No. 1 Requirement Secured...

When we were deciding on places to live, it was interesting to see how Mike & I viewed what was important about where we were going to be. His no. 1 priority was quite different then mine and it has taken me a few months to start getting him to come around to agreeing with me about the importance of my no. 1 (this isn't to say he didn't think it was important, he just didn't place it as high up on his list of concerns).

Anyway.. so what was my no. 1? Good Schools for our kids. And! This morning I secured Kaylee a spot in a school that I deemed worthy to help educate our children.

ALA is a charter school. People at Mike's work had said good things about it and were happy with the education their children were receiving. It is relatively new (est. mid 2000s), so it can only go up in its accomplishments and programs. I liked what I had researched about it. And comparing it to the local school district in the area of where Michael wants us to live... it surpasses them with flying colors.

It has three schools (elementary, junior high, & high school). I was a little worried about getting her in, because it is a lottery system (and that lottery system might only get you onto a wait list... high demand to get into it). But I was prepared to at least try. Well, when I went into start the lottery process this morning, the register asked me about which grade I was applying for. Then she told me that there was good news, as they had an open spot in the 1st grade (meaning I could bypass the whole lottery/waiting list system). Of course I took it! This also secures a spot for Taylor for K, in the coming years.

I'm intrigued by their use of the 7 habits of highly effective people (Stephen Covey) in their goals for the early grades. Michael liked what he saw from the junior high art displays. We met the elementary school principal and one of the 1st grade teachers. They were all very nice. It looks like there will be plenty of opportunities for Kaylee to grow academically, socially, and extracurricularly. And! They have a dress code (uniforms, with a little bit of variety... I just LOVE the idea of uniforms [plus it will make the school year clothing shopping much easier]). Classroom size seems to be moderately small, which is always a good thing.

I am saddened by the lack of Spanish Immersion programs in Utah (with such a high Hispanic population too). They have a few Immersion programs in the Valley, but they are far and few between with decent waiting lists to go with them. We'll just have to find other ways for our girls to pick up languages at an earlier age.

I can breathe a sigh of relief as I cross this off my list. We now have a bit more flexibility in finding a place to live (none of this, specific neighborhoods to fit into certain school boundaries... and no hoops to jump through as you try convincing a district to place your child in a different school then the one you currently reside near).