Schooled

Miss Kowal's 1st grade class at Madison Elementary

Miss Amy's class at Jefferson Preschool

The public school system in SF makes me want to pull out all my hair.  Little did I know when we moved downtown to the big city that finding a good school for our young children would prove to be impossibly challenging and nerve-racking. My suburbia bubble has definitely popped. In suburbia, if you choose to go the public school route, then the school your child goes to is determined by your neighborhood. Because of this, folks aspire to buy into the best neighborhoods they can afford and thus receive the benefits of such--namely good public schools. Simply put, higher tax dollars in said neighborhoods mean more funds (aka higher expectations) are allotted per child. Expectations of top test scores and a well-rounded education inclusive of sports, art and music. We had all this in the suburbs.

In SF, you might as well throw all the above fantastical/suburbanite notions out the window. SFUSD (San Francisco Unified School District) is based on a lottery system. Meaning it doesn't matter where you live or how much taxes you're pumping into your surrounding neighborhood because chance/luck will play a major role in the school your child will attend. In fact, with one child going into second grade and the other who will enter kindergarten in the upcoming school year, the great lottery system of SFUSD could possibly (and most likely) split up our children and place them in separate schools, across town from each other to boot. The children will be "assigned" to whatever school has an "opening." This information was given to me by a blasé and disinterested counselor at the offices of said school district. 

Staring back at the counselor in disbelief, I gave her a wish list of my seven choices of preferred schools. Turns out the schools on my most wanted list are also the most sought after schools in the district. Indeed my extensive research on www.greatschools.org helped me to discover the best schools that the city had to offer, except for the fact that every other parent under the sun wanted the same schools! Something like over 1,000 requests for a school with only 66 spots available. Perhaps I can understand why the counselor practically laughed in my face when I gave her my list. She told me bluntly that I was not going to get any of the choices I desired. The few precious "golden ticket" spots had been given out long ago, during the first round of admissions (in early January 2010--before we even knew we were relocating) and that there was a wait list a mile long. Would I want to add my children's name to the wait list, anyway? Um, I guess so. Behind her tight smirk, I know the counselor was roaring with laughter at my naiveté. 

What are parents to do? Parents work hard and harder, continually striving to give the best to their children. All for nought it seems since despite all our premeditated efforts (college education, good jobs, good salary), our very own children may end up in a run-down, low-scoring, concrete-jungle of a school in a bad part of town where education is not the top priority but merely tolerated or considered a daily nuisance? A scary scary place where "No Child Left Behind" is the main mantra because the only children who attend school here are the ones who were left behind, long long ago. Our worst fear. Our worst nightmare.

For the time being, all we can do is wait until the end of this month when we receive a letter announcing the school(s) to which our children will be condemned. Better pull out the checkbook and start considering private schools. Which is another arduous undertaking in itself. Stay tuned...

P.S. In appreciation to the great teachers back in Wheaton (our suburbia), I would like to shout a big THANK YOU to Miss kim kowal at Madison Elementary and Miss amy norton at Jefferson Preschool!  Thank you for showing us what truly good public education SHOULD be and setting prime examples of caring and committed educators.  You are both amazing teachers and will be truly missed!