Line Change
By now, you've probably heard about this year's line-up for kindergarten spots at Penn Alexander. Parents started lining up on Friday morning for Tuesday's morning's kindergarten registration, bracing themselves for four days in the elements.
But in the late afternoon, the school district passed out the letter below, stating that there would be a lottery for kindergarten spots in the spring and that essentially there was no longer any need to wait in line, since all applications would have an equal chance of getting a spot. Passing by to walk my kids home, not long after the letter had been passed out, the reaction from parents in line ranged from confused and stunned to angry and distraught.
There's so much more I could say, on so many facets of this episode which has shone a huge spotlight on our neighborhood and on urban education in general. But I'm going to hold my tongue, because I'm sure that half of my comments will infuriate some, the other half will infuriate others, and all of them may compromise my ability to be involved in coming up with a solution. (Privately, I'm happy to blab all you want!) Stay tuned.
But in the late afternoon, the school district passed out the letter below, stating that there would be a lottery for kindergarten spots in the spring and that essentially there was no longer any need to wait in line, since all applications would have an equal chance of getting a spot. Passing by to walk my kids home, not long after the letter had been passed out, the reaction from parents in line ranged from confused and stunned to angry and distraught.
There's so much more I could say, on so many facets of this episode which has shone a huge spotlight on our neighborhood and on urban education in general. But I'm going to hold my tongue, because I'm sure that half of my comments will infuriate some, the other half will infuriate others, and all of them may compromise my ability to be involved in coming up with a solution. (Privately, I'm happy to blab all you want!) Stay tuned.
Comments