Anonymous wrote:It's overcrowded because of demand.

ALL upper NW elementaries are overcrowded. That doesn't automatically make them sensory overloads. Lafayette needs a redesign of the physical plant to catch up with the '90s. (No, that wasn't a typo.)

It's overcrowded because of demand.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No walls between classes.

That sounds like a zoo. Another 70s fad that's long out-lived its experimental utility.

I agree. The other thing is that it does allow the school to add more and more students -- they can move walls and add another class so easily, it seems like that would add to the overcrowding issue there...?

Anonymous wrote:No walls between classes.

That sounds like a zoo. Another 70s fad that's long out-lived its experimental utility.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about after care at both schools? My impression is that Lafeyette's program is far less structured and generally weaker as a result - is this right?

My kids attend the aftercare at Lafayette and love it. There are lots of activities for kids to participate in cooking, sewing, sports, arts n' crafts, etc. It's not a rigid structure, but that is what makes it work for my kids - they can choose what they want to participate in. Kids are divided into appropriate age groups with plenty of supervision. There is even an option for kids to receive homework help in a seperate area. From what I understand the program is at full capacity and is in high demand.

That's good to hear! I just got the impression that it was incredibly ad hoc -- like kids might get into an activity that all of a sudden is no longer offered because a parent volunteer was running it and just decided not to continue. No attempt was made to get someone else to offer it, and the program was just cancelled. This is my understanding of what happened there with French being offered a while back. Then I contract that with Mann that has a program run by an outside company, or Janney that has a complete organization within the school built to run the after care program. Am I right about this stuff or did I get the wrong impression from the open houses?

Yes but just to clarify the foreign language program that was offered afterschool at Lafayette that was run by a parent, was not part of Lafayette's afterschool program. Currently there are a bunch of activities that Lafayette students can participate in afterschool - chess, African dance, Notebusters, cross country, basketball etc. But these special programs are completely separate from Lafayette's afterschool program.

Thanks for your detailed response - very helpful!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in bounds for Janney, but if I had it to do again, I'd buy in Lafayette's neighborhood. I hear nothing but good about it from those I've spoken with and although Murch is fine, if you're in a position to choose, choose Lafayette.

interesting, we're in bounds for Janney as well and if we could do it again we'd buy in Lafayette's neighborhood as well for a whole host of reasons.

Interesting! We're in bounds at Lafayette, and if we were doing it again, our first choice would be Janney -- mostly because it's smaller and more intimate, and from comparing open houses with friends, Janney's k sounds less structured than Lafayette's.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about after care at both schools? My impression is that Lafeyette's program is far less structured and generally weaker as a result - is this right?

My kids attend the aftercare at Lafayette and love it. There are lots of activities for kids to participate in cooking, sewing, sports, arts n' crafts, etc. It's not a rigid structure, but that is what makes it work for my kids - they can choose what they want to participate in. Kids are divided into appropriate age groups with plenty of supervision. There is even an option for kids to receive homework help in a seperate area. From what I understand the program is at full capacity and is in high demand.

That's good to hear! I just got the impression that it was incredibly ad hoc -- like kids might get into an activity that all of a sudden is no longer offered because a parent volunteer was running it and just decided not to continue. No attempt was made to get someone else to offer it, and the program was just cancelled. This is my understanding of what happened there with French being offered a while back. Then I contract that with Mann that has a program run by an outside company, or Janney that has a complete organization within the school built to run the after care program. Am I right about this stuff or did I get the wrong impression from the open houses?

Yes but just to clarify the foreign language program that was offered afterschool at Lafayette that was run by a parent, was not part of Lafayette's afterschool program. Currently there are a bunch of activities that Lafayette students can participate in afterschool - chess, African dance, Notebusters, cross country, basketball etc. But these special programs are completely separate from Lafayette's afterschool program.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in bounds for Janney, but if I had it to do again, I'd buy in Lafayette's neighborhood. I hear nothing but good about it from those I've spoken with and although Murch is fine, if you're in a position to choose, choose Lafayette.

interesting, we're in bounds for Janney as well and if we could do it again we'd buy in Lafayette's neighborhood as well for a whole host of reasons.

This is really interesting! I'd love to hear what reasons - that would be REALLY helpful to us! I had such a good impression of Janney...?

Anonymous wrote:I live in bounds for Janney, but if I had it to do again, I'd buy in Lafayette's neighborhood. I hear nothing but good about it from those I've spoken with and although Murch is fine, if you're in a position to choose, choose Lafayette.

interesting, we're in bounds for Janney as well and if we could do it again we'd buy in Lafayette's neighborhood as well for a whole host of reasons.

I live in bounds for Janney, but if I had it to do again, I'd buy in Lafayette's neighborhood. I hear nothing but good about it from those I've spoken with and although Murch is fine, if you're in a position to choose, choose Lafayette.

In addition to the aftercare program at Murch, there is a foreign language program that offers instruction in French, Spanish or Italian one, two or five days a week. Classes go until 5:00, with the option, I believe, of extending care until 6:00. The program is run by a Murch parent who runs a professional foreign language and translation business. Teachers are native language speakers. This is truly a huge benefit for Murch families.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about after care at both schools? My impression is that Lafeyette's program is far less structured and generally weaker as a result - is this right?

My kids attend the aftercare at Lafayette and love it. There are lots of activities for kids to participate in cooking, sewing, sports, arts n' crafts, etc. It's not a rigid structure, but that is what makes it work for my kids - they can choose what they want to participate in. Kids are divided into appropriate age groups with plenty of supervision. There is even an option for kids to receive homework help in a seperate area. From what I understand the program is at full capacity and is in high demand.

That's good to hear! I just got the impression that it was incredibly ad hoc -- like kids might get into an activity that all of a sudden is no longer offered because a parent volunteer was running it and just decided not to continue. No attempt was made to get someone else to offer it, and the program was just cancelled. This is my understanding of what happened there with French being offered a while back.

Then I contract that with Mann that has a program run by an outside company, or Janney that has a complete organization within the school built to run the after care program. Am I right about this stuff or did I get the wrong impression from the open houses?

Anonymous wrote:What about after care at both schools? My impression is that Lafeyette's program is far less structured and generally weaker as a result - is this right?

My kids attend the aftercare at Lafayette and love it. There are lots of activities for kids to participate in cooking, sewing, sports, arts n' crafts, etc. It's not a rigid structure, but that is what makes it work for my kids - they can choose what they want to participate in. Kids are divided into appropriate age groups with plenty of supervision. There is even an option for kids to receive homework help in a seperate area. From what I understand the program is at full capacity and is in high demand.

Can you get INTO the aftercare at Murch? It fills up quickly. This was a huge issue for me (single mom who works full-time) and I did not consider Murch because I know a family that did not get into aftercare last year. Things might have improved...and the family was eventually offered an aftercare spot after about 3 months.
Obviously, Murch is not hurting for students, so my absence is not really felt.
I approached the Murch principal about this during an Open House and she waved me off--in fairness, it's not her department (aftercare is run separately) and there was a line of parents waiting to talk to her, but by now, it's a serious consideration for many families.

What about after care at both schools? My impression is that Lafeyette's program is far less structured and generally weaker as a result - is this right?