It has been our discovery here at ScoopToo.com that we are not alone – that YOU are not alone.  The dark little secrets that we harbor about what-to-do-about-finding-the-right-school-for Johnny or Susie are, more often than not, running through the heads of the majority of parents of 4 year olds out there. Quite possibly the ambitious parents of 2 and 3 year olds as well.  These are people like us, who don’t have a stellar default school option just waiting with open doors to welcome your 5 year old.

Jennifer Holladay, the former Senior Adviser for Strategic Affairs at the Southern Poverty Law Center, and former director Teaching Tolerance tells us about her family’s Journey to Kindergarten.  Enjoy the read.  There is hope!

The School Scoop category of our blog is a compilation of our impressions on both public and private schools around Denver. These “profiles” include vital facts about the school along with our impressions from visits, discussions with parents and interviews with staff.  We plan to add quite a few more profiles this fall so keep checking back for schools that you have interest in learning more about!

We hope to also educate you on the vision of each school from multiple perspectives, provide information on special & core programs that each school has to offer as well as provide a forum for parents to comment on their experiences with the school.

It’s important to remember that the impressions section on the school profiles is just that, an impression.  While visiting the school we take into consideration many factors beyond just what we see and hear. It’s your job as a parent to research and visit the schools that interest you most, so you can get a vibe, and see which schools have left an impactful impression on you.  Do not rely on our profiles or parent comments alone; see for yourself.

We are not including a full report on public school CSAP test scores in our reviews because we do not feel that they are a highly relevant part of the process.  If it’s test scores you seek, then you can find them at the Colorado School Accountability Report Website.

Some of you have already been through the MADNESS that surrounds choosing the ideal elementary school for your child. Then there are those of you who will partake in this process sometime soon! Whenever it may be, we hope our blog provides you with some helpful information and insight along the way.

Sean Gaydos, a Stapleton resident, also wants to help parents “get a grip” on this process. After researching 20 plus schools in the Denver area including private, public, magnet, and charter schools, he decided to write a book about it called Stop the Madness! A Practical Guide To Navigating The Rough Waters of Denver Private Schools. When deciding that a private school would be more beneficial for his son and his unique learning style, the madness began for Sean! Making sense of the testing, school tours, applications, essays, and interviews, was reminiscent of the process he endured while applying for college. The elementary application process was not only competitive but stressful too, he states. Sean learned a great ordeal while embarking on this journey and he hopes to share these experiences with other parents who may be choosing this path for their child.

This practical guide, traced with bits of humor, includes a timeline of when to start the application process and all that it entails. It lists specific private schools in the Denver area to help jump start your search, ten steps one needs to know before applying, tips that may help during the process, and brief descriptions of teaching philosophies that may or may not be suitable for your child and his/her learning style. The book is a quick read and Sean says it was written for therapeutic reasons more than anything else!

If you are interested in ordering Sean’s book, please click on the following link: Sean’s Book

A special thank you, Sean Gaydos, for your passion and perseverance with regard to  your son’s education.

School:  THE LOGAN SCHOOL for CREATIVE LEARNING

Website: http://www.theloganschool.org/

Main Phone: 303-340-2444

Type: Private accredited member of the Association of Colorado Independent Schools

Tuition: Tuition for 2009/2010 school year is $14,090 per student.  Need-based scholarships are available.

Tours: Parent information sessions and tours take place beginning in October through the middle of December.  Call or email Rachel Shields to schedule: 303-340-2444 x133 or Rachel.shields@theloganschool.org.

Head of School: Andrew Slater

Director of Admissions: Becky Godec

Location: 1005 Yosemite Street, Denver, CO 80230 – Lowry Neighborhood

Hours: 8:30 am to 3:00 pm

Before/After Care: Extended Care is available before school from 7:30 to 8:30 and after school from 3:10 until 6:00 for $5/hr.

Students: 248, ages 4-14, 19% students of color, avg. class sizes range from 16 in the younger classrooms to 22 students in the older classrooms.

