Interview With a Parent Series No. 3

Posted on 14. Aug, 2009 by JM in Interview No. 3, Interviews

Interview Series – No. 3

Parent: The parent we spoke to for this interview moved, with her family, from the suburbs to the city of Denver. Once settled in the city, she transferred her son from a faith-based school to a Denver Public School (DPS) that possessed much of the criteria they were looking for when thinking about the ideal educational setting for their son.

Q: Describe your transitional experience or scenario.

A: This family moved from a Colorado suburb to Denver last year. Their son had attended private preschool there. They moved to Denver with little time to research schools though both parents work in the Education sector and are pro public schools. They enrolled their son in their neighborhood DPS but learned an after-school program wasn’t available for him. Before and after-school care was of extreme importance because both parents worked full-time. They researched a few other schools (both public and faith-based) nearby and none of them had after-school care available. Finally, they decided on a faith-based school that was warm and welcoming of working parents yet traditional in its educational philosophy. It was not their ideal school but their son was content for the time being. A few weeks later at a work function, the mother met several elementary school principals from DPS. She spoke to one in particular that stood out from the rest and began telling her about their family’s school dilemma. This principal invited her on a tour of the school to see if it might be a good fit for her son. While visiting the school, she was immediately impressed with everything about the school, including the programs it offered and the principal who helped transform the school several years ago. It had the diversity they were looking for and offered programs that focused on the individual learner and his/her needs. Their son was granted a spot in both the before and after-school care program. This was just the type of school they had been looking for, so one week later, their son started Kindergarten there. They couldn’t be more thrilled with the decision they made.

Q: What circumstances led to this decision?

A: First, a job transfer for both parents brought them to Denver. Second, a work function that offered her the opportunity to converse with several DPS principals initiated the move from a faith-based school to a DPS that offered an environment more in sync with what they envisioned for their son.

Q: What school or type of school do they attend now?

A: A DPS that they love! The Kindergartener had a wonderful year. His teacher really “tapped” into the needs and interests of all the children and made learning fun! The family believes this school to be a beautiful place that is representative of the “real world” and embraces people of varying racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. As a former principal, the mother knew as soon as she met the principal of this school that she was creating something special there. The principal had a vision and a plan to achieve this vision. The parents got that vibe while touring the school and seeing first hand exactly what the principal had initially told her. They were reassured once again that this was the ideal school for their son for many reasons including attention to the individual learner and that teachers truly engage the children in learning.

Q: How do the educational experiences differ?

A: The faith-based school was a good school but it was more traditional and lacked a diverse student population. The DPS school that they chose focuses on the “whole” child and his or her interests and needs. Students are actively engaged and diversity is celebrated.

Q: What advice can you give that will help others when going through a similar experience?

A: As a former principal, the mother has visited many, many schools. She feels, like many of us, that you know right away when visiting a school whether or not you like what it has to offer. According to her, it’s just instinct. It’s so important to visit the schools to see what they are truly about rather than learning about them only on paper. She suggests being clear about what you are looking for in a school. There is much more to the success of a school that goes beyond test scores (it’s not all about the test scores).

Tags: after school program, diversity, DPS, faith-based school, principal, test scores