High Maintenance Mom

Today, February 1st, was kindergarten registration day at many schools in our area. Our district has a lottery, which may have only slightly better odds than the Powerball for certain schools, and is definitely difficult for anyone who is mathematically inclined. Friends from our pee wee tennis class, however, are at a school where being first in line counts for something. Like trying to get concert tickets many years ago, sometimes all you get for waiting in line for 20 hours is a little sympathy and a spot on the waitlist...

Yes, you read that correctly. A friend joined the line around 11:30 am yesterday to register this morning and is currently 9th on the waitlist for his neighborhood school. Apparently there are not very many spots to begin with, there are about 30 siblings who have priority, and the school is anticipating about five children will repeat kindergarten. Luckily, 9th is a good place to be; some of the kids ahead of them will end up going to private school so it's likely they will get in.

Even though my school is part of a lottery system, there were plenty of parents waiting in line when I arrived at 9 am this morning. Yep, the parents who were on the first tours with me in January were also first in line this morning. So I was able to see potential friends from the tours and meet other potential friends from my neighborhood.

I found going to my home school to register to go to another school to be a little strange. For those who are conflict adverse, it might be a difficult thing to do. It felt as though I was saying, "thank you so much for your help but your school isn't good enough for my child" to the very nice administrative assistant who was helping me navigate the 10+ application forms. Which, of course, then makes me suspicious that the transfer forms were really turned in properly. It would be nice to have some sort of receipt from the process that showed I had done the paper work properly. But if I'm dreaming about making the experience better, I would happier knowing if my child got in now instead of having to wait until May.

After going through the process, I have a few suggestions.

• If your school has a first come policy like my friend's school, make a plan for waiting in line. I heard the first person got in line at 10 am and then there were about 35 more people who joined in between 10 and 11:30. The others knew to come by because friends called each other. Last year the earliest person was in line at 3pm so if you weren't informed, you weren't going to get into the school. I have no comment on this type of system other than to say that if that's the school you want your kids to attend, you have to figure out how to play the game.
• Collect your paperwork in advance. Our district had most of the required items online. We needed to bring a copy of the deed to our house or a recent property tax bill (rental agreement for renters); a birth certificate or passport; immunization record; and a current utility bill. My husband and I had spent about an hour the night before assembling all the paperwork. At the office, I had to fill out the registration form, School of Choice transfer form, a manilla envelope for receiving the lottery results, and a registration check off list. There was also a dental form and doctor form that will need to be turned in later. The registration form required tiny handwriting and very good vision. It might have been more challenging if I had had to camp out in the parking lot the night before.
• Tour schools in the area and talk with the other parents. I've received a lot of feedback from the parents I've met on the tours that has been very helpful. It turns out that at least one of the more wealthy neighborhoods had meetings with the superintendent of the district. Some of the neighborhood preschools also had meetings. Since we don't live in the organized neighborhood or attend a preschool in our city, we missed some of the informational meetings that might have been helpful. Other places to meet parents in your neighborhood is through activities such as music classes, sports classes, religious activities, working out at your local gym and playing in your local parks.
• And most of all, try to approach the process with a sense of humor. I'm sure the first day of school will be at least as challenging.

Related post: Kindergarten tour prep.