"Learning cottages" aka Trailers -- what are they like for elementary kids?
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Anonymous
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Recently found out that our 3rd grader will be in a trailer at a school that is new to him. What are the up-sides and down-sides to trailers for elementary kids? How wide are they? How many kids can be in one? Do they have windows/natural light? I'm guessing they have to walk back into the school to use the bathroom? When they arrive at school in the morning - -do the kids go straight to their trailer? Do they get intercom messages in a trailer? Is there a loss of connected-ness to the school as a whole since kids aren't walking the halls (seeing and being seen)?
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Anonymous
| Sounds like you need to go see for yourself. They are all different. Maybe you could go today so you won't worry about it all weekend. |
Anonymous
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From past exp, the kids love them, love them it is the parents who are the issue.
The kids think it is cool to haev to walk to a classrooom instead of the halls. |
Anonymous
| I think it depends where your school is? In Arlington, the trailers are actually really nice and have their own bathrooms. I think in Fairfax they don't? |
Anonymous
| My son was in a trailer last year for 3rd (maybe same school?). He was fine with it - it was only 4 rooms and all 3rd grade was there so it was like a little community. There was a bathroom and water fountain in it, but he didn't like to use that bathroom because he said it got pretty dirty. The classrooms were sort of dark, but I don't think the kids minded at all. They did walk straight there in the morning and they do have intercoms. The biggest annoyance for me was when I had to pick him up early for an appointment, it took FOREVER for him to get to the main office. Other than that, it was completely fine. |
Anonymous
| During high winds, the "trailer kids" have to come inside the real school. |
Anonymous
| My kid was in a "learning cottage" last year. I can't answer any of your questions though, my only response to all of them would be "who cares?". You need a hobby. |
Anonymous
| Agreed OP needs a hobby. Maybe architecture? |
Anonymous
| Really? I feel like all the 4th grade parents talked about all last year was how there were close to 35 kids in a trailer and how cramped it was. |
Anonymous
This can't have been a dirty or smelly bathroom in Arlington. The shit officially doesn't stink there. |
Anonymous
Actually all of arlington is a bathroom so everything smells the same |
Anonymous
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My son was in a trailer last year for fourth - same set up as a PP. All the fourth graders were in the same unit - it had four classrooms, a central hallway with hooks for coats/backpacks, a water fountain, and bathrooms. Considering how many fewer kids used those bathrooms than the school bathrooms, they were actually cleaner than school bathrooms.
Each classroom had windows, and there were doors with windows at the ends of the hall. I didn't find it dark. The classrooms have their own temperature controls, which was nice when the old HVAC system in the regular building had some rooms freezing and some broiling in the warmer months. I do think the classrooms were a bit smaller in terms of square footage than the regular classrooms, but that could be just that fourth graders use more space than third graders (my most recent memory). Regardless, my son didn't complain. Kids do have to go outside "in the elements" to get into the school for music/pe/art/lunch, which annoyed me to think about, but didn't seem to bother him. I was afraid that classrooms would be flimsy and loud, but even on back to school night and during class events when I was actively listening for noise from other rooms it wasn't worse than a regular classroom with a door open next to a noisy room. I agree that the length of time it takes to get anywhere is annoying, and I'll add that, if you visit and go to the room it's kind of a pain to get back into the building since you need a teachers badge to unlock the doors. Overall, though, not a bad experience. |
Anonymous
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My DD was in one for 3rd, 4th and 5th grades. We're in SF, CA so things may be different. I can't remember if there were windows but don't recall feeling it was dark in there.
The kids congregated in the school yard for morning announcements and then went to their classrooms after that. They'd run into the building to use the bathroom. The trailers held the same number of kids the regular classrooms held. They had heating and a/c. My kid liked it just fine - it was a non-issue to her. |
Anonymous
| This is fcps. There weren 't any trailers at this school last year, so there is no history or precedent on policies and procedures other than other ES in fcps that have trailers. For those pp's who referenced groupings of trailers....was there a trailer that has bathrooms and fountains? For those who say it's no big deal....you may be right or not....but it sounds like your kids are not in trailers so you really have no factual basis for your conclusion. I prefer to gather facts before I make my conclusions. We have a choice on sending our child to this school or another school that does not have a certain program, but has much better logistics and facilities. All data matters in weighing our options. |
Anonymous
| I know Louise Archer ES has "modules" that have bathrooms and fountains. That's in Fairfax County, BTW. |