Getting a kid into Kindergarten.

[Barnes]

Just wondering if anyone has experienced this and has any advice.

We "registered" our son awhile ago who is eligible to start kindergarten next september and yesterday got a letter from the school saying they are full and he will have to be bussed. We live in Copperfield about 5 minutes walk from the school and they want to bus him to Deer Run.

We picked a preschool that offers bus service to the three catholic schools in our immediate area for before and after care. He's been going there for the last 2 years. Now, we are completely #$%&ed. The one near us is full. Understandable but frustrating. One of the others that his preschool buses to is not full but wont register him because the alternate school in Deer Run is our designated overflow school.

What do I do? Contact the trustee? Is this part of their role dealing with this stuff? The board? Who at the board? Dealing with whomever answers the phones at the various schools is useless.

Any help would be appreciated.

[albertGQ]

Wow that sucks. How can they deny your son from a school that is a 5 minute walk from your house? Seems kind of odd. I wonder if there is a way you can appeal that.

[GGG]

From what I can tell you are screwed.

We were lucky in that Bridlewood school at room now that the public school has opened. But our friends in Evergreen are in the same situation and they were told that they could go to the bridlewood school if their dayhome/daycare was in that area. So maybe if you move your before and after school care to the area of the school you want to go to you will have a chance.

One thing we found out when registering our daughter is that registration for the upcoming kindergarten year starts June (16 months before) at many schools. So we got lucky in that we only registered this october.

[RedMileDJ]

Brutal. One of the things we're taking into account, when we move, is getting into a school that is within walking distance to our new home.

I almost fear the same thing may happen to my wife and I, in a couple years.

[northcrunk]

This has to be the worst thing about school in Calgary. Kid's can't go to the school closest to them because of younger siblings getting first entry. I know of a few people who drive their younger kid to a school that is not in the area they live anymore just so their youngest can go to the same school their brother/sister did. Bakwas.

[northcrunk]

Originally Posted by Red-Mile-DJ

Brutal. One of the things we're taking into account, when we move, is getting into a school that is within walking distance to our new home.

I almost fear the same thing may happen to my wife and I, in a couple years.

A big reason I moved to Chestermere.

[RedMileDJ]

Believe me, it's on the list.

[GGG]

The reason these schools fill up is that the schools are designed for the long term poplulation of a neighbourhood and not the peak boom of kids. All of these 5 to 10 year old neighbourhoods experience this problem as people with young kids move to them.

This approach while frusterating makes a lot of sense as you don't have half empty schools 20 years from now. I perfer the approach of turning the schools into K-4's so that all of the young kids can be schooled close to home and bus the 5-9s elsewhere when they are much more able to independantly take the bus. The public system seems to take this approach whereas the Catholic system seems to want every school to be K-8/9

[Ashartus]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

Wow that sucks. How can they deny your son from a school that is a 5 minute walk from your house? Seems kind of odd. I wonder if there is a way you can appeal that.

I know someone who bought a house across the street from a school. When their kids were school-aged they were told the school was full and they'd have to get bussed to another community - and pay for the busing on top of it. So this isn't anything unheard of unfortunately.

[psicodude]

Start here: http://www.cssd.ab.ca/default.asp?V_ITEM_ID=1774 It contains the names of the people you need to speak to.

First, are you guys catholic? If so, you should be able to get in with a little persistence.

Talk to the principal first, then the superintendent, and then the trustee as a last resort. A sob story about only having one vehicle and you feel it is not safe to bus your 5 year old that far (because it isn't) will help as well. Make sure you are on the waiting list because lots of people move, go to public school, etc.

[JonDuke]

This happens lots in the Royal Oak school as well.

There's people that literally live right across the street from the school, but "lost" the lottery selection, now have to bus their kids to another community (most go to Dalhousie iirc)

EDIT: Here's how the lottery process works for the Royal Oak School:
http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b402/pdfs/L...s-Nov29_13.pdf

[albertGQ]

Originally Posted by Ashartus

I know someone who bought a house across the street from a school. When their kids were school-aged they were told the school was full and they'd have to get bussed to another community - and pay for the busing on top of it. So this isn't anything unheard of unfortunately.

That's so stupid. I don't know what the answer is. Maybe more schools?
There needs to be a resolution.

[Northendzone]

Not more schools, but less kids.......my kids go to shut up. Albert in Mack Townes. A few years ago the school was full, now I believe they accept heathens and other non-believers.

Have you checked with the closer catholic schools?

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

Not more schools, but less kids.......my kids go to shut up. Albert in Mack Townes. A few years ago the school was full, now I believe they accept heathens and other non-believers.

Have you checked with the closer catholic schools?

is this a serious post? I can't even quite make sense of it. What do you mean your kids "go to shut up"?

[Vox]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

is this a serious post? I can't even quite make sense of it. What do you mean your kids "go to shut up"?

I believe he refers to St. Albert the Great in McKenzie Towne. It always surprises me that someone so hostile to the Catholic system doesn't just send their kids to the Public system.

[Eric Vail]

What should have happened is after several inner city schools flooded, they should have been closed and the repair money should have been put into building more schools on the city's perimeter. There are not enough students living in the inner city to support the schools that are there. Most students are bussed in from far away.

The wealthy folks living in those areas are just too influencial to allow our politicians to do the right thing.

Now the fact is when you have a school that is built for 300 and already has 500 in it, it just cannot accept more students. People living close to that school are going to have to go elsewhere.

It is why I bought a home in a more established neighborhood where there are six or seven schools within a km or two.

[KTrain]

Barnes, listen to Piscodude and keep on them. You have the backup plan of the Deer Run school but don't give up on St. Isabella. It can't hurt.

The my son is going to Isabella next year, but only because his brother goes there now. I'm guessing that's why it's so full.

I'm not sure how Deer Run can still support all these kids. I hear Auburn Bay and Mahogany are being bused there as well.

[Vox]

Originally Posted by KTrain

Barnes, listen to Piscodude and keep on them. You have the backup plan of the Deer Run school but don't give up on St. Isabella. It can't hurt.

The my son is going to Isabella next year, but only because his brother goes there now. I'm guessing that's why it's so full.

I'm not sure how Deer Run can still support all these kids. I hear Auburn Bay and Mahogany are being bused there as well.

I think Auburn Bay and Mahogany are bussed to Monsignor Smith. My daughter has a bunch of friends there that are from those communities. Though, at least some of them lived in Douglasdale when they started in Kindergarten, so perhaps they were grandfathered in?

[GGG]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

That's so stupid. I don't know what the answer is. Maybe more schools?
There needs to be a resolution.

More schools isnt the answer. Schools need to be designed for average neighbourhood capacity not peak. Bussing kids to existing schools with space is a reasonable approach. I would perfer they bussed older kids rather than kindergarten kids but using existing infastructure and moving kids rather than buildings is the right albeit not politically correct solution.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by GGG

More schools isnt the answer. Schools need to be designed for average neighbourhood capacity not peak. Bussing kids to existing schools with space is a reasonable approach. I would perfer they bussed older kids rather than kindergarten kids but using existing infastructure and moving kids rather than buildings is the right albeit not politically correct solution.

That's pretty much how we ended up with a bunch of underutilized inner city schools, by building to peak need.

However, they definitely should close some (like the one destroyed by flood) and use the money to build more in underserved areas, but do it in a smart/sustainable way. Building a K-4 and then expanding its enrollment to K-6 as the neighbourhood ages is a great way to deal with the peak, puts older kids on the bus as opposed to younger ones.

The current system where underutilized inner city schools are only closed in poorer neighbourhoods strikes me as pretty unfair.