SWS Open

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, SWS is about as warm and fuzzy as a school can get. I'm not saying it's perfect, but warmth is one thing it has in spades.

This. Also, the principals strong suit may not be presentation skills, but then, that's not his job. I encourage anyone who has reservations to tour the school during school hours. Reggio though elementary is NOT everyone's cup-of-tea but it sure equates to happy kids as far as I can tell.

[Anonymous]

Good to remember that few schools will have more than 30 Pk3 slots - PK3 classrooms are capped at 15 and 2 classrooms is pretty typical, with some schools going down to 1. The real problem is that there is no preference, so you don't get a bump in the lottery unless you have a sibling. So on the one hand the chances are better at SWS than most schools that have neighborhood boundaries. But they are slim nonetheless. Do wonder how the new approach to the lottery will affect the waitlist there.

[Anonymous]

Last year, siblings took up 22 of 30 PS3 slots at SWS. Unless you have a child already at the school or something changes, you have about a 2% chance of getting in through the lottery. Whether it's a great school for your or not, anyone who isn't already in should be seriously considering other options.

[Anonymous]

The admissions rate is similar to charters for PS - there is another chance at PK where there are 10 more additional seats. SWS also typically reserves a few seats for early stages placements.

[Anonymous]

Is there another SWS open house before the lottery? We missed the last one.

[Anonymous]

Feb 19

[Anonymous]

OK, this might sound obnoxious, but what is the discipline situation at SWS? Some of the neighborhood kids that go to SWS seem as though they very rarely hear the word no. Wondering if this is school, parents, or both.

[Anonymous]

Hmm. As an SWS parent I'm really hoping that it's someone else's kids you're talking about and that it's a parenting/personality issue and not a schooling problem. While I can think of a couple kids that might fall into this "lacking discipline" category, it honestly feels like most of the kids are pretty well-mannered to me, and those that are...let's call them "restless"?...seem to get their not-so-disciplined energy redirected in appropriate directions if they act out in school.

We're talking about kids who are no older than 2nd grade so, I'm not sure what type of discipline you'd be looking for a public school teacher to provide to such young children, but I have seen them employ a "take-a-break" and positive reinforcement discipline strategy quite regularly, and it seems pretty effective. Thinking back over our three years there, I can't think of a single incident of a teacher allowing disruptive behavior to effect other students or letting bad behavior go unaddressed.

[Anonymous]

Any thoughts on how this model will work for older students?

[Anonymous]

For older students they're having a brig installed in the basement... Not much different from what you'd find on a naval ship. So, we should be set.

[Anonymous]

After the open house I moved it from #2 to #6 on the application. I did not think that the principal articulated clearly what separates this school from others. It seemed, for lack of a better word, a bit too fluffy. The focus is more on letting kids be kids than on academics and getting kids to read at an early age. The school environment and project were visually stunning. However, the approach did not resonate well with our family and it would not be a good fit even on the unlikely chance that we got in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After the open house I moved it from #2 to #6 on the application. I did not think that the principal articulated clearly what separates this school from others. It seemed, for lack of a better word, a bit too fluffy. The focus is more on letting kids be kids than on academics and getting kids to read at an early age. The school environment and project were visually stunning. However, the approach did not resonate well with our family and it would not be a good fit even on the unlikely chance that we got in.

I think you made a mistake. Having gone through this program twice when it didn't extend beyond K, I will admit that my children weren't reading by the end of K. But somehow over the summer, my children had the light go on and both ended up being voracious readers snd very good students going forward. The pre-literacy and pre-numeracy (?) education at SWS is second to none and the children don't get burned out on learning and school at an early age. It takes a little faith, but it works out well.

[Anonymous]

I moved it down on my list after the Open House, but for other reasons.

[Anonymous]

Unbelievable how parents have been co -opted into thinking early reading is somehow important. One of the saddest parts of school reform. I am a teacher and I have seen first hand over many years how an early focus on reading and writing to the exclusion of all the other things either makes no difference or has a negative effect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After the open house I moved it from #2 to #6 on the application. I did not think that the principal articulated clearly what separates this school from others. It seemed, for lack of a better word, a bit too fluffy. The focus is more on letting kids be kids than on academics and getting kids to read at an early age. The school environment and project were visually stunning. However, the approach did not resonate well with our family and it would not be a good fit even on the unlikely chance that we got in.

Why are you applying at all, if it's not a good fit? I totally get that Reggio will work for some kids but not others. I don't get why if it doesn't work for yours why you would even put it at #6.