Today's question, which school?

[liveintheville]

So C starts kindergarten in the fall. The schools in somerville go k-8. There are many to choose from. Here are the 4 we're thinking of:

argenziano - closest to us, a few blocks away; biggest with almost 600 students; new facility built about 5 years ago

healey- mile and a half away, furthest one we are considering; emphasis on the arts with lots of art and music projects; has a cool field trip program, this year the 7 th and 8 th graders are going to dc for 4 days; affiliation with tufts learning program

unidos program within the east somerville school - 1 mile away; this is a bilingual program k-8; kids are taught 50% in English and 50% in Spanish; mix of only English speakers, only Spanish speakers, and kids who know both but one is their primary; Dave and I know zero Spanish (Russian for him and German for me) so it'd be some work on our part to help c out with homework and such; is a really unique and cool opportunity; east somerville school is brand spanking new and just opening this fall

kennedy school- 1.2 miles away; 500 plus students; sounds like most of the kids c knows in pre k are going here; has a kickass pool; kids start swimming lessons in kindergarten and continue through 8th

we got good vibes from Healey and Kennedy. Sort of breezed through Argenziano. And Unidos we can't tour the school yet since its not open. Currently the different grades are split among 3 other schools during this transient period.


So. If you didn't get bored or confused, any thoughts?

[liveintheville]

Jan 30, 2013 11:35:43 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

Isn't Somerville a bit of a lottery system like BPS? My (very limited) understanding is that Healey is most people's top choice but the odds of getting a slot are slim. I love the idea of the Spanish/English program at ES. Have you guys thought about Prospect Hill Charter? That's near you and I've heard good things.

Yep. Lottery. Although I think we might be a shoo in for Argenziano. There's talk of being guaranteed the closest to you. 

Brown has the best scores and it's right in Davis, on Willow. But no gymnasium or cafeteria. C is way too crazy to only have gym on nice days when they can go to a park or get outside. 

[fuddyduddy]

Healey, due to its programs and your positive reaction. Like scm and Rock, I think Unidos is the other frontrunner.

[hulley]

I can speak to this as a (future, potential) teacher. My choice would be
1)Healy - this curriculum sounds really solid. Do you know if any of it is project-based? Looking at their website, I don't see any mention of it. Another thing I notice (and this may not be important to you) is that they don't seem very technologically advanced. There is only 1 teacher site and it seems empty. I find this to be a really good tool for both teachers and parents. I like that they reference critical thinking skills, since this is so important to teach early on. They use Open Circle, which is a social-emotional curricula. Overall, I think this is a really strong choice.

2)Unidos - having a second language is such an advantage. I'm sure you know how much easier it is to learn from an early age. It helps their listening skills, makes them more flexible thinkers, and improves how they understand their native language. There are so many positives to being bi-lingual. I believe (but don't know for sure) that there is some evidence that learning a second language makes it easier to learn more than one. I would venture a guess that Spanish would lend itself particularly well to other languages. I know that my Spanish (not fluent, but polite/conversational) helped me to learn some Portuguese. I wouldn't worry about you not knowing it, I think it really comes easily once you are reading/writing it daily. If not, there's always Google Translate!


3)Kennedy - but only if 1 or 2 are not options. Swimming is a great skill and not having to attend separate lessons would be a plus for both of you.

[drloretta]

Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. I like the idea of a bilingual program