how early can I call ATS about waitlist placement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We applied to ATS last year and didn't get in, and I was crushed because I fell in love with the school on the tour, and I thought my anxious son would love all the structure and the rules about being kind to others etc. But we didn't get in so we went to our neighborhood school.

Turns out the sort of things I thought my son would love are a source for stress. He wasn't really ready for the focus on academics in K; he'd rather have more playtime and more time to just be a kid. Assignments or projects that aren't well thought out and fun but are rote practice or memorizing or too taxing for too long are just hard on him. He would love the play-based Kindergarten I had 30 years ago, but modern K is no joke!

And ATS is, from my understanding, just about the most no nonsense K there is in NOVA. Serious homework assignments and practicing, etc. I'm not knocking it -- it seems amazing and wonderful for many students who are the right fit. I'm just saying, I was crushed when we didn't get in last year, but now that I know what K is like and remember the tours at ATS and the explanations of the work, I am glad we didn't get in. I don't think our son would have flourished there, and I think it would have been really hard on him to try to squeeze him into a box he wasn't really built to fit into.

So ATS lottery losers, take heart! You may love ATS, or the idea of ATS, but as it turns out your child might not have liked it as much as you thought/hoped/dreamed they would.

This is why we didn't apply for my DS. Our more relaxed neighborhood school that does not give any homework in K was a much better fit.

[Anonymous]

Got our letter today. Number 12 on the wait list. Friends of ours are in the mid-80s, and mid-130s.

[Anonymous]

I was 199 a couple of years ago. They only had 40 non-sibling, non-VPI spots.

[Anonymous]

I am kind of glad we weren't high enough that we'd have to decide whether to move her in third grade or something. Better all or nothing imo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am kind of glad we weren't high enough that we'd have to decide whether to move her in third grade or something. Better all or nothing imo

I'm the PP who is number 12 on the wait list. I'm actually surprised how pleased I am to have a decent number on the wait list, and how much it softens the blow of not getting a place at ATS for K. It may well open up another option for my child in second or third grade if we don't love the elementary school he attends. But we obviously need to be fully committed to his elementary school from day one, assume that DC will spend seven years there, and become part of that school community. We can't let the ATS wait list affect our attitude to our soon-to-be elementary school.

Maybe this will be an easy call in the future (either to stay or to go), maybe not. Maybe we'll never get a call from ATS, and this will be a moot point.

[Anonymous]

My now 2nd grade daughter was mid-60s on the wait list, but has never been called. Still have not heard this year about my son - keep checking the mail.

[Anonymous]

I still haven't gotten any mail from Ats this week? Anyone else in the same boat?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I still haven't gotten any mail from Ats this week? Anyone else in the same boat?

This is the 180 poster from the thread above. We got our letter Monday. 180! Whoot! Husband went through mild depression. He's better now.

See some of you at May 11 McKinley K night. (7pm)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I still haven't gotten any mail from Ats this week? Anyone else in the same boat?

Everyone I know who entered the ATS lottery (granted, a small sample size) got a letter from ATS on Monday (4/27). If you still haven't received a letter, I would call the school.