Progress Reports

Today marks the last Monday of attendance* in the Chicago Public Schools' 2010-2011 academic year. The Boy and The Girl will receive their final progress report during their one-hour of attendance on Friday. The Tot Who Isn't will receive his on Wednesday. And, apparently, individual Chicago Public Schools will receive a progress report before September as well.

At least that's what Jean-Claude Brizard, Chicago Public Schools' newest chief, said this afternoon when a group of parents and I met with him.

Haven't we done this before? Will Mr. Brizard reveal new data that wasn't previously available on the CPS website? Sure, navigating the CPS website is/was difficult, as Mr. Brizard pointed out in his remarks to us today. But while reporting the data is important, it's significantly less important (at least to our audience) than improving the number of high-quality educational seats available across the board. After all, nearly everyone in the room could share a story--whether personal, familial or anecdotal--of parental frustration in navigating the application process or gaining admission to a school of their choice.

I feel fortunate (OK, I feel like I won the lottery) that The Girl, The Boy and The Tot Who Isn't attend a school that is a school of choice for much of the northwest side. The Boy is going into 3rd grade, so now I'm looking at high schools. I'm pleased to see the Northside High School Initiative and the increased interest in and support of Lakeview High, but that doesn't do much for kids out here in the boondocks of the northwest side. They deserve a great high school option as well, I told Mr. Brizard. Another parent echoed this sentiment, sharing that the handful of well-known great high schools (Northside Prep, Jones, Whitney Young, Walter Payton) don't provide enough seats to enroll all of the kids like ours, who will likely come out of their current school well-prepared and excited for a vigorous, challenging high school education. Mr. Brizard pointed out that there are other great high schools outside of this list, but they are less known because of the lack of data on them.

Such things are possible. But as a research-oriented parent, I am a bit skeptical.

Mr. Brizard pointed out that within CPS, there are essentially two school systems. Some people, he noted, have choices. Some do not. Call me what you will, but it's important enough to me to burn time with the CEO of the CPS to advocate for increased high school opportunities (or choices) for our elementary school's current population. While I'd argue that our group, as parents of children in a highly sought-after magnet school, was not really in the "non-choice" group, I can get behind an initiative that brings more information (and more transparency, and more accountability, per Mr. Brizard) to a wider swath of the city's population. Provided that the information itself has real meaning. (What does it mean that School A's academic performance was above/below the citywide average for last year? Is the number of teachers who choose to stay at a school more important than the number of teachers who are retained?).

It's not surprising that Mr. Brizard didn't yet have concrete plans for how he'd accomplish an increase in educational choices. I mean, he's only been in the job for less than a month. While he did tout his 25 years of experience as a school administrator and high school teacher, he does have a monster of a job in front of him: improving educational opportunities for all, on a shoestring budget, and in the face of parental non-involvement, poverty and other obstacles to success. I'm curious to see how he'll implement plans to introduce "new school operators," to CPS and how those operators, such as Expeditionary Learning, will improve educational outcomes.

Only time will tell. I'll be watching.



* For regular schedule track schools

Choosing the right school for your child - glimpses of life on the other side

I sometimes feel as if I’m a character in a plebeian version of The Nanny Diaries. As an activist, blogophile, volunteer and mother to three children within the Chicago Public Schools, I am often asked what I think about the system as it stands now. Do I like my children’s school? Do I regret not sending my children to an SE program? Would I make the same decision? How did I know that the school is the right fit for my kids? How do I know that now?

The people doing the asking are much the same as I was a couple of years ago. They are concerned about the arduous and very important task of educating our children. They are unable or unwilling to consider private schools, and are committed to city living. They are also worried and scared about what is going to happen in the next 5-6 months, and how those decisions—entirely out of their control—will affect their children.

The truth is: I don’t know these things. I was not sure if the school I chose for The Boy was the right one for his style of learning. Before we had ever seen the inside of a classroom, met more than one teacher or the principal, or had any idea what the school would actually be like, The Dad and I were attracted to the technology aspect of the school. I’ve heard Karen Lewis say that, although we're living in the 21st century, our school system is still based on a 19th century model. While it may be the only issue upon which Ms. Lewis and I agree, that technology is integral to the success of our society, both now and in the future, seems indisputable. 

