd grade. By the time they finish 8th grade, the students are completely bi-literate, not just bi-lingual.
In our quest to register for Cali Calmecac Language Academy, we had to also register for another school as Cali always had more applicants than available spaces. Our second choice was the charter school just down the street.
The registration process began in January. We attended an orientation for the charter school district in which the charter elementary school down our street is part of. Prior to this, I had imagined walking Apollo to school, right down the street. Attending a school in his neighborhood, just as I had done. San Miguel school is a great school and we would be happy having Apollo go there. But honestly, after attending the orientation, Melanie and I both felt like we had just attended a sales meeting. It just seemed weird, and didn't feel right. However, the following day, we registered Apollo for this school and ultimately, he was accepted. Next came registration for Cali Calmecac Language Academy, followed by two mandatory orientation meetings spaced a month apart. Both meetings gave us "points" which increased our odds of getting Apollo in. Although Melanie was not able to attend either of these meetings, I was able to make it and honestly, I was impressed and excited. I didn't feel like I just left a sales pitch for a time share. They laid out their curriculum, showed statistics, told us what was expected from the students and parents, and answered questions. They explained the program, how it works, why it is beneficial, the expected progression of learning, etc.. I am a facts and data person so this was the tangible information that I was looking for. I had made my decision and Melanie was on board as well. We wanted Apollo in Cali.
The way many of these schools work, is that there is a point system that is used to qualify your child for a space in a particular school. Cali Calmecac has a total of 5 points based on the following criteria; 1 point if your parent works for the school or district, 1 point if your sibling already attends the school, 1 point if you live within the district, and one point for each meeting that you attend. Apollo only received 2 points for the meetings I attended. Basically, all the 5 and 4 points get in. This year the 3 pointers who had siblings in the school got first dibs, but the rest of the 3 pointers went to a lottery system along with the 2 and 1 pointers. On top of this, special consideration is taken in regards to the native language of the student. Each kindergarten class is made up of 50% Spanish only speaking and 50% English only speaking students. So, the lottery is divided into 2 groups accordingly to keep this 50/50 ratio. The lottery was not public and we had to wait for a post card sent in the mail to find out if Apollo got in.
Two long months went by. Finally, I pulled a card out of the mail that stated; We regret to inform you that Apollo Miles was NOT accepted into Cali Calmecac.What a disappointment. My heart sank. San Miguel is a good school, and it is close to home, small classes, only 425 kids in the entire school...we would make it work.
Not willing to go down with out a fight, Melanie and I began a campaign which we could have called "Operation: Squeaky Wheel". It began with an email from me to the school admissions department, conveying my disappointment, and how we had hoped that Apollo would get into this school. I went on to convey that we knew several students and that Melanie provided child to care to more than one of these students on a regular basis, which involved picking them up from the school every afternoon...and so on. I asked that Apollo be placed on a waiting list for any openings that may come up. Melanie followed up with a phone call, and then a couple of "in-person" office visits. We had our friends that had students attending Cali, make it a point to stop in to the office and let them know that they needed Apollo to go to Cali, so that they could ensure that their daycare provider would still be available to them. After a month of this, I sent one last email explaining that Apollo had a kindergarten evaluation date and time set up prior to being denied, and asked if I should still bring him in case an opening became available. The response was short and clear; "There has not been any changes in enrollment, so you do not need to bring Apollo in for an evaluation at this time."
I had almost given up hope and began to concede to defeat. The week of evaluations came and on Friday of that week, we received a call from Cali that a student was deemed as "not kindergarten ready", creating a vacancy. They asked us to bring Apollo to the school immediately for an evaluation. Melanie rushed Apollo to the school. We were both concerned about this last minute meeting. Apollo can sometimes be extremely shy when meeting a new person and may chose to ignore them. I had such an adrenaline rush thinking of how he may or may not act with the evaluator. I was on the road this particular day and was awaiting news from Melanie. One hour went by...then another 30 minutes. I began to call and text Melanie to see how Apollo did. No reply came. I tried again...nothing. I started to get sick to my stomach thinking that Apollo froze up and they did not let him in and Melanie was avoiding me so she did not have to let me down. 3 hours have now passed. My calls are unanswered, my text's have not been replied to. My messages sent on Facebook have not been replied to either. 5 hours later, I make it back to my office, pull up Facebook to send my wife a nasty message, and there posted on her wall for the whole world to see, before her husband, that Apollo passed his evaluation and was accepted to Cali!!
My excitement was quickly overtaken by anger and kind of overshadowed the glory of the moment. Seriously? I had to find out on Facebook the outcome of one of the most important events in Apollo's life to date. I am a grudge holder and I will get even with Melanie for this. I will be bribing her sisters to keep her out of the loop on the birth of her next nephew or niece and not tell Melanie anything until she finds a post about it on Facebook. Maybe then she will realize how irritating this was to me. Okay, I know that her sisters probably wont play along, but I will find a way to return the favor...someday!
