We have a max of 20.1 students in K, 1 and 2-- that means that you might have 21 on your roll for a short portion of the year. We have 1 teacher per class and a 10-hour aide per week, plus many specialists, as well. We are a public school. Our aides, art, music and health teachers are paid for with PTA funds. I do believe that parent involvement makes a huge difference-- hands-on in the classroom by volunteering,  by donating supplies or money, by getting community support. You don't have to write off a "bad school" unless you feel that your child would be physically unsafe. Test scores don't tell you what a school is really like. Get involved BEFORE your child starts at a school, look into making it a charter school, expanding community/parent involvement.

I really don't think test scores tell you much at all. They don't tell you whether or not kids love school, are eager readers, creative writers and thinkers. They are very cut and dried and it's very tempting for schools to spend a lot of time and energy "teaching to the test" b/c there is so much pressure to improve scores every year. I do think student achievement is important, but I'd rather see it measured by how my kids are reading and writing, the real projects they are doing in class, how they extend their learning at home, their excitement about learning.

I don't know anything about your neighborhood school, but maybe you could attend Kindergarten roundup just to check it out.

We all have to do what we think is best for our kids. No decision will be wrong for Mason, but also remember that kids are in school for just 6 hours a day and their parents have much more time to be with them, sharing knowledge, reading together, etc.

Good luck with this big project!

Hopefully Mason will have a learning disability. Not sure what the criteria is but there are a few kids in the boys' school that have their own private aid that follows them around. Now that's learning!

I think this is funny. Here's my read on the logic....

1. If you live in Santa Monica and thus pay more property tax then you create smarter students. Maybe the smart ones are the ones living outside of the city limits.

2. While class size is mandated by the state, it's possible that the quality of teaching in one district might not be as good as another district. With no offense intended toward people I'm related to, and all things being equal, I'll take the young (less expensive) teacher with a ton of energy who is not burnt out on the profession, over the seasoned (more expensive) veteran.

3. Last but not least, when I last I checked, little Mason wasn't even speaking yet, can't recite the alphabet and doesn't even know what 2 plus 2 is. I'm not sure he's proven himself worthy of Santa Monica schools yet!  In my experience, test scores are driven by a few things...

    A. Smarter kids get higher test scores

    B. Whiter kids get higher test scores

    C. Teachers that teach the test get higher test scores

I'm not sure that a test score is best measure of the success of the teaching program. Find a program that encourages parents to be in the classroom and that's likely to be the best indicator of a school that is worthy of Mason's lineage. In the meantime, tell MH to start funding a 529 plan for Mason...it's a good tax dodge for MH and a great program for ML.

O.K. now that my mother has taken it upon herself to talk about our educational choice for our kids & family, let me tell you all the real situation. 

Barry & I debate the private school verses public all the time.  We live very close but not in the district to one of the best LAUSD elementary school.  We even have a friend's address that we could use if we wanted to LIE to get them in.  I'm not going to go into what is better or worse, private or public.  Because we are really happy with our private school & really feel it's the best place for our kids.  What I am going to say is that with the raising costs of private schools our kids are probably going to wind up in public school sooner or later.  Most private Jr highs are currently between $18,000 - $22,000 a year & that is before all the extras.  By the time Sydney is ready for kindergarten, we figure we will be spending close to $100,000 a year to keep all 3 of our kids in private school. 

The original conversation was, should you lie to get into a better public school.  NO.  It's to risky and there are plenty of other choices through LAUSD, magnet schools, charter schools, permits, ect...  You don't want your child to be in fear of being caught & kicked out of a place he feels happy & comfortable in.  We apply every year for the magnet program.  I personally think that is the best bet with LAUSD of a good education all the way through 12 grade. 

My thoughts:

- Do not cheat to get in. We set examples for our children.

- Private schools are not a gaurantee of quality. Or even a "safe" environment. They are only as good as the folks who run them and the families that support them.

- Public schools are only as good as the folks who run them and the families that support them.

- Going back to setting examples, your child will put as much effort into school as you do. Be involved with the kid, the class and the school.

- I believe in strong public schools as a good infrastructure investment.

- For better or worse, there is a set of lfie experiences that can only begained from a public school education.

Since ninty percent of my students end up going to private schools I have looked at most of the local ones.  They do come across as very impressive.  I have also looked at some very terrific public schools!  The truth is, smart children will do well in any environment, but private schools from what I've seen are just more consistant and they have to be  with that 20,000 price tag hanging off of it.