The kindergarten hunt continues

It's been a long time since I've blogged about seemingly never-ending search for a kindergarten for our daughter. Part of it is that I do believe in conspiracy theories and don't want to black mark my lil one with this blog by complaining too much. The other day a news story broke that made it clear - We live in Chicago and even the school system is Chicago.

Chicago's magnet applications should be audited following revelations that parents tried to clout their kids into one magnet school by falsely claiming they had a child already enrolled there, the head of a government watchdog group said Tuesday.

Disclosures that 12 applicants falsely claimed to have "siblings'' at Sabin Magnet -- giving them a clear admissions edge -- is "the Chicago Public School version of Chicago clout in action,'' said Jay Stewart, executive director of the Better Government Association.


But it's really not much of a surprise. I grew up in the burbs where kids pretended to live with cousins to attend our better schools. Or the reality is that grandma was the babysitter so it made sense to say you lived with her so you could walk to her house after school.

Last weekend we attended a "play party" for our lone independent/private school candidate. We really like that school, but can't get our hopes up due to the very small pool of seats available. My daughter had fun at the party. They let the kids play in the library and gym. I'm sure she thought she was the poop for being in school in the first place. She said she had fun. Thankfully the interview part for us was pretty low-key. It also helps that the school expects parents to volunteer for things and well, we're not a non-volunteering couple. My husband even offered up that we're fundraisers. I know he is, but I wouldn't initially had thought that, but I guess I am.

The interview, while it lasted all of 15 minutes, is a weird thing. You want to say things that make you look good, stand out, etc. But you also don't want to look like a total suck up. It's just weird. While the school isn't as diverse as we'd like, it does feel like the right school.

March is just around the corner, so we'll know soon.


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