Community Corner

From One Mom to Another

Read on for some insights into parenthood.

I've heard about school enrollment from a number of family, friends and coworkers and never thought much of it. Now my head hurts just writing about it, let alone thinking about it.

Let me explain.

Our son will be 5 in August, and we have decided to enroll him for kindergarten this year (some wait a year until their child is older, in case they would be the youngest in the class, but this is a topic for another column).

Find out what's happening in Campbellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We decided against our neighborhood school because it is under Program Improvement, and we had our eyes set on a local elementary school with a two-way bilingual immersion program, just five minutes away. I found out this school is not open to anyone outside of the neighborhood, so we were frustrated and saddened by this roadblock.

So we scrambled to take a look at our options. Our 4-year-old goes to a nursery/preschool right now, and we want to keep the class size small, the curriculum challenging and the teachers experienced. We are looking at a couple magnet schools (which would be a lottery selection and the odds discouraging) and a safety school that's up the street from his preschool. I called the school district to see what I had to do and was told the following:

Find out what's happening in Campbellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • I have to set an appointment with the district to discuss the options, but not until May 4 (enrollment opens April 4).
  • I have to sign up for tours of schools and orientation for any two-way bilingual program before we enroll.
  • In order to transfer out of our neighborhood school, we have to fill out "No Child Left Behind" paperwork as well as transfer requests.
  • If we want him to go to a school near his preschool, we can, but we will have to sign him up for after-school care at his current preschool while he's at the kindergarten up the street. Then we will have to have his preschool fill out additional paperwork.

So, starting next week, my husband and I will have a minimum of one tour/orientation/appointment a week until May just to get our son into kindergarten.

I am so not looking forward to doing this for college ...

's kindergarten-enrollment period started Jan. 18 and ended Feb. 11 and ran from Jan. 31 to Feb. 11 for the middle schools.

Moreland School District's enrollment period started Feb. 1 and ends Thursday.

Cambrian School District's enrollment period started Jan. 10 and ends Tuesday.

Cupertino Union School District's enrollment period started Jan. 24 and ended Feb. 3. 


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