school shopping update

I have visited all 4 schools
Winston - del Mar
Excelsior - La Mesa
Sierra -  Lake Murry
NewBridge - poway

I took Calvin back to see the first three of those schools.  At this point Winston is out of the running . It is a purely academic school for kids who struggle in public school and need more academic support. They don't have any interest in dealing with kids who need emotional support. 

NewBridge only goes through 8th grade so it would be a challenge to send Calvin there for only a year and a half. If NewBridge seems a good fit, I want to push for having Calvin enter as a 6th grader so he has a longer time there. Academically he is closer to 6th grade anyway. The district would not want to have calvin repeat a year because it means paying for an extra year of school.  However, paying for another middle school year may prevent them from having to pay for an additional 4 years after high school in a transition program. 

Sierra and Excelsior would both be a good fit for him. They are pretty similar with Sierra having a more formal discipline program with points earned each hour, which equate to tickets that are used in the schools store.  Excelsior is a little less organized in their behavioral approach giving tickets on occasion that go into a drawing once a week. Basically Calvin would have to be self motivated.




After I had a first look at each of the schools, the next step was to take Calvin to look at them (very briefly) I took Calvin to see sierra, Exc, and Winston. He did not like Winston at all.  The lady giving us the tour was pretty cold and it was obvious in her mannerisms and conversation she was not excited to have us there.  I'm sure Calvin felt that. 

At Excelsior, the administrator looked at Calvin and talked directly to him, asking what he likes about school, what he thinks a good school would be, and telling him about the program. He soaked it in. At one point, the admin left the room and Calvin turned to me and said, "mom, I think this would be a great school". Pretty astounding coming from a child who did not even want to change schools.   

At Sierra, the day before the holiday break, we showed up during lunch so some of the admins were out, including the main person who does admissions. Someone else gave us a tour, and though friendly, was in somewhat of a hurry to get back to her regular job. Plus the kids were at PE so Calvin didn't see them in class. 

After the three visits I was impressed at how affected Calvin was by the personality of the admin at excelsior. It just goes to show how kindness and enthusiasm can make a big difference.

Next week I'll take Calvin to see NewBridge. I am also waiting for the director to read Calvin's paperwork and see if he thinks Calvin would be a good fit.

The next step is to have Calvin do a 2-5 day visit at each school we are considering. I will for sure set something up at Excelsior; we already have a visit at Sierra scheduled for the second week of Jan. 

It is going to be a busy month. Lots of car time. I just started reading Grapes of Wrath on audio.  Hopefully it is as great as I heard it will be so that it keeps me company in the car as we drive.