How can a parent accurately judge what kind of learner their 5-year-old is? I often try to be deliberate and thoughtful in my parenting, but trying to figure out how to match the tab to the slots feels like rocket science: infinitely difficult. My criteria for choosing The Boy’s school went something like this:

1. He got in
2. It’s walking distance from our house
3. It’s got a technology focus
4. It’s a new school with new equipment
5. Its teachers are well-spoken and well-dressed
6. It’s backed by Boeing

Some studies suggest that it may not really matter anyway: family involvement is critical to student success.

And if The Boy’s kindergarten year was any indication, The Dad and I were very involved in his academic progress. I think this was the hardest adjustment for me. When I was in K in 1979, I went for 2.5 hours, sang songs, drew pictures, learned my letters and how to get along with the other kids in my class. I didn't have daily homework until I was in 7th grade. But my kindergartner had daily homework in the second week.

The current educational climate expects children to do more work at a faster pace and at more advanced levels than it did when I was in K. It seems like K is the new 1st grade, preschool is the new K. And the level of teachers' and administrators' expectations of children is so much higher than it was 20-30 years ago.

I was wary of the academic pressure on a 5-year-old who hadn’t yet decided that learning was a fun activity. Was I doing the right thing? Why weren’t my friends’ kids doing so much work? How much is too much? But: the teachers were so nice and so passionate about their work and the kids. The administration held fast to the belief that this was the best way. So we stuck it out, gritting our teeth at first until we became accustomed to the level of work required of our 5-year-old.

I’m a pragmatic decision-maker – this means I like to see results rather than every data point under the sun. And I can see the results in The Boy’s academic progress. Two-and-half years later, I’m still not sure what kind of learner The Boy is. But I do know this: he is thriving.

What's New?

I have not been posting lately because we have not been doing much. There are two reasons for this. The first is that “the economy” has highlighted my own budgetary shortfalls. The second—and bigger—reason is the logistics of three children makes it difficult to plan outings. With The Girl in preschool everyday for just 2.5 hours, The Tot needing a nap every afternoon, and The Boy in school until nearly 4 p.m., there's no time for adventuring. Compounding the issue is that I dislike crowded places and have been spoiled by 5 years of going to museums during quiet weekdays; it's hard for me to muster the energy to schlep through a crowded museum on a weekend afternoon.

I've been spending my mornings running errands, taking The Tot to the occasional class, and puttering around the house with The Tot. And my afternoons watching Dora episodes with The Girl and performing miscellaneous household tasks while The Tot naps, with playdates (either hosted or drop-off) thrown in here and there to mix things up. By the time The Boy gets home from school, there's enough time to do a load of laundry and a sinkful of dishes, start dinner, and supervise homework before dinner and bedtime.

Partially because of this -- and partially because I've realized that there is so much in Chicago for little kids that I don't know about -- I've decided to shift the focus of this blog. I hope that doesn't bother my readership -- all five of you! I remember how disappointed I was when a blog I had been following -- American Expat -- shifted its focus from a subject I was interested in (Americans living in The Hague) to one that I wasn't (Ukraine adoption). I still plan to post about our adventures in Chicago, but I'll also include more information about our daily lives -- so if you're still reading, consider this fair warning of impending boredom. :) If nothing else,* it will give me a nice record of my days as a harried mother of 3 small children.
* My mother is decidedly not among my readership. She thinks that blogging is the worst sort of egotism.

The Tower

Today, I went on a field trip with The Boy's class to the Sears Tower. It was a field trip that is only possible in the city; it was very different from the field trips of my youth, which invariably involved a sack lunch and a big yellow schoolbus. Instead, 50 kindergarteners, 2 teachers, 1 aide, and about 30 other parents walked two blocks from the school to the Metra station and climbed aboard a fairly crowded train to Ogilivie Station. We disembarked downtown and walked the 6 blocks to the Sears Tower. I had charge of two kids -- The Boy and another little boy in his class (J).

It was great fun to parade through the city to the Sears Tower. There was a huge caravan of kid-parent-kid trios; our party took up most of the length of a city block. Our walk was primarily through the financial district, so we passed a lot of suits. They didn't seem particularly amused, but when the market is in the can, it may be hard to appreciate a bunch of little kids taking over the sidewalk.

It was gray and overcast so the Sky Deck wasn't particularly crowded, but there were a lot of turnstiles, etc. to go through before we could actually reach the big, bad elevator. We went through security, had tourist photos taken, watched a (really very interesting) video (by the History channel) about the Sears Tower's construction, and waited in line before we finally made it up to the top. Most of the kids were pretty hungry by the time we actually got to the top so it seemed like a very short visit up there.