Felicidades Apollo! Su viaje ha comenzado! (In a few years, you can correct my poor Spanish grammar)
I deliberately left out homeschooling as this was not an option that we wanted to consider. I confess that I have had very strong opinions against homeschooling as I have worked with and employed people that were home schooled, and have found them extremely socially awkward, and unable to cope with slightly stressful situation, constructive criticism, nor did they have the ability to filter thoughts or emotions when needed. Now, before a lynch mob forms to take exception with my stereotyping comments, I have modified my opinion on homeschooling substantially, as I have seen some incredible kids being home schooled by incredible parents. I admit my sampling of home-schooled adults was small, but no less than 15 individuals, however I can safely say 100% of them fell into the parameters that I have mentioned above. That said, I feel there is a new generation of home schooling parents that are doing it right and making extraordinary efforts to socialize their children. I can certainly see the appeal to wanting to homeschool in light of all the horrors that this world has to offer. Who can blame anyone for wanting to protect their children. Still, for Melanie and I (and our sanity), we have decided against homeschooling. We would, under certain circumstances, reverse that decision, but for now, we will pass.
One of the things that I was amazed by, was the cost of some of the private schools in our area; Over $20,000 annually for K through 5th, and over $23,000 for 6th-8th! Wow! Yes, some of these schools offer scholarships of upwards of 50% in some cases, but the cost is insane, in my opinion. I do not dispute the fact that these are amazing schools, but at this point I would rather save the money for college.
In our quest to register for Cali Calmecac Language Academy, we had to also register for another school as Cali always had more applicants than available spaces. Our second choice was the charter school just down the street.
The registration process began in January. We attended an orientation for the charter school district in which the charter elementary school down our street is part of. Prior to this, I had imagined walking Apollo to school, right down the street. Attending a school in his neighborhood, just as I had done. San Miguel school is a great school and we would be happy having Apollo go there. But honestly, after attending the orientation, Melanie and I both felt like we had just attended a sales meeting. It just seemed weird, and didn't feel right. However, the following day, we registered Apollo for this school and ultimately, he was accepted. Next came registration for Cali Calmecac Language Academy, followed by two mandatory orientation meetings spaced a month apart. Both meetings gave us "points" which increased our odds of getting Apollo in. Although Melanie was not able to attend either of these meetings, I was able to make it and honestly, I was impressed and excited. I didn't feel like I just left a sales pitch for a time share. They laid out their curriculum, showed statistics, told us what was expected from the students and parents, and answered questions. They explained the program, how it works, why it is beneficial, the expected progression of learning, etc.. I am a facts and data person so this was the tangible information that I was looking for. I had made my decision and Melanie was on board as well. We wanted Apollo in Cali.
The way many of these schools work, is that there is a point system that is used to qualify your child for a space in a particular school. Cali Calmecac has a total of 5 points based on the following criteria; 1 point if your parent works for the school or district, 1 point if your sibling already attends the school, 1 point if you live within the district, and one point for each meeting that you attend. Apollo only received 2 points for the meetings I attended. Basically, all the 5 and 4 points get in. This year the 3 pointers who had siblings in the school got first dibs, but the rest of the 3 pointers went to a lottery system along with the 2 and 1 pointers. On top of this, special consideration is taken in regards to the native language of the student. Each kindergarten class is made up of 50% Spanish only speaking and 50% English only speaking students. So, the lottery is divided into 2 groups accordingly to keep this 50/50 ratio. The lottery was not public and we had to wait for a post card sent in the mail to find out if Apollo got in.
Two long months went by. Finally, I pulled a card out of the mail that stated; We regret to inform you that Apollo Miles was NOT accepted into Cali Calmecac.What a disappointment. My heart sank. San Miguel is a good school, and it is close to home, small classes, only 425 kids in the entire school...we would make it work.
Not willing to go down with out a fight, Melanie and I began a campaign which we could have called "Operation: Squeaky Wheel". It began with an email from me to the school admissions department, conveying my disappointment, and how we had hoped that Apollo would get into this school. I went on to convey that we knew several students and that Melanie provided child to care to more than one of these students on a regular basis, which involved picking them up from the school every afternoon...and so on. I asked that Apollo be placed on a waiting list for any openings that may come up. Melanie followed up with a phone call, and then a couple of "in-person" office visits. We had our friends that had students attending Cali, make it a point to stop in to the office and let them know that they needed Apollo to go to Cali, so that they could ensure that their daycare provider would still be available to them. After a month of this, I sent one last email explaining that Apollo had a kindergarten evaluation date and time set up prior to being denied, and asked if I should still bring him in case an opening became available. The response was short and clear; "There has not been any changes in enrollment, so you do not need to bring Apollo in for an evaluation at this time."
I had almost given up hope and began to concede to defeat. The week of evaluations came and on Friday of that week, we received a call from Cali that a student was deemed as "not kindergarten ready", creating a vacancy. They asked us to bring Apollo to the school immediately for an evaluation. Melanie rushed Apollo to the school. We were both concerned about this last minute meeting. Apollo can sometimes be extremely shy when meeting a new person and may chose to ignore them. I had such an adrenaline rush thinking of how he may or may not act with the evaluator. I was on the road this particular day and was awaiting news from Melanie. One hour went by...then another 30 minutes. I began to call and text Melanie to see how Apollo did. No reply came. I tried again...nothing. I started to get sick to my stomach thinking that Apollo froze up and they did not let him in and Melanie was avoiding me so she did not have to let me down. 3 hours have now passed. My calls are unanswered, my text's have not been replied to. My messages sent on Facebook have not been replied to either. 5 hours later, I make it back to my office, pull up Facebook to send my wife a nasty message, and there posted on her wall for the whole world to see, before her husband, that Apollo passed his evaluation and was accepted to Cali!!
Felicidades Apollo! Su viaje ha comenzado! (In a few years, you can correct my poor Spanish grammar)
No comments:
Post a Comment