A place for parents educating their kids in San Francisco
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Hot topic: Recent letters
This from a reader:
I heard that some families received letters from SFUSD with school assignments over the weekend. Did anyone get a letter? We're still waiting for our school?
We got into ours! There is hope yet. This is our second year trying, both 0/15, that is, until we got our letter yesterday. Got our first choice WP. Last minute we decided to switch tracks right before the July deadline and opted out of the immersion program for the gen, which is just as good for us, since we noticed the 7 no choice group was 0 and ours was 4ppl. Luckily we did that and we got in! Not our #1 choice program, per se, but I'm just happy we got into a school we wanted.
Best of luck to everyone. We needed it last year, but it came through for us this time around.
We received our letter yesterday with an assignment to our waitpool school! It was our first choice on Round I, and we went 0/15. I can hardly believe this process is over. It has been a year and a half long process, starting with touring schools.
Don't give up yet! Lots of movement still to come. Many people just don't show up when schools starts, and with a three-day count this year, more people will get placed earlier than in years past, which is a good thing!
We got into Commodore Sloat, which we changed to our waitpool school mid-summer (we were 0/15). We chose Sloat b/c it had a smaller waitpool than our top choice schools and was still a good school, and we got lucky! Good luck to everyone still waiting- I hope you all get in next week!
Will my school change tremendously w/ cuts and neighborhood assignment over the next few years?? Should we take a good choice public over a great private only to watch things fall apart in the public realm and wish I had paid the money for private (which I do not really even have now) only to need to move out of SF?
Yes. Especially! If you can't really afford private.
Your kids will really be fine at a "good-choice public." There will be a fine community there. And you can make changes down the road if need be. Do not go into debt if you have a good choice now!
9:27 pm, I have to agree with the above poster. If you have a good public spot take it, neighborhood assignments are not going to bring anything down. The teachers are really what make a class great and anyone from private or public school will tell you, your kid will have teachers you love and teachers that you don't. I would not put financial strain on your family to go private. For $20K plus a year, think of all of the real life experiences you can give your kid in terms of skiing, trips to Europe, South America, etc.
We have a Private School spot, I would say that if we had or received a good public school spot we would likely go public. For us, the cost is not a factor. There are pros and cons of each but having gone to public school ourselves, we lean towards public.
9:27, It depends on what public school you have a spot in? If it happens to be the one that I am in the waitpool for, then I really think you should take that private school spot! So sad this is what it has come down to. . .
"Will my school change tremendously w/ cuts and neighborhood assignment over the next few years??"
I don't think schools will go downhill that quickly. The better public schools will probably continue to be good in the immediate future.
The greater issue is five to ten years out. I'm not sure how the middle school streaming thing will work out, but that concerns me.
When you look at the math and science scores in the middle schools in the city, you quickly realize that there is a problem in a lot of SF middle schools.
I agree that if you have a spot at a good public school, with aftercare, etc, in the short term, your child will be fine. Yes, that $20K will be a nice addition to your wallet.
If you have a spot at an academically focused private school that has a clear path to highschool graduation, that's where I'd say that the $20K a year pricetag might pay off.
Many private schools don't publish their test scores, that's true. What they publish is their admissions track record from highschool to institutions of higher learning. Risky or not, that is what the 20K a year is paying for.
And yes, for many families, the 20K does mean that funds are drawn away from expensive vacations and other frills.
$25K really. I believe the average is well over $20K now, with a few outliers. Then add in afterschool care and all the extras. It will be $30K by the time this crop of kids reaches middle school.
We were very fortunate and just got into our wait pool school on Saturday, August 7. We were 0/14. I am a former elementary school teacher and currently develop elementary school curriculum for a nonprofit organization. I've written a blog post about our experience here: http://devstu.org/blogs/2010/08/10/the-parents-the-pdf-and-the-official-letter
Wow, 4th choice Miraloma and you still got it. That is amazing. Well good for you for giving the spot up b/f school started. Somone on another thread just posted that they got a Miraloma spot, probably yours. But they said they might just take it. So I bet they have a private school. Too bad the spot didn't go to one of the 0/14s that don't have a private back up.
We got into ours! There is hope yet. This is our second year trying, both 0/15, that is, until we got our letter yesterday. Got our first choice WP. Last minute we decided to switch tracks right before the July deadline and opted out of the immersion program for the gen, which is just as good for us, since we noticed the 7 no choice group was 0 and ours was 4ppl. Luckily we did that and we got in! Not our #1 choice program, per se, but I'm just happy we got into a school we wanted.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck to everyone. We needed it last year, but it came through for us this time around.
congrats! what was the school?
