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. . . when DD is just starting Pre-K tomorrow? I'll assume you guys will cut me some slack. :) In the next couple of months it will be time to start the process of looking at Kindergartens/Elementary schools for DD for next fall, and I'm already doing research, of course. DD is Hispanic. So one of the things that we have always loved about our neighborhood is that our zoned elementary school was both very strong academically and very diverse, including a large Hispanic population (about 30% when I looked several years ago). However what we didn't take into account was that as the school gets more and more popular the area has gotten more gentrified and the school has gotten more white. Not all white - we're still in Brooklyn after all - but more white then we wanted. The school's current stats are 64% CC, 19% Hispanic, 8% Black, 7% Asian. There are several other schools locally that we could apply for. For example, there is one school that is 38% Hispanic. It's a good school slightly further away with a solid reputation, but academically it's not quite as good as our zoned school, and perhaps more worryingly it's much much bigger and I'd be a little worried about DD getting lost. And there are other schools a little further away that are pretty strong, a bit more diverse, but still the academics aren't quite as good as the first school. Obviously what I really need to do is visit each of these schools and decide what I really want out of my daughter's education. But my question for all of you is, if you have a child through transracial adoption and you want them to be in a diverse school environment, what kind of diversity is "enough?" for you? Is it enough that they are not the only person of their race? Is it enough that there is a sizable community of non-caucasian students? Are you looking for the school to be majority-minority, or even that a majority of students are of your child's ethnicity? And is your ideal of diversity enough to trump other things you are looking for in a school? (Just want to add - I know that I am lucky just to live in a community where I have these choices!) Thanks!
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I don't think that most of the world obsesses about kindergarten the way that we do in NYC. I envy you that you have a strong school that you are zoned for. I would not consider sending Liana to either of the schools within walking distance, including the one conveniently located right across the street. It is overcrowded, and a recruiting ground for gangs as young as 5th grade. I will be doing something I NEVER thought I would consider. I'll be doing the G&T test in January. I have friends who are paying $1000 to prepare their kids for the test. But since I will be adopting again, probably during Liana's first few months of kindergarten, and since I would need to bus Liana to a G&T school, I will probably just enter as many charter lotteries as I can. There is a WONDERFUL school two block from home, but they only accept 25 kindergarteners per year, and they give preference to siblings of current students. So they accept about 8 other applicants per year for kidnergarten, and they get at least 200-300 applications. Diversity is imporant to me too, and this school is about 30% Latino, 30% white, 30% Asian, and 10% black. I'll also apply to various charter schools within a 30 minute bus ride. I am HOPING that this new legislation passed in NY means that there will be a new charter school RFP released this year, with new schools opening in September 2011, but no one seems to be clear on this. I really really really would rather a charter school because I can't imagine having 2 kids bused to two different neighborhoods. And all of this makes me very sad. I am a product of the public school system. I wish that it were an option for Liana, and for her younger sibling. But in my neighborhood, zoned schools are not an option.
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Ummm....did you see my bi-lingual post? I'm obsession about them learning a second language because of a certain high school I want them to get into. Kindy? Not too early :)We know and accept that our kids will likely go to our public school and the diversity in them in...ehh.. about 8-9% AA. That's no where near as high as I would like it to be, but the reality for us is even more extreme than what you are seeing...the higher the diversity, the lower the academic scores at an extreme level. Several towns over there is much higher diversity numbers, but the school system is close to losing it's accreditation. Even if we lived there, we would have to find a way to do private school, which would have a lower diversity percentage, and then our kids wouldn't be going to school with the neighbors...you know? Our answer is (we hope) to get by with public till we can get them into a private school who has a priority for diversity and academics. We're hoping that with financial aid we will be able to swing it...Right now I'm in a stalling pattern because the lower grade school offer a lot less in financial aid in this area, and for now at least, Ty needs to get AT age level before we can be concerned about getting him into a private school. So we're going public and letting him get what he needs there. The public school here are good..I would even say very good, but not excellent. There are a couple of charter school in my town and they are 100% white. You read that white. ZERO diversity. I chalk that up to the one huge draw back in my town regarding diversity. Very few of the AA in my town are home owners and there seems to be a lot of turn over. We have a few large apartment buildings, and a lot of the larger houses have been split into apartments. My town has a fairly high rental rate in general, and it seems especially high with non-white renters. Which is a total bummer...
Saya and I are in the outer boros, where it is just a little less insane. And they simplified the process... down to one test rather than 3. This video does not take charter schools into account. But here is a taste of the insanity. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsuIbYLpuZI]YouTube - Getting In... Kindergarten pt.1[/url] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOLThsU8CYA&feature=related]YouTube - Getting In... Kindergarten pt.2[/url] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5me8glTDtc&feature=related]YouTube - Getting In... Kindergarten pt.3[/url] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI-eV1SQjIM&feature=related]YouTube - Getting In... Kindergarten pt.4[/url] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-V2IcOGCQI&feature=related]YouTube - Getting In... Kindergarten pt.5[/url] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNQKdOhc2OY&feature=related]YouTube - Getting In... Kindergarten pt.6[/url] Saya is lucky to have a decent zoned school. I am not so lucky.
KC and aclee, you are reminding me how lucky I am and how I should just chill. :) I know I have good options. I think that as DD starts to think and understand more about things like race, and her adoption, and the forces that brought her to this life, I am starting to obsess a bit about how to give her the best advantages to help her understand and cope with all these complicated issues.KC, I'm also wondering whether to have Anabel take the G&T test. It's not as necessary for us, but I'm wondering if it opens up any more diverse options. I also have no idea how she'd do - I think she's brilliant (of course!) but have a feeling she might not be a great test taker just because she doesn't like to "perform." But no reason not to try, I guess.
I would send your child to the good school with less diversity.
There are plenty of good reasons why a solid education will benefit your child and while diversity is important, I believe you can find diversity in other aspects of your life.
I also agree with Questia that you are very lucky to live in a section of the city with excellent public schools. My partner and I live in a nice neighborhood but most of the people are renters and the homeowners are mostly singles and married couples with no children. Therefore, the schools are horrible and a lot of the children are used textbooks printed in the early 1990s!
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