The Boy's teacher, Mrs. Callaghan, had prepared a worksheet of things the kids should look for when they got to the top. When we initially got out of the elevator and out by the glass, The Boy was pretty scared. He did not want to go near the windows. J., on the other hand, was crawling under the railing to lean his body directly on the glass. The Boy warmed up to coming to the railing a bit later. He and I had great fun finding the landmarks from the worksheet -- Marina Towers, Buckingham Fountain, the United Center, Wrigley Building, Merchandise Mart, etc. My other little charge, J., pointed out the boats along the river and the trains. The field trip was the end note of a unit on community. The height of the tower allowed the kids to see just how big their community really is.

By then, everyone was hungry and the kids were having trouble maintaining a good behavior standard. We hauled back to Ogilvie Station to have lunch at McDonald's in the food court on the first floor. Unfortunately, it was 12:30 when we arrived and the food court was packed with office workers, so it was hard to get seats. However, we did manage to get all the kids seated and eating their McNugget meals. The Dad came over from his office to meet us and I dashed over to Arby's to get something for myself. I bought both The Boy and J. a cookie from Mrs. Field's to eat on the train, inadvertently sparking a trend among other parents on the trip.

We managed to score most of a car to ourselves for the train ride back. With full tummies, the kids' energy returned and the ride back was noisy with the energetic chattering of 50 happy kindergarteners. It started to rain just as we pulled into the station, so The Boy, J., and I raced back to school before the sky really opened up. It was a lot of fun.

Northbrook Court

The elf had some shopping to do, so The Tot and I headed directly up to Hanna Andersson in Northbrook Court after school drop-off this morning. I made excellent time on the Edens, so we got there well before the stores were open. I let The Tot explore a bit -- he dug the escalators, of course, as well as the water feature near the elevator. We swung past The Corner Bakery for a latte and a Monster cookie for The Tot (He's learned how to say "bite," which is the cutest thing. He'll say it, open his mouth wide, and shove the proffered item into my mouth) and went over to the center treehouse to eat/drink them.

The treehouse was not very busy, and the kids who were there were primarily wee ones like The Tot or 3-year-old girls like The Girl. I was thankful for this as it allowed The Tot to feel comfortable enough to explore the structure while I drank my lukewarm coffee (my least favorite thing about the suburbs: cold "hot" drinks!*). Unfortunately, he didn't get to stay and play for too long; we had to get back to the city by 11:30 to fetch The Girl from preschool, so we skedaddled upstairs as soon as the shops opened. I also accidentally left The Tot's jacket hanging on the fence by the treehouse, so we got to make an extra trip on the escalators. In the span of 45 minutes, I managed to hit HA, Gymboree, and the Stride Rite store for a new pair of shoes for The Tot. And I still got to school well before 11:30.




* in the interest of fairness, I'll note my most favorite thing about the suburbs: cheap(er) gas.

Labor Day

This year's Labor Day was momentous in that it was the first time that it was the last day of summer for us. The Boy officially starts school as a Kindergartener tomorrow. As such, we had a very low-key, relaxed sort of day.

I made a salad caprese in the morning and we packed it, The Boy, The Girl, and The Tot into the car and headed to Cara's house for a Labor Day cookout. We stopped at Oakbrook Centre so that I could make a return, and to have lunch (Nordstrom Cafe; it was The Dad's first time!) beforehand. We had planned to leave the cookout by 5 or so to ensure that The Boy and The Girl got into bed on-time and with routines intact, but it didn't work out that way. All three kids fell asleep on the car ride home. The Boy was so exhausted that he transferred into his bed, but The Tot came with me to Walgreen's and The Girl stayed up watching TV before she tiring out enough to go back to bed.

Back to School Carnival

On Tuesday, we will officially be Disney II parents. Last night was the "back to school" carnival, a somewhat chaotic, but very fun and neighborly 2-hour event in and around the new Disney II. The Dad, The Boy, The Girl, The Tot, and I caravanned over to the school at 5 p.m. for the start of the carnival. The Dad pushed the stroller, while I pulled The Boy's filled-to-the-brim blue IKEA bag of school supplies in the wagon.

