Recently your child was administered the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) as part of their evaluation for Advanced Learning programs. As a result of your child’s performance, he or she is qualified to take the reading and math achievement test (the Iowa Test of Basic Skills)
I had expected to be very excited about this as it suggests that Frost will qualify for the APP program for 3rd Grade. Unfortunately, this is a very bad time for a family from NE Seattle to contemplate APP or any school in our public school system. The NE is defined as a cluster for purposes of Seattle Public Schools school assignment. This means, we get priority in local schools. There are a few "all city draw" programs which are not based on where you live, APP is one of them. But students from other areas can apply for schools out of their cluster so enrollment is very uneven.
The reasons I am discouraged about our options are:
1) The elementary schools in the NE Cluster are full. Even though we live less than a mile from our reference school (Bryant) it is currently very over-enrolled and there is little chance of us getting in. We have no idea which school Frost would be assigned and are unlikely to get one close to us since these are among the most popular.
2) The Alternative School I loved when I toured (Thornton-Creek) is being relocated and reformed as a K-8 school. It will become larger but spaces are being promised to another school which is either closing or moving Far Far Away. This means it is unlikely Frost will find a place there either.
3) The Elementary APP Program which was housed at Lowell is being relocated further South and split in two. This means it will be of uncertain success as a program and would require Frost to travel 8.5miles by bus each way picking up kids along the way. I have no idea of the school bus route, but during traffic this would take me 30 minutes in my car so it seems reasonable to estimate one hour travel time each way.
I have no idea what we are going to do for Frost. I guess we will do the school tours in January and ask questions even though the schools / programs we will be seeing are unlikely to exist in their current configuration by the time Frost starts in Fall.
It feels like our kids are salmon swimming upstream and the engineers have forgotten to build a fish ladder. I haven't even applied yet and I am tired of the churn. Is this when I panic and apply to private schools too? Become Catholic? Get a job?
3 comments:
Tell me about it. I *think* there is still hope for Lowell. I am apprehensive about what will happen to Thornton Creek since I had thought that it might be a good fit for Evan in a few years...
Oh, that's right - you are close by too. How long before Evan enters school?
I do not know if there is hope for Lowell to remain. I remain infinitely pessimistic but also incredulous that they think NE families will send kids so much further on the bus. My friend Laurie had driven to Lowell recently and felt that it was almost too far already.
So, I am feeling we will stay in the NE if that is our only alternative.... :) Argh.
Let's have a coffee and talk Seattle Schools sometime...
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