Archive for August, 2008
SURVEY: Improving School Communication
I’m working with a couple other neighborhood parents to gather input about school communication. Clearly some schools do it better than others and we want to get some ideas on the best things schools are practicing, along with some of the blatant screw-ups (certainly more fun to rant about.) The hope is to give feedback to our school/s with some ideas for facilitating communication. And to find ways that WE can help THEM give us more of what we need. Short of web-cams in all classrooms and hourly text messages, there are ways to build the bridge between the admin/teachers and parents. Can you help us by sharing your experiences?
Think about your interactions with the administration – i.e. the office staff and secretaries, teachers, principal and assistant principal, the lunchroom staff, janitors, the nurse, social worker, etc.
Think about the steps involved – what it’s like when you call or visit the office, inquire about something or set up an appointment… maybe you need to pick up your child early one day or for an emergency, or you simply have a question about an event coming up. Any and all instances of contact are fair game!
We’d love input on the following 3 questions…
1 – Think about a great experience in communicating with your child’s school administration… what was the situation/which people were involved/how did it play out?
2 – Think about a poor and/or frustrating experience in communicating with the administration. Again, describe the situation, people and outcome.
3 – Finally, what are your thoughts on how to make communication with the administration/teachers effective and helpful for this coming school year? What might you or the school do differently?
Big idea – “make your own high school”
Whoa – big news possibly coming soon regarding a north side school. I have heard unofficially that a particular well-regarded north side elementary school has gotten approval to add high school level classes to their school.
I’m guessing that parents were begining to freak out about the prospect of high school for their kids (much as I am, 9 years in advance) and figured the best bet was to keep them together. No more stressing over test scores. No more hauling all over town. No more going to a giant school without any of your friends joining you. Sounds like it could be a great solution.
Of course it also means having high-schooler on the same grounds as pre-schoolers which could be equally annoying for each of those ages. Hopefully the teens will keep their potty mouths and crop-tops away from the 3 year olds.
I’m curious to see if it really happens and how many kids stay for high school. Or if they’ll let other kids lottery in? Or if other schools follow suit?
The Great School Bus Mystery
Busing in the Chicago Public School system is a bit weird. Some schools (I think magnet, gifted) will bus students who live within some range like over 1.6 miles and less than 5 miles. There used to be WAY more busing going on until Arne Duncan realized that cutting was a way to save major money. And jeez, the inefficiency of hauling kids from neighborhood to neighborhood all over the city is downright crazy in the age of high gas prices (not to mention a major traffic pain-in-the-butt.)
I was surprised to get a postcard in the mail saying my son is eligible for a bus ride to his new Kindergarten. The pickup point is our neighborhood school, so the bus ride is probably less than a mile. (Inefficiency #1) I followed the directions on the postcard and called the bus company to see what our pickup/dropoff time would be. Few days before school was starting and they were still “working it out.” (Inefficiency #2) OK, new route, I guess. They also told me that my son was the only kid scheduled for that stop. (Inefficiency #3)
His program only has K and 1st grade so I can’t even figure that there will be many kids on the bus. I’m envisioning a giant bus with 3 tiny little kids all sitting at the front by the driver (I imagine it’s later in life that they angle for the coveted back-of-the-bus seats.) If this is true, it might actually be more efficient for CPS to send a taxi to pick them all up.
So on the last business day before school started, the bus company still didn’t know the pickup time. The school told me there IS one other kid scheduled for that stop so they will start sending a bus there each day (inefficiency #4) just in case. I told the school that my son is shy and probably won’t be ready for the bus for at least a month (or maybe I won’t be ready for it.) But for now, the bus will be stopping there each day. However WHEN it will be there is anyone’s guess.
So the bus system is ripe with inefficiencies (if I have not made that point clear enough.) But… for any family without the means or schedule to drive their kid to school every day the bus would be the only way to get them to the school that they lotteried/tested into. And that – I can’t argue with.
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