We saw The Boy's new classroom (a modified "pod" structure that uses a partition to separate two kindergarten classrooms) and met his teacher, and ran our eyes over the class list. I think I knew one person in my class on the first day of kindergarten; The Boy will know five. All summer long he has declared that he doesn't want to go to school, but either its inevitability finally dawned on him or he found the carnival super fun because this morning he told Grandma Texas that he is going to kindergarten on Tuesday. Phew!

The Dad has been volunteering with the technology coordinator in the building all week; he was impressed by how much they had gotten done renovations-wise in only 48 hours. The Girl's classroom was still under construction, so she didn't get to see it. But she did get to meet her teacher, Mr. Manesis, again and ended up playing with his 3-y/o girl on the playground.

We saw the building, dropped off supplies, ran into lots and lots of people we knew, ate food from Smoque and Chicago's Pizza & Pasta, watched the Jesse White Tumblers, and ran ourselves crazy on the playground. The Tot, The Girl, and The Boy were all exhausted by the time we left and got them all into bed.

Museuming

My kids don't go back to school until September 2. However, most of the suburban districts as well as the Roman Catholic schools are already back in session. Which made today and the next 5 days the perfect time to go to Chicago's museums and other attractions (we plan to make our annual pilgrimage to Kiddieland next week).

This afternoon, we met Allison and her kids at the Museum of Science & Industry, undoubtedly my favorite Chicago museum. In fact, I think I need to go there one day by myself so that I can actually explore the exhibits in a way that allows me to gain something from them. My big brain challenge of today was trying to remember all the element symbols on the "chem time" clock in the Idea Factory (in addition to keeping track of 6 kids all wanting to go in different directions). I really want to see the Green + Wired and Glass Experience exhibits.

Thanks to the museum's fee special right now (until September 1), I paid only $12 to enter the museum. Street parking in the neighborhood directly adjacent to the museum is pretty easy to come by, so that and my $2 coffee and chips were my only expenditures for today's outing*. Although I'd love to join MSI, I'm maxed out on museum memberships right now. My Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum membership gives us 50% off at MSI through a reciprocity agreement; in the future, entrance to MSI will be $15 for me and 2 kids (The Tot is still free).

My kids can spend hours in The Great Train Story exhibit (it and the Jollyball are must-sees for every visit), but today we spent most of our time in the Idea Factory (the Jollyball wasn't working). The Tot immediately dumped about 5 bucketfuls of water down his front, soaking his shoes, shorts, and shirt. Then he had great fun putting balls in the air tube connected to the "factory river." It was such a joy to see him work out how to reach up on his toes to put the ball in the hole. He didn't get it every time, but when the older kids (non-siblings and friends) didn't rush to grab his ball, he'd go after his ball and try again. He smiled every time he saw his ball go up and over in the tube. By 5 p.m., he was wiped from all that work and just wanted to be held.

Allison took The Girl and her girl to see Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle, which they both loved, while I stayed in the Idea Factory with the boys. We also saw Farm Tech briefly -- just long enough for The Boy, The Girl, and Enver and Peri to "drive" the ginormous John Deere tractor -- and went back up to The Great Train Story before heading out at around 5:30, closing time.


* And $11.13 for 3 McDonald's Happy Meals on the way home as it was dinnertime as we left and a week's worth of single parenthood had dwindled my supply of easy-fix meals.

One on One

Today was a lovely day. I started out the day by taking The Boy to his STEP UP literacy assessment at Disney 2. I chatted with some other moms, including Ms. Sandra from CFC, as we waited for our almost-Kindergarteners to be assessed. Afterwards, I extended our one-on-one time by taking The Boy to our neighborhood Starbucks for a lemonade and seasonal cookie (him) and latte and seasonal cookie (me). There was a kid with his tutor at the next table over, and The Boy was more interested in what was happening over there than in talking much to me, but it was a nice day and we were sitting outside, so it was cool to just spend easy time together. Then, Mario Greco, our old Realtor happened by. I hadn't seen him since 2002. He and his wife left Lincoln Park to build a place in Old Irving Park. It was nice to see him and catch up a bit. I feel like the fact that Mario is moving to my neighborhood is a sign that it's no longer up and coming, it is there.

We bummed around at home for a bit. The Tot got a nap. We all had lunch. And then I took The Tot, The Boy, and The Girl to run a bunch of errands, including a trip to Costco for ice cream, to Office Max for school supplies, and to Gymboree to exchange The Girl's first-day-of-school dress.