Playground/Facilities: At first, driving up to the school, I was slightly put off by the location and campus as it seemed somewhat barren and, quite frankly, ugly. The decommissioned Lowry Air Force military space did not appeal to me.  This quickly changed as I got to the front and saw a nice playground, attractive landscaping in the main entrance area, and a modernized renovation to the main building. There are a total of three buildings on the campus, one that holds the lunch facility and extended care and another that holds a huge gymnasium and a theatre.  There are also playing fields on campus for sports such as soccer and baseball as well as another playground area.  In total, the campus is about 13 acres. 

Special & Core Programs: Since The Logan School is an experiential learning institution, students participate in a variety of field trips to meet their needs for individual units, class units, environmental education and service learning needs.  Some of those trips for the upper level students will be overnight trips.  The Logan School also has a student Expo in the winter where students showcase the work they’ve done since the beginning of the school year on their individual units.  There are a number of extra curricular activities including a school rock band, poetry competitions, MathCounts, geography and spelling bees.  On campus there is a natural wetlands, a hands on butterfly habitat and a garden. 

Impressions: I have visited the Logan School on several occasions and, after my initial poor first impression of the campus, I was thoroughly pleased.  Both my husband and I were greeted each time by the front entrance with a handshake from either current parents, the Admissions Director or the Assistant Admissions Director.  Prior to the tour, we were briefed on the school, its philosophy and direction, shown a video, and given an opportunity to ask any questions we had.  Then, we were led around the school by some of the most polite Upper Level (8^th graders) students we have ever encountered.

It was great to be taken around the campus by a student rather than an Administrator or a parent that might give a biased view of the school.  We were able to ask the students their perspective on particular qualities of the school that we would not have been able to get from anyone else.  We were also given an opportunity to see the children “in action” and speak to some of the teachers to get a clearer picture of how the Logan teaching philosophy works.

The Logan School philosophy is quite different than a traditional school in that the students are empowered to be extremely independent and think for themselves. Early in the school year, they choose a “Unit”  to study and then apply more traditional subjects to that Unit.  For instance, if they chose insects to be their Unit, then they would apply math, reading, science, etc. to the subject of insects.  There is a culminating “Expo” in February where the children present their work on the Unit to parents and faculty. Then in the Spring, they typically choose another area of study.  Teachers act as facilitators and mentors while encouraging independence at the same time. Then in each homeroom, the lead teacher covers other subjects such as World History, Geography or Science so that it is more multidimensional.

This experiential style of learning may, or may not be right for your child so it’s up to the parent to understand what type of learner your child is and if it makes sense for them. This experience-based style instruction is then taken beyond the classroom to include several field trips that allow students to explore art, environmental studies, foreign languages, business, etc. and to then be applied to their studies.

It seems that the Logan School has a very rich learning environment that fosters a unique way of thinking for children.  The school is indeed for students that have gifted and creative tendencies, however, it is not exclusive or pretentious.  The qualification of “gifted” is more than just a test score; they’re seeking students that would be impacted the greatest from the style of instruction Logan offers.  Students who are the best fit for this school are those that do fall in the gifted range, but have other qualities on top of that.  A child might score in the 99.8^th percentile on an intelligence test, however, they might not learn in a way that would allow them to succeed at Logan. One thing to also understand is that, while Logan does offer instruction to 4 year olds, those children must be “Kindergarten-ready”.  Logan does not consider true age as much as they do readiness, both emotionally and intellectually.

Logan looks at the child “as a whole” through the admission process and considers heavily each aspect of the application package including the 2 hour observation of the child, an intelligence test score, teacher evaluations, and the parent questionnaire.  The admission process is lengthy but there is a reason for it.  There are typically very few spots for incoming 4 and 5 year olds.  For the 2009/2010 school year there was approximately 1 spot for every 2 applicants and even fewer openings for the younger students.  There were also quite a few sibling applicants and they are given first priority.

Parents are expected to participate in school fundraisers including an annual spring auction and to also be involved in school and classroom activities.  Volunteerism and philanthropy are a very important part of the school community.  There is a well-established Parent Association and a Board of Trustees that manage Logan’s events and affairs.

You should consider this school heavily if you are able to afford private school and believe your child could prosper within an experiential environment.  Do think long and hard about the fact that, if accepted, your child could be in this school for 10 or more years.  There are only about 248 students and it goes from age 4 through 14, or until high school.  Making the transition to a traditional high school has been known to be tricky, but students coming from Logan tend to adjust quickly, especially in the more advanced classes, due to their independence and ability to apply their experiences to each new learning environment.

