Reply to APS: Jamestown, Discovery, Nottingham& McKinley

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We know families at all of those schools. You really can't go wrong, though I would probably skip McKinley due to overcrowding. We are zoned for discovery but go to ATS. I admit I felt a little remorse when I saw how beautiful Discovery is inside! (It hadn't been built yet when we were applying for kindergarten.)[/quote]

Any specific reasons for ATS over Discovery?  We are looking at making a similar decision.
[/quote]

DP. Why did you apply to ATS? I assume there was a reason, and if that reason still holds, take the ATS spot if you get it. If it ends up not being the right fit, you can always transfer back to your home school for the next school year, but you're never going to get into ATS later.

That said, if you applied because you didn't know enough yet but didn't want to miss the deadline while you learned about it, definitely take the time to visit the school, learn about the curriculum, etc., and think about whether it seems like a good fit not just for your rising kindergartner but also for any younger children you might have (of course those kids could go to your neighborhood school even if your older child is at ATS, but having kids at multiple elementary schools can bring some hassles). I know a lot of people at ATS who love it (and I think our younger child would have done very well there) but we also got feedback that it's not necessarily a great environment for kids who have some challenges on the behavioral side but don't have a diagnosis warranting an IEP or 504, because the school's philosophy doesn't allow for the flexibility in learning styles that neighborhood schools have. We suspected our son would eventually be diagnosed with ADHD (he was a few years later), and didn't feel ATS would be a good environment for him because it seemed too rigid to accommodate his needs. We sent him to Nottingham instead and it's been a great experience. [/quote]

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