Kindergarten Looms.....

It is almost the end of January and I have to make a decision about where to enroll Athena for Kindergarten. Seems simple, but it isn't. I have been researching charter schools off and on for the last six months. I currently have my list narrowed down to 3 possibilities, and I have now visited one of the three.

Tonight Athena and I went to an open house at the Sonoran Science Academy. The school is 4 years old, but the building is ancient. I liked the kindergarten and first grade teachers, they were both very nice women. There seems to be a lot of diversity, both in the the student population (based on the pictures hanging in the hallways) and in the staff. The school places a lot of emphasis on math, science and computers. Another bonus is that the prospective students take placement exams, and will be put in a classroom that suits their academic abilities.

The location of the SSA is both an asset and a liability in this decision. I like that it is about 5 miles from work, but it is 5 miles in the wrong direction. So it will take forever to get there in the morning, and it will tack on a bit of travel time at night too.

The before and aftercare programs are reasonably priced (at least this year, I don't know how much they will go up next year). They also have the longest extended care programs that I have found. The kids can be dropped off as early as 6:15 am and picked up as late as 6:00 pm.

I still have to check out the other two schools, but so far the SSA seems like a good match.