Does Anyone Know How the Franklin Pierce School District Is?

The schools my kids go to are not rated highly on the websites people always suggest. We do have a lot of kids on free lunches and after care. HOWEVER...the two months my kids went to the highest rated public school in my county, they were miserable. Those ratings aren't everything.

And honestly talk to parents...talk to kids...go locally on social media and ask. You'll get real opinions of people in the schools who will be much better than anyone else.

This is a really specific question (geographically), but often your best shot at determining school district boundaries can be found at two locations: the school districts websites map, and a good real estate office. Realtors are very aware of school districts. You don't need to be a customer - just ask at a major realty office.

And yes, sending your first child off to public school is something every mom experiences. It's full of some anxiety, pride, joy, relief, sadness, bittersweet thoughts, memories, and hope.

If you do pursue placing her in another school in another district, be aware that a school bus may not be available. And don't trash the first school to the second school. And the first school may just have had an off day. Maybe that child had experienced something traumatic, and the office might have had to listen to the screaming for a time. It may have been a one-time thing. All schools have their good days and their difficult days.

What you're feeling is very normal. But be strong and put on your best positive face for your new kindergarten student.

I googled their report cards from the state. These aren't exact representations of what goes on at the school but you can get an idea.

You can also get information from your local area when you google that school district on it's own as to what percentage of the kids get free lunch. This tells you how many low low low income kids there are in that school.

For instance, if a child receives FREE lunch that means they are below the poverty level or nearly that low. We gave several schools in town that serve 99.5% and 99.7% FREE lunch. That means that the kids in that school have parents who have very little education and have minimum wage jobs at best. There are probably a lot of them on assistance whether it's child care assistance, food stamps, state medical cards for health care, etc...they could be working full time and still get state assistance, not saying they stay home and get welfare...okay?

So, a teacher that has a class of 25 kids and only one of them has a parent that can actually help their kid with their homework, that means understands it and can literally help them with it, teach them the right way. These teachers aren't going to have funding for school supplies and these kids aren't going to be able to buy anything. One of my dear friends teaches 3rd grade at the school that has the 99.7% kids and she's lucky if her kids even bring back their back pack the next day and it's likely that if it was even opened they only took out the notes for the upcoming lunches or calendar and didn't look at the work.

Even though the FREE lunch percentages aren't really supposed to mean anything along this line of thinking, they do. Teachers know the higher that percentage of FREE lunches the lower the education levels of the parents of her students.

This is the Franklin Pierce schools report card.

http://reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/summary.aspx?groupLevel=...

This is the Puyallup schools report card.

http://reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/summary.aspx?schoolId=18...

To me the second school has scores a little bit higher.

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Perhaps you should check out school ratings and reviews on www.GreatSchools.org

If you put the town and state in your question title, you'll have a much better chance of getting responses from people who know the area. I know of another Franklin Pierce school so I was totally misled by the title! Didn't know it was in Washington State. So save time and get more answers by editing your question title and then clicking the button that it's specific to that area.

Beyond that, don't judge a school by a one-time visit when you're already emotional about sending a child to school. It's not unusual for a child to have a really bad day, and you have no idea why that kid was throwing a tantrum - could be a special needs kid who's struggling or who just got bullied by someone else, could be sporting an insane ear infection and waiting to be picked up by a parent who works far from the school, could just have learned that he's not allowed to whack some other kid on the playground...anything. Your own child doesn't have experience in a school or preschool, it sounds like, so allow that other child the chance to adjust too. And as for the staff not being friendly - maybe they'd been listening to that tantrum for 30 minutes or had just called a custodian for the third time to clean up throw-up because some parents sent already-sick kids to school. Maybe some unrealistic bureaucrat from the district office just screamed at them about some paperwork, or maybe the bus company didn't call in substitute drivers and 3 buses were late. You just don't know!

The best chance of a successful school experience comes from a child who is prepared - not academically (that's what school is for), but socially. A child who is confident and who can separate well from Mom (and Dad and other caregivers), who has some experience in bonding with other teacher-figures (the library story hour leader, the leader of the animal program at a local museum, other parents at play dates without you, frequent sitters, etc.), and who has had experience with other children in a busy atmosphere will do better. And the child of a confident parent willing to let her go will fare better than one who is worried about Mom being okay or about some unknown fear that has Mom all worried and anxious. So between now and then, engage your child in a wide range of activities, including some at busy locations and with other leaders.

If your district does kindergarten screening (in our district, it's done by some of the K teachers), you may get some feedback on your child's abilities in a variety of areas which will help assuage your fears.

Don't base your decision on one visit. That would be like someone saying you were a terrible mom based on your child's one temper tantrum in Target.

Ask if there are any opportunities to tour the school. Our district has kindergarten tours every spring. Contact the Parent group at the school and ask if you can talk with current parents.

Also, don't base your decision solely on some website that rates schools. I teach in one of the highest rated schools in our district. Our kids go to one of the lower rated schools in our district. There is no way I would move my kids to the school I teach at. There are several reasons.

1) The parents at my school are so cliquey. They advertise their meetings as "where the cool kids hang." No thanks. I'm not in Jr. High anymore. The PTSA at my kids' school is much more inclusive feeling. Even to the point of providing child care for their evening meetings. At my school, all the meetings are held during the day. No way you can attend if you are a working parent.

2) My kids attend a Title 1 school. To be a Title 1 school, there has to be a certain percentage of students receiving free and reduced priced lunches. Title 1 schools tend to get a bad name because that's where "the poor kids" go. And there is a stereotype that poor parents can't or won't help their kids. But, contrary to what Gamma said, free/reduced lunch does not mean uneducated parents and dirt poor. If I had been a single mom when I taught in South Dakota, my kids would have been on free and reduced lunch. A single parent, with one child, who makes $29,471 a year would qualify for reduced priced lunches. That's the federal guideline from the USDA website. It is actually to the advantage of the school and students. Those schools receive more federal money and can implement more programs. My kids, who excel at school, get programming that the excelling kids in my school don't get. Why? Their school can use their Title 1 funds to provide resources for their struggling students. Their normal funding can then be used for other programs. In my building, a high percentage of our total funding goes to resources for our struggling students. Our excelling students don't get much extra. And even our struggling students get short changed. I'm a reading specialist, but only 1/2 time. Our test scores overall are high, so the decision makers at the district level don't think we need more than 1/2 time to service our lowest readers. Teachers in my building are often complaining about how we don't get the same resources that the Title I buildings get. I also see the teachers at my kids' school being more open to trying whatever they need to do to reach their students. In my building, there are teachers who get a difficult student and they are automatically trying to hand them off to a specialist teacher. (I'm not saying that all Title 1 schools are good. I've seen some bad ones. But, don't judge a school simply because it is Title 1.)

3) Yes, sometimes I walk into my kids' school on my day off and hear a screaming student. But, their school is the Autism Center in our district. Sometimes one of the students in that program is having a difficult day. And my kids are the better for being in with those students. My kids have learned tolerance and compassion and understanding in a way I probably couldn't have taught them on my own. And the administrators and teachers are incredibly amazing with the diversity within the classroom.

All that to say, don't discount one school based on a single visit or what a website says. Try to talk with people who have kids in the school. They will give you a much more complete picture.