On Kindergarten, Public School, and Getting Cold Feet

My oldest turns 5 tomorrow. And that means in exactly 24 days, she will start Kindergarten. Kindergarten. I can hardly stand it. What makes matters even more nerve-wracking is the fact she's starting Kindergarten and a new school.  She's been going to "school" since she was 3 years old, first to a Montessori school and then to Christian school. But, starting August 31st, she'll be entering the big leagues...Public School [cue scary music].

Really, I'm being facetious. I'm a public school graduate and proud of it. I loved my school, my friends, my teachers, and I'm confident my parents would send me to public school all over again if they had the choice.  I will say that I did grow up in the suburbs of Montreal, Canada, and so the quality of public school education is arguably very different than in the U.S.  My school (both elementary and high-school) was well-maintained, had an abundance of resources and challenged me daily. I participated in everything from Field Hockey to Grad Committee.  The memories I have of my school days are fond and I want the same for my children.

Which is why the choice to send her to public school for Kindergarten was not a difficult one to make.  I did attend private school for the 2 years I lived in Miami, and had a grand ol' time. The campus was gorgeous, the tuition expensive, and the parties abundant. The curriculum was rich, I suppose, but I honestly don't think it was necessarily any better than the public high school I graduated from.  Now I realize that the quality of education depends entirely on the school district, so generalizations should not be made. We happen to live in a good school district and so my husband and I are comfortable with the public school choice.  What's more, we won the lottery to have our daughter enrolled in the Spanish Immersion program, which we're excited about and feel that it will add to our daughter's experience. I fully intend to join the PTA, become very active in my child's class and do everything I can to support her and her teachers year-round.

Now. Last month I dropped by the school to pick up the Summer Reading and Math Homework Packet.  When I opened the door to the school, my heart sank.  The hallways were dimly lit - actually the lights were mostly off.  So was the air conditioning. I get that. It's summer and school is out. But, there were janitorial and random construction materials everywhere. The building looked old and dingy. It smelled. The secretary was pleasant and efficient...but then my girls needed to use the bathroom (of course). The facilities were appalling. I'll spare you the description, but let's just say it was a grim bathroom run.  By the time we left the school, my mind was racing. Did we make the right choice? Is this what public school is like in the States? I called my husband and described what I saw and told him that if the school looks like that on the first day, she was not going there.  Immersion program or not. So hopefully the school will be in tip-top shape in time for the first day. And I feel guilty that my mind immediately went to thoughts of a clean, bright and shiny private school. But it did.

Look for an update on September 1st. I'll let you know what happens.

An original DC Metro Moms Blog post.  Justice Fergie also blogs at MamaLaw and Blogalicious2009.