Schools and the City

It’s time to think about pre-schools for Victoria. The challenges are a bit different this time around, but no less daunting.

To recap, for those who haven’t read this blog for years, or those with non-elephantine memories:

We are not zoned for a great school in Brooklyn. With Danielle we worked really hard to get her into a good pre-school that feeds into a school that goes through high school. There are three such schools in our neighborhood.

1. Packer: Hyper competitive, excellent academics. When we went for a preschool interview they had third graders in blazers acting as perfect ushers. It was both impressive and a bit spooky.
2. Brooklyn Friends: A Quaker school (you don’t have to be Quaker to attend) that emphasizes community (‘cause their Quakers). Not as good academics as Packer, but very warm and good.
3. St. Ann’s: This is the more artsy, innovative one. You get some famous Manhattan folk’s kids here.

They are all hard to get into. It took two tries, but Danielle got accepted to Brooklyn Friends. Packer was my wife’s first choice, but I’ve grown really fond of Brooklyn Friends and I think it’s an excellent fit for Danielle.

Now that Victoria is ready for preschool, to some extent the pressure is off. As a sibling she can get into Brooklyn Friends.

The issue right now is whether we can afford two kids in Brooklyn Friends. Three day preschool starts at $15K, five days is $19K. Danielle in first grade costs $28K. It’s ridiculous.

It makes the suburbs look attractive. Sure, in a good Westchester suburb with nice schools we’d pay $20-25K in property taxes. But that would cover both kids in school.

We’ve just started a business so things are tight. So our decision for next fall was easy. Victoria can go to the public pre-school. It’s a pretty good pre-school, though the later grades get dicey. We know we can get Victoria in Brooklyn Friends for kindergarten or first grade so we can wait to see if we can afford it. Paying $19K for pre-school is just ridiculous.

The added complication is that our nanny, Maggie, brings her daughter, Mia, to work with her. Mia is also ready for preschool. Ideally they would go to preschool together. So public preschool makes sense there. The only tricky thing is that Maggie lives in Queens, not Brooklyn. So I had to write a letter saying that she works at our address with her daughter and needs Mia to attend school in Brooklyn. I had to have the letter notarized and sent to the Board of Education along with Mia’s preschool application. We’ll know in about a month if that worked.

In an ideal world, business picks up. Starting in fall of 2011 Victoria moves to Brooklyn Friends. My wife quits her job. Maggie no longer works for us (that will be a sad day, they are like family, but with both kids in school there’s no need for a full time nanny).

In a less than ideal world, business does not pick up. We cannot have Danielle in private school and Victoria in public school. That is wrong on so many levels. So then we have the big decision. We either move to the suburbs (we’re city people) or we play tricks to get into a better public school so Danielle and Victoria can go to the same school.

My wife’s best friend lives a block and a half away and is zoned for a different and better school. She lives in both floors of a duplex. She has offered to put my wife’s name on one of the leases and a utility bill. That would let up apply to the better school by claiming to live there. I love where we live, so that’s my preferred option right now.

These are the sorts of things you think about living in the city with kids…