Reply to Is the SWS waitlist moving for Pk3?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm one of the flexible work schedule parents and someone who has been volunteering heavily at the school for several years now.

In terms of the 'cliquishness,[b] 'I don't think of it in terms of 'popularity' or SAH vs WOH[/b]  Rather for me, it has to do with politeness and kindness.  For example, making room in a conversation for a someone; greeting someone; initiating conversation with someone, having welcoming body language, talking with a variety of people at classroom celebrations instead of the same 3-4, etc.

I'm surprised that after all these years, I do still feel on the 'outside'; some of it has to do with what another poster said about if you differ about what support means or best for kids, etc.  Some of it has to do with maybe I just don't have a lot in common with the other parents.  Or maybe I'm just a big stick in the mud and no fun to be around.  Any way you slice it, I think a lot of it can be remedied with some courtesy and politeness.[/quote]

Right, it is not SAH vs WOH per se.  Some SAH parents have cliquey personalities, and some don't.  Some WOH parents have cliquey personalities, while some don't.  But for cliques to form, you need to have people with those sorts of tendencies, and the opportunity to form the cliques.  Since the WOH parents are typically at school less, they have less opportunity to form the cliques, so it therefore tends to be the SAH parents in the cliques.  I would imagine this is the case at most schools.  A school like SWS has more SAH or very PT/flexible parents than other Hill schools seem to, for some reason (just from my anecdotal experience, and I think 40-50% is probably about right).  So there are going to be more cliques.  And because more school management functions are delegated to parents than at most schools, the cliques can be more powerful.  Also, generally, there seems to be the default assumption that everyone has a SAH parent.  For example, teachers will ask students what they did with their families during days off of school or vacations, not understanding that many children with working parents were at camps or daycare or something else on the days off.  I find it sort of off-putting, but so far my kids have not complained about my work schedule or asked me to be at school more, so I don't worry about it. So I think it is fair for working parents who are considering SWS to consider this, especially if neither parent has a flexible schedule.  For most I imagine it would not be a deal-breaker, given the other wonderful things SWS has to offer, but it is a factor to consider.   I think there are some very nice parents at SWS, both SAH and WOH.  That said, I don't feel like these parents like to hear anything remotely negative about the school, which can make someone who doesn't feel like an "insider" uncomfortable.[/quote]

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