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Hi all! You’re the people who have spent as much time thinking about these choices as I have 🙂 we’re having a tough time deciding on school choice and welcome any last minute thoughts/insight!
Kid was an early reader and writer, we did not do any formal prep/teaching but he loves to read and write and has always had an interest in numbers. We’re hoping for a school that can provide some more challenge/meet him where he’s at. For reference, he scored 99 percentile for classical reading and 96 percentile for classical math. (his RGC score was good but not good enough to be competitive at RGC programs – I find this testing stuff all so interesting!)
He’s entering first grade next year and was offered a spot at both Decatur and Disney II Magnet.
I’ve always thought Decatur was the gold standard in my eyes because of excellent academics but also because it is progressive – daily P.E./SEL, no homework for younger grades, etc. It just seems like such a special opportunity. However, it’s about a 20-40 minute drive from our house depending on timing/traffic.
Disney II seems to excel at differentiation/tailored learning, so we’re hopeful he would be challenged there as well. It’s got a lot to like about it as well – progressive homework policy, great arts/music/technology program, And it’s an easy 5 block walk from our house plus the start time works better for my family.
So on the one hand I fear my kid missing out on the opportunity to go to Decatur, but it seems like the commute could be really tough (though he’s an only child so it is doable). Disney II definitely seems like a great option, if not as perfect of a fit, and it is SO much more convenient. So the lifestyle factor is hard to pass up.
Whew, if you read this far, thank you! I don’t expect a lot of people will see this before the deadline but figured I’d give it a shot! We didn’t expect to get two offers and we’re having such a hard time choosing!
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We live in the same neighborhood I think. Decatur is the only classical close enough where we’d be willing to apply to it when the time comes (oldest is going into PreK3 this year), and even then I’m not sure the commute time would work out logistically for us.
If the late start time for Disney II works for you – it would be a big issue for us since they don’t offer before care and we don’t have a stay at home parent – then I think it would make sense to accept.
Depending on what your child’s RGC scores were, they also might be able to get into Beaubien next year for their 1st grade entry if it turns out you aren’t liking Disney II as much as you hoped.
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Agree with @pothosvine! Congrats on two fabulous options. I think I live near both of you, too. My kindergartener has been applying to Disney II since Pre-K, but always ended up on a very long waitlist.
If you don’t like Disney, you can always try for Beaubien next year.
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Thanks for your response! Yes, we’re in OIP just down the street from Disney II. My kid is actually going into 1st grade. Last year we didn’t receive any offers (we applied to Disney II, Decatur, and Bell). For kindergarten he has been at Belding. It’s been a pretty good year for him there! It’s a great community and we’ve been really happy with his teacher, and he’s been exposed to new things like dance (which is one of their essentials). But there hasn’t been an emphasis on differentiated instruction and we can see him getting lost / bored with academics there in the future (on the other hand, maybe he wouldn’t!).
We did list Beaubien as our number 2 choice this year for SEES but even if he hadn’t gotten the Decatur offer, looking at their cut scores I don’t think he would have received an offer from Beaubien (his RGC point total is 172.5/300 – but don’t ask me what that means, ha!)
Anyway, since you’ll be going through the process in a couple years in the same neighborhood, I’m happy to let you know what we decide and how it goes!
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@Confused Mom, please keep us posted, and good luck! P.S. I live just on the border of OIP and Portage Park.
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Thanks for both of your responses and support! We ended up accepting the offer for my son for Disney II. It was so tough! A big factor was trying for a healthy/balanced lifestyle – 7:45 school start makes for a tough wake up for our kid even at nearby Belding, so the 8:30 start time at Disney with a built in walk twice a day seemed like it would be really great for him (I really don’t think he’s been getting enough sleep with the 7:45 start at Belding. He’s one of those kids who takes a bit to wind down in the evenings so he rarely falls asleep in time to get a full 10 hours, which I think he needs). Also, when he’s older he can gain independence by walking to school himself. That is all very valuable to us. We did think he would benefit / be excited by the advanced curriculum at Decatur, but we’re hopeful that Disney will be able to challenge him more than his current school has been able to. And we think he will love the arts and technology component.
So, that’s a little window into our thought process! I don’t think the commute would have been *all* that terrible to Decatur, and I think if it was between Decatur and Belding we definitely would have accepted the Decatur offer. But we just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go to a school that we think will be a great fit, and is also right in our neighborhood!
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