CPS Obsessed

After all our agonizing about whether to send our son to private Montessori or the New Gifted school, we got a call just after school ended for the year giving him a spot for Kindergarten at Stone Scholastic Academy.  I had applied to only 2 schools in the lottery system — Stone and Hawthorne (both Magnet schools with a strong academic focus.)  Our waiting list number at Stone was unclear.  According to the school we were #29.  According to CPS, we were #5.  So it wasn’t a total surprise. (At Hawthorne we were totally off the radar.)

I had LOVED Stone when I toured the school.  It is relatively close by.  The test scores are very good, but they don’t seem as “hard core” academic as Hawthorne.  The assistant principal who did the tour was very impressive.  She talked a lot about their literary focus and how they actually implement it.  She raved about the parent group and how she can call on them for anything she needs and they step right up to help.  The classes looked to be a perfectly balanced racial mix.  They place an emphasis on trying to keep classes smaller (they have smaller K, then bigger 1nd grade, then they switch the # of classes each year to rotate from bigger to smaller.)  Overall, everything seems very well thought out.  And I think that is something I really look for in a school.  A good business runs successfully because it has a good strategy.  And I have to think the same would apply to a school.  The admin aren’t the people teaching the classes, but I have to (WANT TO) believe that a smart admin will translate into a better education. 

But the call came too late.  I was already mentally committed to New Gifted School.  I had just been to the new school open house the day before and had once again been impressed with the Principal/Asst Principal and had really liked the parents I met on the tour.  The plans for the new playground look awesome.  And to be shallow, they mentioned that the PreK, K, and 1st grade rooms are air-conditioned.  I didn’t even give switching to Stone moment’s thought, which is shocking for me.  Frankly, I think my brain couldn’t process any more Kindergarten contemplation and was shutting me down. 

We’re putting our eggs in the basket of something unknown and unproven with New Gifted School.  And I suspect that is part of the reason it seems so good.  Any other school you tour will have something you object to, but it’s much easier to like a place when it doesn’t exist yet.  Much like the allure of a blind date.  The person who fixes you up tells you only good things and you are suddenly picturing your Happily Ever After with your Perfectly Compatible partner who doesn’t hog the remote control or complain when you constantly leave cabinet doors open.

I feel good about the decision to attend the new school, I just hope the reality is as good as it is in my imagination.