ReplyDeleteWe received our letter yesterday with an assignment to our waitpool school! It was our first choice on Round I, and we went 0/15. I can hardly believe this process is over. It has been a year and a half long process, starting with touring schools.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck to everyone after the 3-day count!
what was the school?
ReplyDeleteif you share the names, we know which waitpools are shrinking!
Our waitpool only went down by 2 people! I was hoping it would go down by half or more. Not holding out much hope for that call anymore. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteCongrats 8:17, that's so nice that you got in b/f school starts.
ReplyDeleteI heard about someone getting into Commodore Sloat.
ReplyDeleteDon't give up yet! Lots of movement still to come. Many people just don't show up when schools starts, and with a three-day count this year, more people will get placed earlier than in years past, which is a good thing!
ReplyDeleteI hear there should be one spot opening up at Yick Wo as well as Sherman.
ReplyDeleteWe got a spot at Sherman
ReplyDeleteWe got into Commodore Sloat, which we changed to our waitpool school mid-summer (we were 0/15). We chose Sloat b/c it had a smaller waitpool than our top choice schools and was still a good school, and we got lucky!
ReplyDeleteGood luck to everyone still waiting- I hope you all get in next week!
Will my school change tremendously w/ cuts and neighborhood assignment over the next few years?? Should we take a good choice public over a great private only to watch things fall apart in the public realm and wish I had paid the money for private (which I do not really even have now) only to need to move out of SF?
ReplyDeleteShould we take a good choice public
ReplyDeleteYes. Especially! If you can't really afford private.
Your kids will really be fine at a "good-choice public." There will be a fine community there. And you can make changes down the road if need be. Do not go into debt if you have a good choice now!
9:27 pm, I have to agree with the above poster. If you have a good public spot take it, neighborhood assignments are not going to bring anything down. The teachers are really what make a class great and anyone from private or public school will tell you, your kid will have teachers you love and teachers that you don't. I would not put financial strain on your family to go private. For $20K plus a year, think of all of the real life experiences you can give your kid in terms of skiing, trips to Europe, South America, etc.
ReplyDeleteWe have a Private School spot, I would say that if we had or received a good public school spot we would likely go public. For us, the cost is not a factor. There are pros and cons of each but having gone to public school ourselves, we lean towards public.
ReplyDelete9:27, It depends on what public school you have a spot in? If it happens to be the one that I am in the waitpool for, then I really think you should take that private school spot! So sad this is what it has come down to. . .
ReplyDelete"Will my school change tremendously w/ cuts and neighborhood assignment over the next few years??"
ReplyDeleteI don't think schools will go downhill that quickly. The better public schools will probably continue to be good in the immediate future.
The greater issue is five to ten years out. I'm not sure how the middle school streaming thing will work out, but that concerns me.
When you look at the math and science scores in the middle schools in the city, you quickly realize that there is a problem in a lot of SF middle schools.
I agree that if you have a spot at a good public school, with aftercare, etc, in the short term, your child will be fine. Yes, that $20K will be a nice addition to your wallet.
If you have a spot at an academically focused private school that has a clear path to highschool graduation, that's where I'd say that the $20K a year pricetag might pay off.
Many private schools don't publish their test scores, that's true. What they publish is their admissions track record from highschool to institutions of higher learning. Risky or not, that is what the 20K a year is paying for.
And yes, for many families, the 20K does mean that funds are drawn away from expensive vacations and other frills.
$25K really. I believe the average is well over $20K now, with a few outliers. Then add in afterschool care and all the extras. It will be $30K by the time this crop of kids reaches middle school.
ReplyDeleteWe were very fortunate and just got into our wait pool school on Saturday, August 7. We were 0/14. I am a former elementary school teacher and currently develop elementary school curriculum for a nonprofit organization. I've written a blog post about our experience here:
ReplyDeletehttp://devstu.org/blogs/2010/08/10/the-parents-the-pdf-and-the-official-letter
We gave up our spot 10 days ago at Miraloma. It was our R1 4th choice but we opted to wait 1 more year.
ReplyDeleteWow, 4th choice Miraloma and you still got it. That is amazing. Well good for you for giving the spot up b/f school started. Somone on another thread just posted that they got a Miraloma spot, probably yours. But they said they might just take it. So I bet they have a private school. Too bad the spot didn't go to one of the 0/14s that don't have a private back up.
ReplyDelete