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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We got a PK3 spot at Meridian, and so far that's our only public school option, although we will get into our in-boundary school by Kindergarten at the latest.  Meridian is beautiful and the staff seems super nice.  I recently spoke with a parent whose child is there now for PK3 and is very happy with the school.   I have read complaints that the school focuses too much on reading and math, but I figure that the money we save by going to public school, we can afford to do after-school classes in art, music, dance, languages, etc.  [/quote]

Meridian parent here.  Yes, the school focuses on pre-reading and pre-math skills.  That is not a terrible thing; some of us really appreciate that curriculum.  I can enroll my child in other enrichment activities or take him to the many free events around town.  I'm not sure where my recent posts ended up but as a parent, here's my experience.

Diversity - the school overall (if you look at the numbers) doesn't seem terribly diverse.  However, PS3/PK4 is the most diverse and I know many other families from PS3 who are staying for PK4 (hence the waitlist this year).  I have been pleasantly surprised at the SES breakdown and it does not hew to stereotypical racial lines.  The majority of parents I've met are very nice and the kids are generally well-behaved.

Teachers - Our kid's teacher is great.  She has 10 years experience and can run a classroom firmly but with kindness.  She's been wonderful to work with and we get a lot of feedback.  Our child is definitely learning new literacy and math concepts, but they also do art projects and go to library, technology, music and gym classes.  We have an IEP and she was instrumental in helping us get that set up, explaining the process, acting as the bridge between us and the SPED coordinator/providers.  It was all new to us but we couldn't have done it without her.

Administration - Everyone, from the principal to her vice principals, office staff - even the janitors - have been unfailingly nice.  There have been some ugly rumors about the principal "yelling" at the children that you will read on here and that is insanity.  She stands outside the school every morning greeting children by name and always with a smile on her face.  She has been very accessible to us when we've had questions, going so far to give us her cell # and texting us on mornings when our child had a tough transition into school to assure us that our child had calmed down and was doing well.

Scores - the posts I've read on here are hung up on the scores.  It's true Meridian doesn't have the highest scores, but they have been steadily improving and the principal and her dean of students are very open about the process and the work they are doing to improve.  One has to consider that Meridian pulls in students from every ward in the city and that there are many ESL students who struggle with standardized tests.

Parent Involvement - IME, when there are field trips and such, there are always a good number of parents who show up.  Our first trip to the pumpkin patch was a first time experience for some of the parents and they seemed to enjoy it as much as their kids.  The parents chatted across race/SES boundaries and everyone was kind to the kids.  The school has a Parent Involvement Center that seeks to provide information to parents, hosting programs like "Early Owls" (the school mascot is an owl) to help equip parents with strategies and tools to engage kids in learning at home.  I believe the center also sometimes acts as a place where parents can go to confidently make their needs known to the school.  The school occasionally has fundraisers where you can pay $1 to dress out of uniform for the day to raise money for this purpose and other school needs.  There are also events like Back to School Night, International Night, a holiday program, etc to bring the school community together.

Overall, I have been extremely pleased with the school.  After some difficulty with the initial transition (it was a BFD for DC going from a daycare group of 8 kids to a PS3 class of 25 and a big, big school building), our child is doing great.  Our teacher has been a great partner with us and a joy to work with.  Meridian was not my first choice, but it has turned out to be a really good experience for us.  We are gladly staying for PK4 and hope that other middle/upper middle class parents will come join us.

I hope this helps.  If you have specific questions about Meridian I'd be glad to answer them to the best of my ability.[/quote]

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