After errands, I dropped The Boy and The Tot back off at home. And The Girl and I went on a Mommy-The Girl playdate. It wasn't much -- just dinner and a bit of shopping at Target. But it was fun to go out with The Girl alone. She is very chatty, and also enjoys helping me (thank you Eloise Wilkin's We Help Mommy). Plus, when left as the director of an outing, she's much more likely to listen to what her body is telling her; at 7:30, she told me that she was ready to go home and go to bed. So we did.

School's Out for the Summer!

At least for The Boy. The Girl still has 3 days left of MDO. This morning, however, The Boy went to school. And The Girl, The Baby, and I had a full day of errands. The timing of our day worked out nicely with the weather: we ran errands in the rain and then came home to play in the backyard when the sun came out.

First, I loaded up the car with our recyclables and headed to the Recycling Center at North Park Village. The Girl helped me, while I tried to throw bottles in one-handed with The Baby under the other arm (lest he wander into the parking lot).

That finished, we headed up to Schaumburg. First to pick up The Dad's birthday present at REI. And then to have lunch and get a replacement at IKEA. The Girl ate all of her kids' mac & cheese, while The Baby concentrated his efforts on his mashed potatoes. The Girl asked to go into Smalland, so I dropped her off. The Baby and I wandered around for a bit, picking up this and that. We checked out, grabbed our replacement from the returns department, and circled back upstairs to pick up The Girl from Smalland. She had a great time, although she reported watching "a scary movie" in the center. (It turned out to be an episode of Scooby Doo). The downstairs cafe is under construction, so no end-of-IKEA ice cream. We got a chocolate bar instead.

We picked up The Boy (and all of his stuff!) at school, and ran one last errand -- to pick up our pre-ordered, subsidized (by the city) rain barrel (ah, the irony...) from the Crafty Beaver on Montrose. When we got home, it was like unpacking the clown car -- there was so much in there.

The Boy, The Girl, and The Baby played outside -- a neighbor gifted us a plastic Little Tykes picnic table, adding to our collection of backyard plastics -- while I cleaned up part of the basement (the part within earshot of the backyard) and tidied up the lawn.

CPS, you are killing me

I just called the Office of Academic Enhancement again to see what's going on with the Disney 2 notifications. The woman who answered the phone told me that they lotteries are being run now, letters should go out this afternoon, and we should know "no later than Friday." Tuition-based and free preschools' classes have already been assigned, but I asked whether today's lotteries were for certain classes or the whole school. She told me that it was for the whole school.

Friday Frenzy

I am beat. It has been a long day and a long week.

The Dad took The Boy to school this morning, and brought me home a coffee. I was going to go back to bed, but I sat in it and read last week's paper instead. Then I put The Baby down for a nap, left The Dad working in the basement, and took The Girl to Julie's 11 a.m. Advanced Music class. She had a great time learning about the different "families" of musical instruments.

After music class, we stopped at the Farmer's Market Garden Center to pick out some plants for the garden. The Girl was very excited to pick out plants. We got some pretty purple annuals for the front planters, which she then helped me plant when we got home.

The Baby woke up, we had a quick lunch, and picked up The Boy from school. We went over to Ethan's house for a playdate.

By the time we got home, The Girl was exhausted. She passed out on The Dad. I put The Baby to bed also, and The Boy and I had a little date together. We went to the Golden Nugget for dinner (his choice) and then to his school's art show. Service was slow tonight, but the food was good as usual. I got the short stack of pancakes (I always liked their pancakes over Alp's), and The Boy got his usual order of chicken fingers and chocolate milk. Our old neighbors were sitting in the next booth over. As an "art mom," I found the art show rather anti-climatic, but The Boy had a good time running around with his friends and showing me his stuff.

And now, I am exhausted and going to bed.

Vienna Beef

Yesterday, I took The Baby to the Vienna Beef Factory Store & Cafe for lunch. It's one of our new favorite destinations because it's on the way to the Treasure Store, it's fast, and we can split an order of 2 Chicago-style dogs and fries for $4.25. The Baby loves hot dogs. Perhaps because it's at the factory, the dogs often have unsealed-at-the-ends casing, which actually works out well for me, because that is the part that The Baby has the most trouble eating, and I can just peel it off.

