The Kindergarten Quest

The time has come for our little boy to start kindergarten.  Who knew the agonizing torture we would be putting ourselves through just for kindergarten.  I know some of you are thinking, "It is just kindergarten, relax."  If you fall in this category, please read on and you will understand.  

he is growing so fast

Our son's birthday is very, very close to the age cut-off for him to attend kindergarten next year.  Thus the first concern -- Do we send our bright and intelligent little boy on to school are do we hold him back another year and opt for transitional kindergarten at his preschool?  I can't tell you all how we have  vacillated on this one particular question.  There is a plethora of research that supports both opinions.  It is enough to drive one mad.  Papa and I have decided we will go ahead with the application process and make a final decision when the time comes.  Because we have decided to proceed, our next dilemma arose.  Do we send him to public, parochial or independent school?  At the beginning, Papa was of the thought, "I went to public school and turned out ok."  I wasn't so confident.  The State of California over the years has racked up a massive debt and slashed education funding as part of it effort to stem the flow of red ink.  I wanted and was able to convince him that we should keep all of our options open.  We decided to apply to one parochial, two independent and two public schools. (Side note: Where we live, your children don't necessarily go to the school in their neighborhood).

We, meaning me, began our task this past summer researching the local schools and their admissions policy.  It is a very good thing we started when we did .  The application process is very extensive.  With the private schools, you must first request a tour of the school, attend an open house event, complete the application and submit with family photo and individual photo of your child, complete the parents questionnaire,  then an assessment interview of your child is scheduled.  The public schools have tour dates scheduled for you to see the school then you must complete a school district application and rank your school choices.  At the present, we have toured and applied to all the schools.  We are currently in the assessment phase at the independent schools.

The public school we chose to tour were the two closest to our home.  These tours were lack luster, to say the least.  During the first school's presentation, the presenters would brag about the wonderful music teacher, the awesome school library, the excellent PE coach (which is offered ONE day a week for 50 minutes), and at-cost After School Programs that offer many options for your children.  Then they would follow-up these comments with, "Thanks to the funding by our PTA."  Yes, the school is a more affluent part of the school district.  Which cause me to think, "If this school is only able to offer these things because the PTA is funding them, then what are the schools in less fortunate neighborhoods doing?"

When I was a child and went to public school, my schools had a music teacher, an art teacher, a PE coach, and a cafeteria with food that was prepared in the attached kitchen.  These schools we have toured only offer such things in a limited capacity and only because they are funded by the parents.  As far as the place to eat lunch, the cafeteria is an old gym (since they aren't using that for it intended purpose any longer) has table and chairs setup in it an the food served it frozen shipped from the district and warmed onsite.

The parochial and independent schools all have the wonderful tours and impressive offerings.  However, the cost of these schools is not for the faint of heart and is it worth it?  If we send our children to public school will they be put at a disadvantage so early in life?  Will they truly excel in the other schools?
Like any other parents, we only want the best for our children.  As such, we are tortured.