We welcome your comments and impressions on your experience with The Logan School.

Testing, Who Needs It?

We all like to think, or hope, our kids are pretty darn smart.  We throw them praises for counting to 100, for remembering and retaining things that happened years ago, for reading “the cat chased the rat”, or for constructing a complicated Lego contraption.   We are told they’re bright by their teachers, relatives and friends, but are they?  Are they really as gifted as we think they are?

There is no telling that where you send them for Elementary School will determine a whole lot in their future, after all, there are plenty of extraordinary and successful individuals that went through the most feeble of early childhood education.  Nonetheless, if you seek to get some answers about your child’s intellectual talent, here are the ways:

Private School Testing:

In Denver, there are three private Kindergarten-age school programs that require a cognitive assessment. They are: The Logan School, Colorado Academy and Ricks Center for Gifted Children (part of the University of Denver). Graland and Stanley British Primary used to required these tests several years ago and starting next fall, Graland will once again require cognitive testing.

The two accepted tests are called the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (or WPPSI-III) which The Logan School prefers and the newer version of the Differential Abilities Scale (DAS-II) which Colorado Academy prefers.  Graland will accept either one of these.  The tests are for ages 2-5 years and for older children (6+) there is a different assessment called the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV).

If you are considering one of the previously mentioned schools for your child, then you will need to speak to a Child Psychologist who is trained in and specializes in administering cognitive assessments.  Typically you can speak with a Child Psychologist (schools can provide you with a list of names) on the phone to first assess the need for the test and to answer any questions you might have about the child’s learning style.

If you’re expecting to prep your child for one of these tests, think again.  According to Child Psychologist, Dr. Mary Monroe, if a parent were to prep or train their children on the subject matter, the integrity of the test would be compromised and wouldn’t be a true test of a child’s cognitive abilities.  The child’s score would not be valid if the information they are being tested on isn’t novel to them.  It is supposed to measure cognitive abilities and is NOT a measure of achievement.  A Child Psychologist (via the test) is looking to see how a child’s brain responds to a novel experience (left brain vs. right brain, visual vs. language, spatial relationships, analytical, etc.) which will provide a truer sense of the child’s abilities as opposed to how well they have studied the material. Here is an explanation of the Wechsler Tests on Wikipedia.

Public School Testing:

In the Denver Public School System there are three different types of assessments given to children based on their age and need.

Early Entrance

If you are considering Kindergarten for your child but they do not meet the birth date cutoff of October 1^st for the following year…you may take the Early Entrance assessment which is administered by the DPS Early Education Department.  As stated on their Website, the Early Entrance assessment is available for children with exceptional academic need who turn 5 years old between October 2 and December 31 of the year of enrollment. The Board of Education policy stipulates that students must have extraordinary academic need for early entrance.” The fee for this assessment is $50. 

Advanced Kindergarten

DPS offers Advanced Kindergarten classrooms in eight elementary schools that are specifically designed for academically advanced kindergarten students in the areas of reading and math. These classrooms provide a full-day curriculum that enriches, expands and accelerates state and district kindergarten standards according to student academic readiness and assessed curriculum mastery. The Advanced Kindergarten Program is a part of the full-day Tuition Based Kindergarten Program. There is a test/assessment that is administered by the DPS Early Education Department for these programs for a $50 fee as well. The application is an additional $50 fee.

Advanced Kindergarten classrooms are available in the following elementary schools and you must apply to your neighborhood school or go through the choice process (through the Advanced Kindergarten Dept. and NOT the School of Choice Dept.) if it is not your district: Archuleta Elementary, Bradley International School, Edison Elementary, Gust Elementary, Palmer Elementary, Polaris at Ebert, Stedman Elementary and William Roberts School.

Highly Gifted & Talented

There are also eight schools that offer the Highly Gifted & Talented Magnet program in the Denver Public School System: Polaris at Ebert, Southmoor Elementary, Carson Elementary, Cory Elementary, Edison Elementary, Teller Elementary, Archuleta Elementary and Gust Elementary. Qualifying students will be offered placement in their area HGT Magnet site based on their home address and their DPS neighborhood school. A child has to be “nominated”, during their first grade year, for the Highly Gifted & Talented Program. A child can also be “self-nominated” if a parent chooses to do this for their child.  If accepted, the child will be placed with other students with similar abilities and taught by trained teachers.

