Mon petit garçon de marin (my little sailor boy)!
Today was Liam's first day at Ecole Notre Dame des Victoires (NDV). After much deliberation, dissatisfaction and anger towards the SF public school system, we have decided to go private. In fact, roughly 30 percent of students in San Francisco attend a private institution--the highest percentage of any California county (private school enrollment statewide is 8.5 percent). This high percentage of private school attendance seems to glaringly indicate that the SF public school system is in need of a drastic makeover (I'm not talking just a quick haircut and color, but the whole shebang, like head to toe and inside and out)!
It seems that almost every parent I've come across lately has mostly negative things to say about the city's public schools. From moms in various SF neighborhoods to even a taxicab driver, they all think that unless you are lucky enough to have a golden lottery ticket to the best public schools, which are virtually impossible to get into, then it is better off to go private, even if you have to pay an arm and a leg (and upwards of $30,000 per year). The taxicab driver, who has three kids ranging from ages four to ten, opted to pay $14,000 per child annually for private. That took me aback and made me think that the poor guy must be working 2-3 jobs just to pay for schooling. And more power to him! At least he knows what is most important for his kids--education!
At the end of the day, after all the gray-hair and hair-pulling moments trying to figure out what to do about schooling for the kids, we are happy with our decision. Notre Dame des Victoires seems to be a great little school with a close-knit community of students and parents. I also like that Liam has daily french class (the teacher speaks french the whole time) and other separate (outside homeroom) classes like art, music, sports, and science. Most importantly, Liam seems to like his school. After school, the first thing he said to me when he came bounding down the steps of NDV was "Mom, I like this school! I do want to go here next year!" How can you beat that?
Plus, the uniforms are so darn cute!
Back here in district 200, we have really taken for granted that our public schools are, in some respects, better than private. I'm very happy to see that you've found the right place for Liam. Now if we could just get the school board to adopt a uniform policy! : D
ReplyDeleteWe certainly didn't realize how good we had it in CUSD 200. Here in SF, the schools are not all created equal!
ReplyDeleteI am in love with Liam's uniform. I wish I had a mommy uniform--wait, I do...jeans and t-shirt!
Liam's uniform is adorable! I had been searching for pictures of NDV and happened upon your site. I taught second grade there in the late 70's and loved every minute. It was my first year teaching and I had 40 students in my class! Each child was talented and wonderful to teach. I never missed a day that year! Now am three years from retirement and still love teaching. I have taught in Oregon and Ohio. My first year there will always be cherished!
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