Choosing an Elementary School...

One would think that choosing an elementary school in this day and age would not be a big deal. Right? Not so anymore. When I went to school my parents simply enrolled me in the local public schools where I grew up. They were wonderful schools. Granted some had their quirky teachers; but what school doesn't.

When we bought our current home almost 9 years ago now, we did not even think about whether or not we were in a good school district...much less the idea of having kids. Sara as most of you know is a miracle baby; and we feel very blessed to have her in our lives. So a couple years after she was born and being actively involved in parent groups and such, it was brought to my attention that I should start looking into school systems.

In doing research we sadly discovered that our local elementary school in our district is well below standards. Within the last year we did our research and were happy to find out that the Anchorage School District offers many "alternative" schools of choice to families.

An alternative school uses a standard curriculum and teaching methods that are more or less teacher or student directed. Most programs require a great deal of parent involvement. Some are offered with a standard school ("school within a school) while others are housed in free-standing buildings.

The downside of getting accepted into one of these programs is the part we disliked the most; which is the process of a "Lottery". You literally apply for a school and your child's name along with hundreds of other applicants are placed in a "hat" and then drawn one at a time. It is just insane. Some families hit the jackpot and will get accepted to several schools, while others don't get selected for any and have to be put on a wait list which does not guarantee anything.

Well....Sara was very very L-U-C-K-Y!!! On March 20th I was feeling the pressure like many as to whether or not we would be called or not. A short time after lunch we received a call from "Eagle Academy Charter School" http://www.eagleacademycharterschool.com/. It was the first school we heard from. This smaller school offers only one Kindergarten class with 25 openings; 13 of those openings went to siblings leaving only 12 remaining. Sara was #6 on the list. Talk about odds. In comparison to other schools we applied to in which there were 60 openings; we knew the likelihood in a school like Eagle Academy would be slim.

Eagle Academy turned out to be one of our top 2 choices. This school is located in Eagle River, just North of Anchorage. It takes me only 10 minutes to get there; which is amazing since the majority of the other schools located in Anchorage take me 25 minutes or longer. It is a very structured school which has won achievement awards in reading, writing, language and math. They promote patriotism, building self-confidence and independence. Sara will have to wear a uniform, which I was not so sure on, but all and all I think she will end up loving them...at least I hope so.

So as of this day, this is our school for the next 6-7 years. Two of our other top choices we are sitting very low on the wait list and the likelihood of a position coming available are slim to none. There is one other school that we have not heard from that we would consider if offered a position; but both Bill and I are very confident that Eagle Academy is it! The feeling of relief that both Bill and I feel is extraordinary. In fact when the school did call - Bill answered the phone...after writing down the information and hanging up, he came over to me to tell me and I completely lost it and started to cry my eyes out. It was a feeling like a gigantic weight had been lifted off my chest and I could breathe - knowing that my daughter would have this amazing opportunity in the beginning of her schooling years. This will be a great stepping stone for her.

So unless you hear otherwise, I will say again that Eagle Academy is it.

Congratulations my "Love", you deserve it.