There is an application on the DPS Website for this nomination and it’s typically due in early November.  If you are seeking for your child to be nominated and your school offers the HGT program, you should discuss it with their teacher. There is no single criterion that determines Highly Gifted & Talented students, rather several in combination, including observation by teachers and an assessment given by the DPS Department Psychologist.  Typically, the students that are a part of the HGT program are the top 5^th percentile of those tested.

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Hopefully, this breakdown will help you in determining what will be the best path for your child and eliminate some of the mystery in this process.  I, for one, had trouble navigating through the muddy waters during my quest and am still in the process of figuring out a final path to take.  Sometimes it can be tricky, especially if you have a potentially gifted child, but they do not meet the cutoff date for enrollment.  There is an onslaught of new questions that arise because of this.  Do they do Kindergarten twice?  Do they go Early Entrance AND to Advanced K?  Is it better or worse for a boy or a girl?  Only you can make that choice…and instinct will lead you there.

Hello world. Or better yet, hello Denver for now!  

We are bringing you the scoop today because, well, there is a need for it!  

Here is the premise: This is the scoop about getting your head wrapped around the school “situation” in Denver that can be maddening, confusing, and downright frustrating.  So we are bringing you this blog in order to provide some insight and some relief in your quest to do right by your children when it comes to their early education. 

Here is my (Jenn’s) story and then you will hear from Kerri:

When our family first moved to Denver almost four years ago, our son was 7 months old.  Little did we know that we should have been investigating the school situation here when he was a mere zygote.  

My husband and I began our citywide edu-tour when Andrew was about a year old and we were ready to relinquish him to the world.  What we didn’t realize, was that getting your child into pre-school, or even daycare for that matter, is like training for getting into college, but it’s the parents choice and not the child’s choice….this time!  

We visited in-house day care facilities, “corporate” daycare facilities, ECE programs at public schools, Montessori and non-Montessori situations and what we found, for the most part, was that waiting lists were years long.  Huh?   How were we supposed to know about this?  As first time parents, this seemed preposterous.  How could anyone get back to life or a career  if they had to wait year or longer to get proper care for their child?

After a short stint in an in-home facility, we found ourselves wanting more structure and “real school” environment for our child.  What we weren’t sure of was where that would be.  We found ourselves on waiting lists for several locations, but came across a Montessori School that accepted children from 6 weeks to 6 years old.  The school had just moved locations to a new building and had the space now for children in their Toddler Community (18 months to 3 years).  This was it!  Now we just had to wait for him to become “of age”.  I never thought I’d want to have my first born hurry up and get older so quickly but alas, he did.  

It was a tough transition but like they always say, it’s probably harder for the parent than it is for the child.  Our 18 month was, and still is, a mama’s boy so it took several months for him to get into the groove of sharing space and time with 14 other children.  This coming May (2009) he will have been in this school for three years.  Not in our wildest dreams could we have imagined that our now 4.5 year old would have needed or received the education that he has gotten – we are thrilled.  We owe a lot to his teachers; that is for sure.  We also have high hopes for our 2 year old son, Torin, who has been at the same school since he was 9 months old.  We shall see!  

This leads me to my next point.  Now that Andrew is 4.5 years old, the Kindergarten and Elementary school whirlwind has begun. Once again, we find ourselves in a flurry of school tours that include the gamut of public, private, faith based and charter, (see upcoming related article). There is also DPS Advanced Kindergarten and Early Entrance, testing and applications to think about. Since Andrew’s birthday is in late October, he just misses the deemed October 1st cutoff date for the Denver Public School system.  This is a date that a lot of private schools follow as well.

I find myself often thinking that I need a matrix for all of this crap.   A simple Excel spreadsheet will not do (though I do have one of these).  The problem is that tuition changes from year to year, the rules change from year to year, as do the tour dates, the due dates, the public school zones and the choicing process.  It’s a moving target that requires the power of something more complex to rein in all of the data.

So, where does that leave us all?  We hope that the insight and information you seek about the schooling dilemma can be found here.  At least we tried.