I love the diversity of my kids friends and the parent friends that we have made. I am grateful for hard working teachers and parents that make a difference. I am amazed when I look back at their work at how much progress they are making.

I agree that the other kids in the school seem to be the best part.

Its pretty clear that this doesn't happen without input from teachers and parents.

I have a suspicion that the administration must be doing something right as well but since I read DCUM I know that can't be true.

Sure I have a list of crazy assignments, silly busing rules and "open mike" comments teachers would like to take back but overall we're satisfied.

My child is queer and it has never been an issue. I’m a teacher so I see casual homophobia and transphobia in schools all the time. My child reports a really accepting atmosphere.

Yes, I appreciate the academic rigor, but the thing I love is that my child isn’t bullied or forced back into the closet.

The small class sizes. 12 in K, 13 in 1st.

It’s free and bus service is not bad. That’s about it.

Anonymous wrote:That we only have one year left and then moving to private.

We don't like 80% of the teachers, the principal, or the lack of parent involvement. There is only 15% FARMS. Most are middle or upper middle class and are completely uninvolved in the school. The same 10 parents out of 300 doing all the fundraising, PTA, and volunteering. I do think it is this area though for the most part. Parents are always too "busy" to be involved in their kid's lives.

"Involved in their kids' lives" and "involved in their kids' schools' PTA" are not synonyms. In fact, I'm not even sure that there is a lot of intersectional area on the Venn diagram.

Best - the way the grade level teams work together so that kids in the same grade mostly have the same homework and major projects. Experience doesn’t vary as much based on the individual teacher; they teach the kids routines and then use them effectively across classrooms so they know what’s expected of them. I also think it makes it easier for new teachers to be successful quickly.

And for the other we love the CES - it’s a really rich learning experience and the projects are great.

Anonymous wrote:That we only have one year left and then moving to private.

We don't like 80% of the teachers, the principal, or the lack of parent involvement. There is only 15% FARMS. Most are middle or upper middle class and are completely uninvolved in the school. The same 10 parents out of 300 doing all the fundraising, PTA, and volunteering. I do think it is this area though for the most part. Parents are always too "busy" to be involved in their kid's lives.

This is just a sign that those 10 parents are difficult to deal with and controlling.

The best thing about my kids' schools is how much they're learning, not just in class academically, but also from their classmates.

Anonymous wrote:That we only have one year left and then moving to private.

We don't like 80% of the teachers, the principal, or the lack of parent involvement. There is only 15% FARMS. Most are middle or upper middle class and are completely uninvolved in the school. The same 10 parents out of 300 doing all the fundraising, PTA, and volunteering. I do think it is this area though for the most part. Parents are always too "busy" to be involved in their kid's lives.

Or did the controlling PTA moms push everyone else out?

That's what happened at our school.

Sure the lead moms invited others to the planning meetings, and tons of moms showed up with great ideas. But the lead moms ignored them and retained control. So, everyone wrote a check or signed up to drop off fruit or whatever and bailed.

That we only have one year left and then moving to private.

We don't like 80% of the teachers, the principal, or the lack of parent involvement. There is only 15% FARMS. Most are middle or upper middle class and are completely uninvolved in the school. The same 10 parents out of 300 doing all the fundraising, PTA, and volunteering. I do think it is this area though for the most part. Parents are always too "busy" to be involved in their kid's lives.

Not much sadly.

The teachers

We are obviously still new to the game and may have time to get jaded, but we have been very happy with our daughter's K teacher.

What’s the best thing about your school?