Baby Animal days was so fun! See my Flickr site for more pics!

Findings at Greenville Elementary

Well, I did the site visit last week, at Greenville Elementary and while I was not blown away by what I saw, I wasn't completly turned off either. I realize that most schools are different than the Charter school, and some of the differences I like, some I don't. I just have to decide which school I like best.
Perks of the Charter School are:

1. Small child to adult ratio: Each elementary class has both a full time teacher and a 3/4 time Aide. Most classes are 22 students or less. That's around 11:1 student/adult ratio. At Greenville I sat in on one class who had a teacher with 28 students all to herself. I worry that JB will not receive the personalized attention that she has been getting and so desperately needs.
2. Stringent dress code. I like how presentable the children look. They are dressed nicely, no logos or sketchy clothing. I saw lots of jeans, tee shirts, and extremely casual clothing at Greenville.
3. In the Charter School, the classrooms are only allowed to post certain things on the walls, and they must be placed in certain areas. This leaves the walls relatively clutter free. JB is prone to becoming frustrated with over stimulus, and to be honest while sitting in a classroom at Greenville, I noticed there wasn't even one inch of picture/clutter free wall space. The filing cabinets had bright colorful stuffed animals piled on top of them, stuffed animals on top of the computer screens, a smelly class pet in one corner. I started to feel like I was in Las Vegas and I had only observed for about 10 minutes. I felt very over stimulated and wondered how JB would cope.
4. She has friends and knows the routine. The teachers all know her well, and it would be easier for me as a parent to make those "unreasonable demands" of her teachers without being annoying because of our past relationships.

The perks of Greenville:

1. The curriculum was much easier. Homework could probably be finished in an hour or less.
2. They have a reading specialist, who was very nice, and recommended a tutor for JB to start with right away.

I am out of time for today. I plan to also investigate Hillcrest Elementary, and contact the reading tutor on Monday. Maybe I could leave her at the Charter school and hire the tutor?