There's a bidding war for my child.

[Ellen Forradalom]

Or so it seems. Our son enters kindergarten next year. He has a spot at either of two public schools--one magnet, one neighborhood--and very possibly at the local Jewish day school, too. This is a very important decision, and tough to make.

The neighborhood school, a K-6, serves the University of Chicago community, and accept some kids from outside its attendance boundaries. Because of this, it is remarkably diverse. Named one of the top 25 schools in the city, it has a well-respected principal and a stable history. It's an older building with a new addition and a decent playground. When we visited it, we spoke to the principal, and we got to observe a kindergarten. The class, though large, was orderly and interesting. The teacher had good crowd control, and there were some volunteers in the class, too. There's no after school care on premises; the local neighborhood club provides that.

The magnet, also K-6, is a language academy. All families have to apply to get in. The student population is about 40% local. All students study Spanish, French or Japanese. For whatever it's worth, they have some of the highest test scores in the city. The school is situated in a park and they built a new Park District fieldhouse onto the building, where after school care is provided. Some of our son's current daycare classmates are going there; one of whose mothers is on the local school council. We were not able to tour it earlier, but they got a new principal who is a little more forthcoming, so we're going in next week.

The Jewish day school is a block away. It serves a wide range of the Jewish community, from interfaith families like ours to more conservative Jews. It offers a secular education with Jewish content. When I visited they were extremely friendly, and let my son and I sit in on the kindergarten, which was wonderful. The classroom had a happy flow, not rigid order and not borderline chaos. My son plunged right and joined some games and snack. We also visited a preschool class. The school has two components: early childhood ed which has all kinds of children in it, and the elementary, which is a Jewish day school. Hebrew is incorporated into the kindergarten through songs and prayers. The school is much smaller than the other two and class sizes are small. Junior high schoolers read actual books rather than muddle through a language arts curriculum. With J-school, of course, we have to pay tuition (though years of day care have taught us to sign the checks), and there's no after school care on Friday because of Shabbat. On the other hand, NO CHRISTMAS CRAP.

[northofdenali]

1. Decisions, decisions - you're a lucky parent!

To have so many good choices; here it's public, neocon fundy, or Catholic.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

2. I'd opt for the Jewish school

Just by seeing how the reaction of your son to the atmosphere.

[Catshrink]

3. Agreed...

I used to teach an afterschool program at a variety of schools, including several Jewish daycare programs. The loving care the kids received from everyone was absolutely wonderful. He'll be part of a community at the school, which is undoubtably smaller and family oriented.

Judging from your son's reaction, like Elvis said, he liked that environment and felt comfortable. He'll thrive if he feels that way.

[southerngirlwriter]

4. I agree.

Besides his positive reaction, it sounds like it could help him in the process of building a positive identity at a young age. There's not enough money in the world to pay for that, so whatever the tuition is, it's a bargain!

[Ellen Forradalom]

5. I feel the same way

But we have to check out all alternatives.