When my daughter was 5 and I was going through a divorce, I had to move between the deadline for applications and the start of the school year, so I was limited to the community schools instead of magnets. I didn't really care where I lived, I just wanted my daughter to have a great school experience. So, after lookig at all the test scores and indicators, we chose an apartment a block from Longfellow Elementary. (It turned out that one block was outside Longfellow's attendance area! Go figure - I threw the right number of fits in front of the right number of people and got her registered anyway). It was a FANTASTIC kindergarten experience for my child. At the time, Longfellow was expanding from a K-3 to a K-5, but their commitment and expertise with Earl Childhood education was evident. My daughter came home from her first day of kindergarten barely able to contain her excitement. This really set the tone for her attitude towards school for the next several years.
We ended up moving to Northeast the following year and I had to start over. We chose Webster Open because I was committed to Open curriculum and philosophy. I was also certain I wanted her in a K-8 school. This is all personal opinion, but I think it's a bad idea to pull any volitile (and they all are) 12 year old out of their school environment and throw them to the wolves in a middle school. I hadn't heard ANY good news about Minneapolis middle schools, and I knew that most of the parents who took their kids out of the district did so when faced with the Middle School Dilemma. It turns out, Webster was a HUGE disappointment and I began shopping around for a better choice immediately. Webster is slated to close soon, so this is all probably a moot point. Suffice it to say, my daughter's classroom was a trailer parked behind the school - for two years. I pulled her out of Webster in the middle of 2nd grade because a space opened up at. . .
Marcy Open. I cannot say enough great things about this school. When I entered the buiding for the first time, it was calm and orderly. Every adult I saw interact with a child called that child by name and had a real conversation with them. The school is organized by level, with the youngest kids on the ground floor and oldest kids on the top. The parent involvement is excellent and teachers at Marcy have one of the lowest turnover rates in the district. I love it, love it, love it.
There have been three priciplals over the past 6 years, but the current pricipal, Jane Ellis, is very forthright, clearly committed to the children in the school and refreshingly honest with anyone willing to talk with her. Like any school, there are great teachers, and not very good ones and my daughter has experienced the spectrum, but on the whole I couldn't be more pleased. Because of the community and parent support, Marcy was able to withstand some of the damage done by budget cuts beeter than other schools, but hasn't been able to keep them away from the classroom entirely.
My daughter was a 7th grader at Marcy until a few weeks ago, when she left to study abroad in Australia for a year. When she returns, she'll enter High School. It may seem a long, long ways off, but I can attest that the time has flown by. I am so glad I placed her in a K-8 school. She really grew attached the community of kids and parents. It's also important (if you can bring yourself to do it) to try to think ahead to the High School options, and if there is an elementary/middle program that will best prepare your child for a particular high school program. Most of the kids at Marcy seem to be moving on to South Open or South Liberal Arts, and I think coming from an Open school gives them a "leg-up" in the selection process.
Also, this month's issue of Family Times (which I generally find to be useless) has a comprehensive listing of the private and *charter* schools in the metro. It's hard to find a good list all in one place. Good luck to you and I hope this helps.
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