morguefile
by Erin Tarr
2013 is upon us… the year my daughter goes to Kindergarten. This is the part of the post where I insert a paragraph filled with heartfelt but weepy comments, overused clichés and tearful personal memories involving my “baby” and how she can’t possibly be old enough for Kindergarten already, but I digress… let’s move on.
As an educator, I have been anticipating and thinking about my daughter’s education since she was in utero. For the first 3 and half years of her life I worked for an amazing private school and always planned for her to attend school there. So, when I decided to change the course of my vocational career this last year – our newfound dilemma regarding our child(ren)’s education became a front and center conversation around the dinner table. (Well really between commercial breaks…but you know what I mean.)
The following is a list of what I previously knew about the Champaign Unit #4 school system:
• Unit #4 is under a “school of choice” system (which isn’t – IMHO – really the correct verbiage for what it ACTUALLY is)
• “School of Choice” includes some sort of “lottery” system (not being the luckiest person on the planet, this gives me pause)
• There are proximity “A” schools (within 1.5 miles of your house) … which you have an 8Oish% chance of getting into (IF you have one)
• There are three “magnet” schools (meaning their curriculum has a special focus)… Garden Hills (International Baccalaureate Curriculum), Stratton (micro-society), and Booker T. Washington (STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering & Math)
• There are two “balanced calendar” schools (Barkstall & Kenwood) who each have a three week break in the fall and spring and a shorter summer
• Barkstall, Booker T. Washington and Stratton kids all wear uniforms.
I don’t know if any of that is news to you – but this was my starting point. When I began looking seriously at Unit 4 schools, I naively thought “school of choice” meant I could literally choose my top three schools and have a decent chance of getting into them. This is only PARTLY true. IF I choose my “Prox A” school my child will likely be among the 82% of the students at that school who are also Prox A or have siblings there … however, if I DO NOT choose my Prox A school – my child only has an 18% chance of getting into whatever other school I would happen to choose. (Not great odds!)
The exception to this appears to be the magnet schools – which were established (in my understanding) in historically under-choosen schools in order to increase their diversity. So you MAY have a better chance of getting into these schools, even if it is not your Prox A school.
My current question that I will be inquiring about (soon) is IF I choose a magnet school and for some reason don’t get in, then am I still in the 82% accepted into my second choice (Prox A) school, or am I just out of luck and hope for the best possible outcome being in the 18% there or elsewhere? (Does that question even make sense?)
As you can tell, in some ways I am a bit befuddled by the process. On the other hand, I have a personal connection with almost every one of the 11 elementary schools (teachers, parents, administrators, etc.) and, having an education background, I feel like I am already fairly confident about which school(s) I would want my daughter to attend based on my visits and conversations with other parents, teachers and administrators.
I plan to keep chambanamoms informed about what my current school “choices” are (and why), as well as what specific attributes I am looking for in a school. The current online information fro Unit 4 still has last year’s information regarding when meetings will occur, etc. but as I get my questions answered – and ask more – I will let you know!
Erin (Trent) Tarr made the three hour drive from Southern Illinois to Champaign in 1997 to attend the University of Illinois and never left. Mother of two beautiful girls (2 & 4 years old), she is currently working at the University of Illinois and enjoys reading non-fiction, listening to leadership podcasts, singing, taking pictures of her kids, and blogging at www.erintarr.com. The epitome of an extrovert, she is an active participant at Quest UMC and loves getting together with strong women for book clubs, writing clubs, and wine tastings. You can often find her (with two kids in tow) at Champaign Centennial sporting events where her beloved husband of nine years, Adam, works as an Athletic Trainer.
Erin,
I would be happy to cover this topic in-depth with you, but for the sake of others reading this, allow me to make three quick points:
1. The chances of getting a school are not flat (ie, not 82% for Prox A, not 18% for Prox B, etc) – more importantly, it really depends on which schools you choose and how many other people are choosing the same school.
2. Proximity ONLY applies to your first choice. Period. In general, I highly recommend not even getting worked up about Proximity because that adds too much confusion to the whole thing. But like I said, if you want I can cover this comprehensively with you to help you feel better about it.
3. The district superintendent (Dr. Judy Wiegand) is holding a open “Dessert & Coffee” time (Jan 17th) that is intended to attract parents and community members with exactly these kinds of questions.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=422523971148990&set=a.145594835508573.30528.144915725576484&type=1
PS – say ‘hi’ to our good friends the Raquels.
I told Liza “Hi!”
I also follow your blog… admittedly haven’t read everything, but I will make it to Houlihan’s one of these days!
Looking forward to reading more installments as you go through the process.
Thanks Ann!
Didn’t all the magnet school requesters get in last year?
Yes, yes they did!
Based on this Unit 4 flyer, there are tours tomorrow. (You may have known this already, but that was my biggest surprise our year–how quickly the tour days appeared) http://www.champaignschools.org/news/news_files/2013-01-04_Community%20Forum%20Flyer.pdf
As someone who dealt with this two years ago, here are the takeaways I share with other parents:
1) Ignore the hype. Everyone wants to tell you the story of their best friend’s neighbor’s twins that were placed in two different schools on opposite sides of town. This is not the case for most people, and hearing about it will only stress you out unnecessarily.
2) Visit all the schools with an open mind. They all have their advantages and disadvantages. After taking tours and talking with various staff, your list of favorite schools may change.
3) There is no single ‘perfect’ school in Champaign. They are all good schools, staffed with professionals that care about helping kids succeed. Certain schools may be a better fit for your child than others, but there is no one perfect school.
Good luck! I look forward to reading more.
Thanks for the advice – especially #3 … you are totally right!
At lower grades, it’s probably not going to matter, but the quality shifts as you get into higher grades because of the lack of parental involvement in the schools. Also, after school care, if you need it leaves something to be desired.
We moved because of this system, and are glad we did.
Good luck.
I think every family has a few days when they evaluate whether or not they are willing to move to avoid the system. Our decision was to stay, so we will see how that plays out for us in the coming years.
I am reticent about after school care, but am devising some other options to deal with this dilemma. Thanks for reading and posting!
I am a soon-to-be new mom in the Champaign area and have been trying to do all my research on the Unit 4 schools and one thing I cannot seem to find an answer for: How does busing work? Lets say my family lives in the NW corner of champaign and my daughter one day goes to Carrie Busey and our neighbor goes to Washington. Will there be buses for both students coming into our neighborhood?
Kati, for better or worse, yes, there will be two separate buses, each at independent times, twice a day. More if your other neighbors go to other schools.
The Unit 4 official bus route page has finally been updated:
http://www.champaignschools.org/Busroutes.html