Can it be that time already?

I can't believe that it's time for us to enroll Lauryn in Kindergarten already. Her preschool started handing out information sheets about Kindergarten before the holidays, and I kinda threw it in a pile on my desk thinking that it's still quite a few months away. Well, not anymore! Registration starts in less than 1 week!

I went to visit 3 schools last week and this week during their Kindergarten Visitation Days. Our neighborhood school, Laurel Elementary, is about 2 blocks away. Most of Lauryn's classmates from preschool live in Foster City, and I was hoping that her transition to Kindergarten would be a bit easier if she knew a couple of the kids in her class. I perused the San Mateo Foster City School District website for info on different schools and our options for transferring. I found out today at Brewer Island (which is a year round school) that an intradistrict transfer from a San Mateo school has probably a 0% chance of getting in. And the admin staff said to me, "But you never know. It doesn't hurt to submit an application." If the chance is 1%, I'd think there's some sliver of hope. But it's 0%.

And although I didn't have time to check out Baywood Elementary, I have heard the same for trying to get a transfer there also. These 2 schools barely have enough slots available to their own neighborhood children and siblings, let alone accept a transfer. Last year, one of the news stations did a story showing the parents of new Kindergarten students camping out overnight in front of Baywood so they would be able to enroll their son/daughter in the morning. And these are parents who actually live in that school's attendance area!

Foster City Elementary has a much larger student population with over 800 students and 7 Kindergarten classes vs. 4 at both Brewer Island and Baywood. But when I asked about transfers there, the staff told me they won't know until after school starts.

So I'm glad that I attended the info meeting and tour for Laurel as it's most likely Lauryn will be joining the Laurel Eagles in the fall. There's something to be said for a school being within walking distance. Although, if I don't even walk to the mall most times, how likely will it be for me to walk Lauryn to school at 8am?