Reply to Time to Stop Counting on Charters

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]God, PP - you know, I was not blase, so fuck you.  I simply outlined what I would have HAD to do.  B/C I am not so hoity-toity that I can afford to live in the neighborhoods with the best schools and I will not rent a place the size of a shoebox to be zoned there.  My DH and I would have faced tough choices - stay where we are and forego or delay a second child, move and deal with a shitty commute to work in the city, or move out of the area altogether.  Look - I GET THE FRUSTRATION.  But I don't really get the point of this thread.  We all know there are not enough good schools.  Was this somehow NEWS for OP and others like you?  [/quote]

As you can see from the post right before your totally rude "F-U" post, I get it now, I read your post and I understand now that you weren't blase.

You know, it's the internet, an anonymous message board.  Sometimes it's not obvious from someone's post where they're coming from, but you should really drink some tea or take a walk if you are going to get that hot and cursing because people can't tell from your tone that this isn't an easy choice for you.  Because, remember, this is DCUM: this IS an easy choice for many here, and there are examples daily on this and other DCUM forums where people take these choices for granted.  I went to one lottery and heard a woman say of her older kids (so she's not paying just daycare costs) oh well, I guess I'll keep them in private then.  I had hoped for this because it would be great to free up these funds, but their current school is great so we'll just stay there."

Chill out.  We get where you're coming from now.  No need to flip us all off.[/quote]

10:55, my post wasn't directed toward you.  It was in response to 10:33, you just beat me to posting.  So YOU chill out.  I was addressing all of the jerks that came before you to pile on.  I'm not trying to free up funds to take fancier vacations, and I doubt most others are either.  To assume that is just asinine.[/quote]

Um, since I'm the only one who used the word "blase" in a post, how were you not talking to me?  And I'm going to leave it alone after this, but seriously, you aren't even reading clearly now.  I just said that I get that YOU aren't freeing up funds for vacations, my point (which I couldn't have said anymore clearly) is that there are MANY here who ARE just as easily going private or doing charters, it's clear from the posts here and on other forums.  [b]NO ONE IS ASSUMING YOU HAVE TONS OF FUNDS PP.[/b]

But from experience, your way over the top defensiveness is much bigger than this thread, so I'll just leave it at that.[/quote]

Oh but they did.  Yes, they did.  And that is my problem.  It is rude beyond belief.[/quote]

Possibly they assumed you had money because you said you'd "simply" keep your kid in daycare and then send them to Catholic school. For my family, that choice wouldn't have been simple. Anyway, you're getting pretty bent out of shape about something a random anonymous person said about you on a message board. For someone whose original message was along the lines of "lighten up", you seem kind of tightly wound.[/quote]

Fine.  I still want someone to address my questions at 11:10.  I don't get why OP or any other parent just assumed they could easily get free childcare starting at age 3.  This is not standard anywhere in this country.  I am well aware that we got very very lucky (and we are therefore very very grateful), but we were in no way "counting" on getting a spot at any decent school.  So I truly would like to know why others were as though it is not common knowledge that there are very few spots to go around.  [/quote]

I will answer your question.

I didn't assume that I would "easily" get free childcare starting at age 3, having already been through the maddening process of finding childcare in this area. When my DD was born, I didn't live in DC and so wasn't eligible for their programs anyway. There was a preschool program in our community, but it was not public, free or full day. It was, I believe, 3 days a week from 9a-12p. For that to have been a viable childcare/education plan for us, we would have had to pay for a nanny during all the non-PS times or one of us would have had to stay home. Accordingly, we chose a wonderful but really expensive daycare with a solid preschool program. When we moved downtown, DD was almost 2. I started doing my research on what was available. At no point did I feel entitled to a spot at any of the schools. I wanted to learn as much as I could about the various options, so that I would know what to apply to this year.

We applied to 4 publics (including our in bounds option, which is not great but not terrible) and 5 charters. I didn't apply to every single charter that is popular on these boards. Language immersion is not a huge factor for us, and not adding an hour to my commute is. So I filled out applications for things that had curricula that were interesting to me and that were between my house and my office. If nothing worked out in the lottery, we could have left DD at her private preschool, though not having to pay $1500/mo would be really great.

That's my story. I don't think my DD is entitled to a spot. I'm glad that there are any options at all. I'm also glad that the lotteries aren't things that you can just buy your way into, because the part of this process that has been the most frustrating for me is this: doing the research and understanding the process, filling out applications and visiting schools - these are things that I've been able to do because I work a cushy, low stress office job. [b]I can't imagine navigating the convoluted mess that is the preschool lottery process if, for example, my English skills were not strong or I didn't have strong internet skills.[/b] You act like everyone should just automatically KNOW how the process works. Not everyone does. And it's a pretty intimidating process, even if you are confident in your ability to navigate it. That's not true of every parent in this city.[/quote]

But let's face it, most parents posting on DCUM are not what you describe, and if they are posting here now it's not like they haven't seen the 1 million threads discussing the process and the intense competition/low odds.  So thanks for your story, which rings true to my experience, but you don't sound like the people I have a bone to pick with.

[/quote]

No problem. You wanted "someone" to answer, so I did.

For what it's worth, I knew the odds were steep, but I did not expect there to be ZERO non-sibling spaces at MV. Maybe that was unrealistic, and great for the school that their families are so loyal, but as I said way up thread, after hearing about the lottery results, it really does seem like applying to any of the popular charters is a waste of time. [/quote]

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