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<\/p>\nLast year our son was in preschool through the VPK program, which I talk about in my article about the first year of school in Florida. This year, he is starting his first year in an American public school. He will be in elementary school, more precisely in kindergarten.<\/p>\n
During the kindergarten year, children learn the basics of reading, writing, and math. The school day usually runs from around 8:00 or 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 or 3:00 p.m., depending on the school.<\/p>\n
As a reminder, public school in the United States is compulsory for children who are already five years old by September 1 of the current year. Even a difference of just a few days generally does not allow an exception.<\/p>\n
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The first thing we did before moving was check school ratings in our area on GreatSchools. In American public school systems, the first option assigned to you is usually the school closest to your home. Ideally, it is best to choose an area where schools are rated between 8 and 10 on GreatSchools, if possible.<\/p>\n
At the end of 2016, I went to the county school website to look at the schools in our neighborhood and understand the enrollment procedure. I printed all the documents available for parents, including the forms showing which schools corresponded to our residential zone. We had two favorite schools in mind, both rated 9\/10, and we visited them in December to get a feel for them in person.<\/p>\n
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In January, when the enrollment period opened, we prepared all the required paperwork: the main application form listing our preferred schools in order, as well as the mandatory documents such as the birth certificate and medical certificate. We then submitted the file to the school district in our county.<\/p>\n
In April, we received a letter from the county telling us which school had been assigned to us. To our great happiness, it was our first choice. A little later, the school sent us an invitation to an information meeting for families whose children would be starting kindergarten in 2017.<\/p>\n
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In May, we attended that first meeting, and it felt almost surreal compared with the meetings we had known in France. Parents of all future kindergarten students were welcomed into a large room where the principal, the teachers, and staff members were waiting.<\/p>\n
While parents were arriving, a slideshow was projected on a giant screen with photos of the teachers and little \u201cCVs\u201d introducing them: the school they had attended when they were in kindergarten, their hobbies, and their families.<\/p>\n
The principal then introduced each teacher to applause from the parents. Yes, real applause. The teachers then explained how a child\u2019s arrival at school would work, with a video playing on the big screen to show their morning route through the school.<\/p>\n
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At the end of the meeting, there was a used book sale for parents who wanted to buy books, and we were invited to walk through the school to discover the classrooms, cafeteria, huge library, and outdoor areas.<\/p>\n
The classrooms looked really nice to us, with many playful learning materials inside and, of course, the American flag. The cafeteria also seemed very good, with an outdoor table area. Whether a child buys lunch in the cafeteria or brings a lunch box, everyone eats there. Parents can even come and have lunch with their children outside if they want to. We also discovered the library, which almost made us want to go back to school ourselves, as well as the outdoor areas and the playground for the younger children.<\/p>\n
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At that first meeting, we were given the supply list. We had two options. We could buy everything ourselves, knowing that before the school year starts supermarkets display supply lists by school right at the entrance. Or we could order directly from a partner website linked to the school and even get a discount. At the meeting, we were given the website details and the school code to access the right lists by grade and even by boys or girls. We chose the second option. It was very well designed, and in five minutes everything was ordered and would be delivered directly to the school.<\/p>\n
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We also had two options for lunch all year. The first was to eat free breakfast and lunch in the cafeteria. We received a letter from the school telling us that it was part of a healthy food program. The second option was to bring the famous lunch box and still eat in the cafeteria with the other children.<\/p>\n
Because we did not yet know the food offered by the school and our son was not used to it, we chose the lunch box at first. Since writing the original article, our son has also wanted to eat in the cafeteria, so now we alternate between lunch box and cafeteria depending on the menu.<\/p>\n
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After a break, we restarted French lessons and also did some English practice so that our son would not forget what he had learned the previous year in preschool. We also had apps provided by the school to practice over the summer.<\/p>\n
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On the Saturday before school started, we met the teacher and our son\u2019s future classmates. During that visit, we also saw his classroom. The teacher gave us the exact schedule and some extra information for the first day. She also showed us that the school supplies had arrived, and we were able to place them directly at our son\u2019s spot in the classroom.<\/p>\n
We also completed the documents required for arrival and pickup. We could have chosen the school bus, the famous yellow bus seen all over American towns, but for that year we chose the car-rider option, meaning that we would drop him off and pick him up ourselves.<\/p>\n
In the morning, we can either drop our son directly by car, where a staff member takes over, or park and walk him to the school gate. At the start of the year, we were allowed to accompany him all the way to the classroom for the first three days so that he could learn the route inside the school.<\/p>\n
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Because school vacations are much shorter than in France, the word \u201crentr\u00e9e\u201d does not really exist in the same way. In stores during this period, you will see \u201cBack to School\u201d signs everywhere. Start dates vary depending on the state, county, and type of school, but the school year generally begins in August or September and ends in May or June.<\/p>\n
Our son came home with a communication folder containing forms to complete, monthly and yearly goals, the calendar of school events, and a little homework assignment. He also received two pictures with his teacher\u2019s congratulations for his first day in kindergarten and a small calendar with his first sticker.<\/p>\n
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As for learning, the school program is built heavily around reading, writing, and math. In addition, the school adds a different special theme each day in an eight-day cycle: music, art, physical activity, STEM, and more. On the first day, for example, a musician came to play guitar and sing with the children because it was music day. Children are also taught values such as respect and helping others.<\/p>\n
His first weeks at school have been a real success, and I can finally breathe. So here we go for his first year at school in the United States. There will be another article on the subject because the American education style is deeply different from the French one, especially when it comes to reading, which is fundamental here, and learning through play, which works very well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Last year our son was in preschool through the VPK program, which I talk about in my article about the first year of school in Florida. This year, he is starting his first year in an American public school. He will be in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4896],"tags":[4436,4437,4233,4567,4565,4564,4435,4566],"class_list":["post-14567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-schools","tag-expatriation-to-the-united-states","tag-expatriation-to-the-usa","tag-florida","tag-kindergarten","tag-public-school-in-the-usa","tag-school-in-the-united-states","tag-school-in-the-usa","tag-usa-school"],"yoast_head":"\n