Saturday, February 19, 2011

By the numbers

I've been feverishly working on a blog for 24 hours. But every time I reread it, I can't hit post. It's about a subject that no one likes to talk about. And it falls into realms that people in olden days would never consider discussing in "polite" conversations. And if I thought I was smart enough to actually write about what I was thinking with any sense of coherency or understanding, I'd be a lot more likely to post it. But it's all raw emotions and observations.

But I'll think about it. And revise. And research. And maybe I'll come up with a way to present it so that I don't feel like I'm embarrassing myself.

Until then, I filled out my paperwork for Unit 4. I am not taking part in the early Magnet School registration period. But I am listing a Magnet School on my list. Go figure.

In order of choice:
1. Carrie Busey
2. Bottenfield
3. BT Washington
4. Kenwood
5. Southside

I know some people have a thing about how you shouldn't put schools on the list that you know you won't get. But I visited all of the schools and when I put all of my eggs of preference into my basket, these came up with the most bounty. So, we'll hope that stays true for however long we're in Champaign. In good conscious, I couldn't not put whatever small chance I might have to get X-man into those schools over the others on my list. But it also just so happened that two of my schools aren't usually in high demand. (We'll see if STEM changes this or not.) And to be honest, one of the leading factors that eliminated some schools was early start time.

In addition to finishing my list, which I won't actually turn in until X-man has his 5-year-old physical next month and I get a hold of a certified birth certificate, I scheduled a tour for the University Primary School on March 3rd. Because -- why the hell not? I've been everywhere else non-religious in town. Well, except Countryside and Montessori.

I don't know why. For some reason I was okay with paying ridiculous amounts of money to keep X-man at Next Gen. But that's because we have a history with the school. With somewhere else, I'm like -- whatever. And obviously religious-based schools aren't something we'd ever feel comfortable turning to.

In that vein, I should probably look and see when Montessori has its registration period. But I'm kind of feeling "satisfied" with the public schools right now. But I feel like I should for some reason have back up -- and that's what lottery does. It makes you paranoid. Even for those of us who aren't normally paranoid.

2 comments:

~rachel~ said...

I think UPS sounds great- that's what the insiders call it :) I have a friend who taught there and sent her kids there for a while and loved it!
Did you check out CAOS? It looks neat too, and is like 10 kids in a class or something!

The Fearless Freak said...

We had a presenter from UPS come to one of the classes I took and it sounded so fantastic. Of course, price is a HUGE factor for us and the main reason we didn't tour many of the private schools. Strangely, although I'm totally with you on the not wanting a religious school, St John's was our back up for not getting one of our schools.

And yeah, those early start times at some schools is a beast! The early out isn't all it's cracked up to be, either. When MF was a baby, we had to have lunch by 10:30 to be down for a nap by 11:30 so she could be up by 1:30 to pick WF up by 2. On the other hand, the early start lets me drop them at school and still make it to work by 8.

I'm crossing my fingers for you. It is such a stressful process, hopefully, you'll get one of your five :)