Reply to A PS3 Parent's Perspective on Bancroft

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[quote=Anonymous]It's lottery time, and the past few years I know Bancroft has attracted more and more folks both in and out of boundary.  As a current PS3 parent, here are things I wish I'd known going in:

1. The waiting "list" may not actually be written down anywhere, or, at least, it's pretty opaque how it's actually being managed. We were on it as an in boundary family, but suspect we got in through persistence more than anything. We had to go in in person and call repeatedly throughout the summer to secure a spot, which we didn't end up getting until a few days before the school year started, despite being in the single digits on the list.  At no point could we get any definitive answer about what number we were on the list.  As of count day there were five empty slots in one of the three PS3 classes that never ended up being filled.

2. The school does not do any electronic communication with parents whatsoever. Last year the principal said this is due to the demographics of the school, which are largely low income and Hispanic.  I work in communications, so I know this is patently inaccurate, as this is exactly the demographic that relies heavily on smart phone technology.  It's also the tyranny of low expectations that the school would assume that these parents cannot or would not use email updates about what's going on in the school.  Instead we get a weekly piece of paper sent home in our kid's backpack. We get information about important events--school assemblies, picture day--with as little as a day's notice.  For us, this meant when we reached out to the other parents we knew in our kid's class about the holiday assembly our kids were performing in, exactly NONE of them had heard about it as late as the day before.  When we showed up, the school had set out 20 chairs for parents for the entire school, most of which were empty.  This was not surprising to us given the fact that we'd gotten 24 hours' notice of the event.  For working parents, especially at a school where many might not have schedules they can easily shift on short notice, it's no wonder so few could make it.

3. Nearly four months in we have no class list or school directory.  One of the parents in our class has had to insist on getting to be a room parent so she can help coordinate volunteer activities from other parents and donations.

4. We have never received a single piece of art our kid has done in art class.  We spoke to the art teacher about this, and she was perplexed about it, as she said she sent them to the teacher each week to send home to us.  We don't know where they are.  When I asked my son's teachers for some of his play plans (which they do every day as part of the Tools of the Mind curriculum) she was evasive and nervous about my request, and I have yet to see them.

5. In sum, our experience has been that you will have to work hard at Bancroft.  You''ll have to insist repeatedly on volunteering and getting information out of the administration and your kid's teachers.  They do not appear to be accustomed to accommodating involved parents, and don't seem to see it as part of their core mission.  If you do, you'll probably make things better for not only your kid, but also for the other kids and parents at the school.  But you also might not be blamed for looking for a school that's more welcoming of your involvement and knows that your role is part of your kid's success. [/quote]

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