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[quote=Anonymous]We have a kid in K there, so we don't have tons of experience with the school.  We also considered private, but decide to do public because we really liked the idea of a neighborhood school with friends nearby and because we thought we should at least try the free school that was right down the road before jumping to private.

[b]How large are the classes? Are there teaching aids in the class?[/b] This year's K classes are 22-23 kids, but the PP above is right that's it's luck of the draw, year-to-year. I can't recall what the cap is where they'll open up a new class. Grade sizes seem to vary quite a bit, too.  No aides in the classroom, other than a couple school-wide aides that are shared among all classes.  In my kid's K class, there are slots for parent volunteers daily to help with reading or math, but I don't know how many of those are filled.
[b]
Does the school offer any foreign languages? [/b]No, MoCo doesn't until I think junior high.  However, there's an enrichment program that offers 2x week spanish classes.

[b]Are parents involved? [/b]Seems like it. The PTA is active and there's a good number of volunteers at the events we've been to.  One mom mentioned that it varies grade to grade, though, and that there are a few grades that have a hard time filling volunteer slots.

[b]Is the school diverse? We would like to sen our daughter to a school that isn't 100% white and were wondering if there were black, latino and asian students who attend the school? Do the different ethnic groups mix or is the school very segregated? [/b]  It's sort of diverse. There are a lot of cultures represented because there's a decent international population, but there's not a lot of racial or socioeconomic diversity.  The kids definitely seem to mix but I can't really tell with the parents.  My guess is that the lines would be more international/American than white/black/Asian, but I don't really know.

[b]Do the teachers mainly teach to the test? Are a fair amount of the children red shirted or is the school strict with the cut off?[/b] Not sure about redshirting.  There's a very heavy math and reading focus and that may be in part because that's what's tested in the standardized tests, but it could also be under the theory that you have to have a good foundation of both of those subjects to be successful in any other subject.

[b]Do a fair amount of children participate in the school's after care program or do most people have a nanny after school? [/b] Not sure about that.

[b]We are also applying to private schools in the area but like the idea of our daughter having local friends in the area. We recently purchased a house in the area so we haven't had the opportunity to speak with our neighbors to learn a bit more about the school.

Any advice would be appreciated.[/b]

Overall, I'm happy with our decision.  DD really likes school, which I wasn't expecting (she's a homebody and was never that excited about going to preschool, despite going to a very nurturing, play-based preschool).  The parents are friendly and by and large, DD's classmates are a good group of kids.  Going to school in the neighborhood has been wonderful, too -- I've met more of my neighbors in the first four months of school than in the 2 years we've lived here.  I wouldn't say "never" to private, but for now we're happy with our situation.[/quote]

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