Urban Mamas

Hi dude. This post is very interesting to read one and it is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments.

Just saw this section on schools. Creston is our neighborhood school, we applied for a transfer and also didn't get in at first. A few weeks after our daughter started school we received a call from the previous school of our choice and decided to stay at Creston. We are glad we stayed, classes are small and we feel like our child gets individualized attention from the teacher. Don't believe everything you hear at the park, most of the information comes from people who don't go to the school, and are just passing on what they heard which is false information. If your child end up at the neighborhood school or a focus program the most important thing we can do as parents is to be involved in our childs life.

We are newfangled to Portland and our son who is dropping in kindergarten did not get into any of the schools we requested. Our neighborhood school is Creston.

Hello
A lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize.Lottery is outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments. At the beginning of the 20th century, most forms of gambling, including lotteries and sweepstakes, were illegal in many countries, including the U.S.A. and most of Europe. This remained so until after World War II. In the 1960s casinos and lotteries began to appear throughout the world as a means to raise revenue in addition to taxes.

My wife and I are in similar circumstances. Our neighborhood school is just terrible, and our kindergarten-age son was not accepted into any other schools in the PPS lottery.

But...we are now heavily involved in the effort to start Le Monde Immersion School, and our son will be attending Le Monde as a kindergartner this fall (2011) in the inaugural class. My wife is now serving as a member of the Board of Directors for the school.

There are still a few spaces available in Le Monde's affordable, fee-for-service kindergarten. It is a full-immersion, French language school. Please visit LeMondeImmersion.org, which will answer many of your questions. Or write to lemondeimmersion@gmail.com and request our tri-fold brochure and enrollment packet.

If you have not considered language immersion for your child, you should look carefully at the section of the brochure titled "Benefits of Language Immersion". Or see here:
http://www.actfl.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=4724

I believe that Le Monde is one of the most hopeful developments in years for primary education for Portland children. We would love to include your child in our founding class this fall (2011). Don't hesitate to apply.

Wait - so you didn't at least tour your local school? Just assumed you'd get lucky in the lottery?

I don't know anything about that particular school. But. Just because your neighbors don't go there doesn't mean it isn't a good school. You have to get in a school and be involved before you can really tell what kind of place it is. No reason not to give it a chance.

My son is nearing the end of his first year at Creston, which is our neighborhood school, and we LOVE it! Great teachers, staff, principal, PTA, fun events.
Hopefully you'll find a school that works for you and your family--Creston works for us!

Creston met the AYP standards this year and at least the past couple of years (I only checked the last three). http://www.ode.state.or.us/data/reportcard/reports.aspx

Most of the kids probably/possibly go to MY neighborhood school, Atkinson. Don't be disappointed that you didn't get in. My daughter has been so horribly bullied in her time there that she's now situationally depressed.

While Atkinson used to be a bit better, the new principal is a horrible nazi---so you might be better off at Creston, anyway. You can also put in a hardship transfer application to try and get your son into a different school, anyway.

In Creston's case, I believe they fail on the "no child left behind adequate progress" standards, so you still might be able to get him moved on those grounds. Good luck, because PPS is a nightmare to negotiate with. They will always initially say "no" to almost any request, no matter how small (in third grade I had to escalate just getting my daughter's seat assignment changed!), reasonable and simple.

Don't give up!!!

We applied to Creston and love it! Teachers and staff are the ones who make or break the school. Take a tour - the principal is awesome. My son has been there k-2 now.