He sat in a regular chair pulled up to the table, although two people offered to get me a highchair for him. I assured them that he'd be fine in a chair, and he was. He looked so little and so grown-up at the same time, sitting there in his rockstar guitar t-shirt, baggy Boden jeans, and baby Cons.

We brought the paper boat of fries with us, and he ate them happily while sitting in his stroller at the Treasure Store as I looked through the racks for jeans and pants for me. I ended up with a pair of Buffalo by David Bitton jeans, bright green J. Crew pants (that I plan to cut down into Bermuda shorts), and pale green Limited dress pants (with nobody inside 'em!*). All for a mere $13. By the time we got upstairs, however, The Baby was done with the Treasure Store. He was only slightly impressed with the original Fisher-Price, made in the U.S.A., plastic horses ball I found in the housewares aisle.

The rest of my day was fairly busy as well: I volunteered to prep art projects for hanging for St. Bart's art fair on Friday, so I spent the morning stringing fishing line into different fish art pieces for hanging. I took all three kids to Target after school to buy new Big Girl Underwear for The Girl. I did laundry. And I went to book club at Elephant Thai (my entree was great, but I didn't really like the chive dumplings) and the Chocolate Shoppe (weird service, good ice cream -- I tried about 4 different kinds before settling on maraschino cherry) in Edgebrook (cute neighborhood, seemed more like Evanston than the city).



* Does anyone else recite snippets of Dr. Suess books in their head at odd moments? The reference above is to his story, "What Was I Scared Of?)

And so it goes...

More waiting for the folks at CPS. Although families were supposed to receive notification of acceptance into Disney II by May 9, 2008, that isn't going to happen. After checking my mailbox with increasing mania all week, I called the Office of Academic Enhancement today to just ask if The Boy is on The List. The person who answered the phone told me that they have not yet finished all the lotteries for Disney II and she expected letters to go out "on Monday or Tuesday next week" at the earliest. Sigh. The anticipation is killing me.

Queue the Darth Vader music

The application submission date for Disney II just ended on Friday. I confirmed The Boy's application with the Office of Academic Enhancement a few weeks ago, and walked The Girl's pre-K application into the office last Monday. And now I wait. It's nervewracking. Especially as my friend Allison met with Ms. Chkoumbova last week and reported back that they had received 300 applications for 50 kindergarten spots.

I pass IPMS/Disney II at least four times/week on my way to drop off or pick up a child from school. And every time I do, my brain plays the battle music themes from Star Wars, my stomach clenches, and I think a little prayer.

Class Mom

It's been a crazy week of school-momminess. On Monday, I was the "mom of the day" in The Girl's classroom at Mother's Day Out. I never thought I'd say this, but I actually enjoyed four hours in the company of 14 two- and three-year-olds. We played, we listened to a Bible story, we ate lunch, we went to the park and the kids played outside for a long time. I had a kid on my lap nearly all the time, and it almost always was not my child. The Girl was happy to share my lap with her classmates. One little boy had a hilarious (to me, probably because it wasn't my child) non-accidental "accident" that resulted in some pooper-scooper ministrations on the part of his teachers. Once the item was removed from his pants, he was happy to go play again, although Ms. Sandra brought him back early to change him.

On Tuesday, I volunteered as an art mom in The Boy's class, helping a bunch of 4- and 5-year-olds to decorate stuffed fish, sharks, seahorses, and starfish with tissue paper, glitter glue, and various other pretties. I had so much fun with watered-down glue and tissue paper that I bought some for us to do at home one day.

And today, I spent the morning at our Mother's Day Out coffee, trying on Shade t-shirts and spending a small fortune on several to wear throughout the spring and summer.

Belding Tour

Becky (and Baby G!) and I toured Belding Elementary with the assistant principal and another out-of-boundary prospective parent yesterday morning. I wasn't too impressed with the kindergarten teacher that I saw, but if The Boy goes there next year, there's only a 50% chance that he'd get her. And if he does, then we'll cross that bridge. I asked Janine, the director of The Girl's Mother's Day Out co-op, what she thought of that teacher; she said that she thinks that she needs to retire, but that the aide in that class is great. So, we will see. For the most part, however, I liked the teachers and the school. With the exception of the kindergarten teacher we observed, the teachers were young, energetic, and engaging to the kids -- although some of these kids were, of course, distracted by us walking around and peering into classrooms through the doors.

Baby G. was a honing device for little girls in the building.