After 2 years of stressing about what to do about Kindergarten, we have it almost figured out. In fact, we have exactly 6 days to figure it out. So there. We must decide. Enrollment forms are due on 3/15.

Problem is we are really struggling with the decision, which is no surprise. The good news is we know we want her to attend a Montessori school. Ha! Go figure. 3 months ago we weren't even inclined to check out Montessori schools. It's not that we had anything against the method of teaching. In fact, I had grown up hearing family friends praise their Montessori schools. Everyone who's been in them seem to love them. But we are also aware that kids with certain types of personalities are not good matches for their teaching method. The problem was that despite all sorts of research, I couldn't quite piece together WHY and HOW it works. Plus, both Paul and I went to traditional public schools and we think we turned out ok....

So, after immediately rejecting our neighborhood school for not being able to meet our educational expectations, we applied to several charter schools in the area and even checked into a private school. Our neighborhood school teaches to the average child. If a child is behind, he/she will fall further behind because they don't tailor how they teach. If your child is advanced, he/she will quickly become bored as they don't know how to challenge them. This was the standard feedback we got from several neighbors with kids at the school. When we browsed their website and found out that Abby already knew all the math and reading concepts that the Kindergarten kids expect to know before 1st grade, we felt uncomfortable enough to reject it.

Charter schools are public and are open to anyone within the district. Unfortunately, to avoid any sort of discrimination, they rely on a lottery system to get in. On average, about 15% of applicants get in. We ended up so far down the list on our top 2 choices for charter schools that we knew Abby would never get in for Kindergarten. We started panicking because we had only applied to 3 charter schools! At that point, we knew there was one more charter school in the county that we MIGHT be interested in - DCS Montessori Charter. So, we went to check it out and was blown away by what we saw and heard about the Montessori philosophy. Our favorite aspect of Montessori was that students stay with their teachers for 3 years. They learn at their own pace, but INDIVIDUAL educational goals are constantly being evaluated and so closely monitored that each child will leave with the required skill set, almost always more. Within the 3 years, they are exposed to a concept over and over again, during which time they are expected to learn the concept, master it, and have the opportunity to mentor/teach it to their younger peers. Paul and I have always believed that you don't truly learn something - the skill is not truly "yours" - until you are able to teach it to someone else. We saw first hand the level of confidence these kids have. They know their own learning style and are aware of all the resources provided to them to help them learn. Great qualities to have in life. Finally, we were surprised to see first-hand how a couple of second-graders, using about 3 different ways to solve a math problem, helping each other out to finish an assignment involving multiplication so complex I didn't think 5th graders would normally be solving! Our application to DCS Montessori went in.

After being pleasantly surprised at how much we liked the school, we investigated another option. A pure, traditional, Montessori school, but a private one - the Montessori School of Denver. Not being a charter school and requiring to follow state-mandated standards, but rather an independent school, they have the accreditation and ability to tailor their curriculum even further. What stood out when we toured the school was implementation of a lot of feedback from alumni regarding transitioning Montessori students to a traditional high school and college, plus the importance of technology as a resource and knowledge of current events. As we walked through the upper elementary school classes, we saw a frenzy of kids so intensely focused on various research areas regarding the Wikipedia Blackout happening that day! (I didn't know what that was and had to google it after the tour!) It reminded me that someone commented to me, "Why would people do Montessori? Kids all do whatever they want. There's no focus and it's all chaos." It is really quite a shock to observe a class for the first time for anyone more used to the traditional schools because classes do appear very chaotic. But once you're over the discomfort you notice that every child is focused and engaged in their tasks, which are thoughtfully introduced to the kids at specific times. There is so much respect for the child to control what and how they learn that, in turn, they learn to show the same type of respect to others, which is a bonus and a by-product of the Montessori philosophy.

So, returning to the present. We just learned on Monday that we've been accepted at both Montessori schools. Additionally, we are about 30 places down on the waitlist for that last charter school we applied to, which means we're not going to hold our breaths for a spot. DCS Montessori is a charter, so being state-funded, we only have to pay for part-day Kindergarten and 1st - 8th grades are all free. DCS is also just 10 minutes from our house and situated in a spectacular, brand-new building with gorgeous mountain views. But its location would mean that once Abby starts school we will need to transfer Kayleigh to a daycare closer to Castle Rock because it would not make sense for her to stay at the daycare they're both currently at, which is completely out of the way. Kayleigh will be eligible to attend when she turns 3, but she would have to go through a lottery to get in, albeit with sibling priority. The school is well-rated by parents and students. Students score very, very well in the state exams, on par with all the top-rated charter schools in Colorado, but because standardized testing is required, they cannot completely stay away from teaching to the tests.

Montessori School of Denver (MSD) is a private school, so it'll be about $13K a year per child. They have a toddler program and they have accepted both Kayleigh and Abby. They also go through 8th grade and their location is about 10 minutes from where Paul and I both WORK. If we choose to send the girls there, I would be more comfortable having the kids closer to where we are most of the day and it's likely we will move within the next 5 years, and we would definitely be trying to move closer to where we work, so logistically it makes sense. Facility-wise, they are located in a mediocre part of town and certain buildings on their campus were old when they started the school 43 years ago, but things are well-maintained, upgraded as necessary, and some rooms have amazing charm. For example, one of the primary classrooms is a converted barn and the kids' reading nook is a large brick fireplace in the center of the classroom, stuffed with pillows. The school has a great reputation and has maintained their exceptional status in education all these years, students consistently scoring above average compared to others at independent schools. They have an alumni network that is huge and very active, so can be a long-term benefit. But is the COST to BENEFIT ratio worth it?

So, in 6 days, we will make a decision between the two. Both Paul and I have been flip-flopping on this decision every few hours. We're lucky to have two great choices, but it makes the decision very complicated.