When There Is No Threat, People Share Information About School Choices

09May
by Cindy Borbon

I have continued visiting potential schools for my son. One of the charter schools I recently visited was at capacity, however, I filled out the application and added my name to the waiting list.

An office staff manager came out to speak to me when the I requested a bit more information. She explained that the waiting list was kept until the end of the school year, if spots opened up even after school year started, they would call parents off the list and offer them the spot.

I don’t know if she sensed a bit of my frustration, but she offered information on some programs she was familiar with.  A couple of the programs were new to me, the resources sounded interesting, so I took note of them and looked them up. I want to share a bit about them with you in case you want to explore.  Both of the programs that I learned about are affiliated with private schools.

The first program is called  ABC (A better Chance) , it is a scholarship organization that has helped many students of color with the opportunity to attend college-prep private schools across the country. The program works with nonsectarian private schools serving children entering grades 6-11. Students must have a B+ or better GPA, rank in the top 10 percent of their class and perform at or above grade level in math and English. Approximately 90% of A Better Chance scholars receive financial aid.

The second program is  Independent School Alliance, it’s a non-profit program that serves underrepresented students with Independent private school admissions counseling and placement.  They have about 55 member schools in Southern California ranging from elementary to high school. I registered to their website and attended an information session last week at one of their member schools.  The one way I can sum up their purpose is by saying they are like talent scouts for competitive private schools and last year, 80% of students in the program were enrolled into one of their members schools. They have an application process that opens up a year prior to the upcoming school year; right now the application process is open for 2017-18 school year and it closes in August 2016. The member schools are listed in their website, and most of them are reputable, highly academic and rigorous. Their campus sizes vary, however their class sizes are relatively small. If you are looking for a way to get your child into a competitive private school or simply want to explore options, I recommend you at least visit their website or even register for one of their information sessions.    

What I found most interesting about this experience, was how the office manager took a moment to share information not affiliated with other public schools, she said, “The important thing is that parents know about all of the options and the resources available.” I told her that I could not agree more. When parents know about all the options and resources available, true choices can be made.   

Right now I have decided to give our public school system a try before going the private sector route. However, I am grateful she shared this information, as these are programs I had not heard of and perhaps they can come in handy for someone else.

Here are the links in case you want to explore:

A Better Chance:

http://www.abetterchance.org

Independent School Alliance

http://www.independentschoolalliance.org

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Cindy Borbon

Cindy Borbon is a Co-founder, Editorial Manager of LaComadre.org. and is also a licensed Financial Advisor. Cindy is a single mother of two children; her eldest attends the University of Merced and youngest attends elementary school. Cindy has 15 year experience in Auto Finance industry. She is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s in Business Management.

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