Even When You Do Everything Right...

Charlotte's first day of school is next Wednesday, and we're already dealing with a setback.

I diligently checked her school's calendar in January and noted the first day of registration on my calendar. I printed the required two utility bills (to prove residency), made a photocopy of Charlotte's birth certificate, and filled out information requesting an AM Kindergarten class. You see, Charlotte's school is small. It only has two straight Kindergarten classes, a morning class that starts at 7:52 and an afternoon class that starts at 11:17.

[I requested the AM Kindergarten for two major reasons. One, it's early enough that Chris or I could drop her off on our way to work. Two, she's not stuck at KinderCare basically doing nothing for three hours.]

On the day of registration, I left work early and was in line before it officially started. There were, at most, a dozen parents ahead of me. Some of them were told to come back later because they had brought the wrong proof of residency, but I had everything in order. I met briefly with the school nurse to talk about Charlotte's sesame seed allergy, and then I was told I'd hear from the school in late May or early June as to what class Charlotte was assigned to.

I think you can guess where this is going, but I'll lay it all out there anyway.

I hadn't received anything in the mail from the school, so when Chris and I got back from our trip to New York and Boston, I called the school. This was the beginning of July. The message on the school's voice mail was that the administrative office would be closed until July 28. I called the school district next, but they had no information on enrollment information. Finally, I emailed one of the moms from Charlotte's soccer team to see if she'd heard anything. Imagine my surprise when she wrote back and said that she had received a letter in the mail a few weeks before. A few weeks?!

There was nothing that could be done until the principal and administrative staff returned on July 28, but that didn't stop me from picturing the worst - was something wrong with her registration, had the notice got lost in the mail? What was going on?

So last week, on July 28, I called the school. I spoke with the principal's administrative assistant, who listened to my concerns and promised to get back to me within a day or two. (Do they not have enrollment info in their computers?). Two days go by, no return call, so I call her again.

Here are some of the questions I got: Was Charlotte a school choice request? No, we live right around the corner - it's our school. Was she in summer school? No, she's 5. Was she in Transitional Kindergarten last year? No, she just turned 5 - she wasn't eligible for T-K. Oh. Well, let me put you on hold.

Turns out? They had her paperwork, they just failed to assign her to a class. I asked if this was normal and she said, no, they must have overlooked her and that she'd have to talk to the principal about which class Charlotte would be assigned to. I reminded them that I had requested the AM class because of our working full-time.

The next day, Thursday, I got a call back from the Admin. We were at the post office in the middle of applying for the girls' passports (which is another fun tale of bureaucracy gone mad), and we learned she would be in the Kindergarten-First Grade Combo. It's basically a spill-over class because there were too many Kindergartners for two classes, but not enough for three.

Chris and I were livid. I mean, I could have registered her yesterday and ended up with the same result. The Admin assured me that Charlotte would have had only a 50/50 chance of being in the AM Kindergarten class anyway. I was too upset to point out that she had a 0% chance of being in our preferred class because she was never considered when they were assigning the classrooms. I asked if there was a waitlist for the straight AM class and for there to be a note that Charlotte get switched should room become available, but she said it would be unlikely since no one has called requesting a switch.

The K-1 combo starts at 8:22 (why can't they start at nice even times like 8 or 8:30?), which means that we have to drop Charlotte off at KinderCare for all of half an hour before she turns around and pretty much heads back almost to our house. It costs us an additional $100 a month for paying for before and after care, as opposed to just after school care. And Chris is very concerned about how a teacher manages to teach Kindergartners and First Graders at the same time. (There are 13 Kindergartners and 15 First Graders).

We also learned that there is a Parent Orientation this Thursday. When I went by this morning to pick up the letter that was sent to each child, it was dated June 3. June 3. Today is August 4. Good thing our babysitter is available at such short notice, so both of us can go.

What a nightmare. The worst part is that everyone - parents, teachers at KinderCare, neighbors - says that the best thing about this school are the two Kindergarten teachers. They've been there since the school opened over twenty years ago and now Charlotte doesn't get to experience having them.

As for Charlotte? Well, she's excited that she's in a class with one of her friends from KinderCare and has begged me not to switch her. And I know she'll thrive wherever she's placed, she just has that kind of personality.