Finding a School: September 2007 Archives

I spoke to two different working Moms today who both were complaining that Los Angeles, while it may be considered progressive in general, leaves parents in the lurch in several ways. Most important, the schools are a mess. I'm not just talking about LAUSD. Preschools have one year waiting lists. Child care centers are ridiculously expensive and also frequently have waiting lists, and apparently very difficult to open.

And, I'm sorry, but the level of concentration, research, and patience it requires to get your kid into a decent public school is probably worth tens of thousands of hours that could have been spent working - or doing something fun with the kids!

The other thing that came up: a serious lack of kid activities at hours for working parents. All the Mommy and Me's are during the day, so are lessons of any kind etc. One Mom I spoke to today just wants to be able to meet other parents one night a week to discuss parenting issues. Anyone know of such a group?

Now that we're a few weeks into back to school, it's time to start thinking about where the kids will be going next year. Luckily, we've got tons of resources.

One of the most entertaining -- and useful -- focuses on navigating the confusing Los Angeles Unified School District. It's NPR Diva Sandra Tsing Loh's "Scandalously Informal Guide to Los Angeles Schools'' This guide actually makes it fun to bone up on crucial knowledge, with sections titled Why L.A.’s middle class English speakers tend to move to Portland and How the LAUSD is like Costco -- you get the idea.

For preschools, there are people who will help you narrow down your options, if you're willing to spend a few hundred bucks. See my article from last month from L.A. School Mates' Web site. And send in other tips you might have. Here are a few more basics I've picked up in talking to parents and consultants:

Don't rely exclusively on other parents' recommendations. It's great to go on Peachhead and get a few reviews of schools you're interested in. But you still need to go visit yourself because parents see things differently, and each kid has different needs.

Early bird .... I can't stress enough that completing school applications and tours early is probably the most crucial part of getting into your school of choice. This is L.A. You're competing against gazillions of other people for those spots.

Relax. As each of the consultants I talked to said, not getting into the right school is a minor problem compared to the stress you will put on your child and yourself if you take all this too seriously. If you don't get into your top choice, you probably will next time around.

Don't forget to send in your comments/experiences!