Kindergarten Registration

In something that seemed vaguely reminiscent of my cousin Ling's experiences with registering his daughter Charlotte for kindergarten last year, I had a similar experience today. Today marked the first day that families living in Santa Clara could register for the school year starting this fall. It meant that for families like mine, we got to register for kindergarten. I knew this day was coming, so I was prepared for it. But what I wasn't prepared for was a news story this morning when I woke up saying parents had already been lined up since 1 AM waiting to register their kids for kindergarten in an elementary school in the same school district that we live in.

That news story immediately intensified my resolve to make it to our local elementary school today to get Lauren registered for kindergarten this fall. It took a bit more than I expected, as I mis-read the instructions stating I needed three pieces of information proving I lived in the school district boundaries. I thought I only needed one of the three items stated; not all three. So my first trip was a bust, and I went home to get additional supporting information.

When I left to go back to the elementary school, our minivan conspired against me in getting to the school. The "Service Engine Light" came on, and the car sounded as if would stall at any moment. My other goal this morning was to visit the collision repair shop to get the remaining damage from the tire blow out fixed. The service light meant I needed to go to the collision repair shop first and drop off the car to make sure the warning light wasn't related to the tire blow out. So a few hours later after the car was dropped off, I finally made it back to the elementary school, where I had a tough decision to make.

I could easily register Lauren for the local elementary school, but it's not as highly rated as an "open" school in the district that requires a lottery to gain entrance. The "open" school also happens to be closer to our home, making it a logical choice. But we're not sure if the school is what we want for Lauren as it uses a non-standard approach to teaching, so I want to attend the open house they are going to have. I found out at the elementary school, that to get invited to the open house I have to list the "open" school as my first choice. Sort of a catch-22. So I went ahead and did that. It's a gamble, since we may not like the school, and then I'll have lost the place I could have reserved for Lauren in our local school.

Whoever thought finding a kindergarten would be so complicated?