Posting for acquaintance:
Jefferson is great school. I think the teachers are wonderful. The school openly welcomes all volunteer whether they are grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. My in-laws from out of town got a chance to volunteer in my children's classroom and that was very memorable.
The school has a separate yard for kindergarten kids and the upper yard for grades 1 to 5. The kindergarten yard is really only used for drop-off (early as 8:20a), pick-up (2:40p) and during snack times and outdoor activities. The kindergarteners go to the upper yard for lunch.
I do NOT like that they have changed the lunch schedule so that ALL kids have the same lunch period. You cannot put kindergarteners with 5th graders in the same yard. Ask them about the injury report counts.
The cafeteria is very small. Because of this, all children eat outside. This is worrisome during hot days and freezing cold days. I've seen kids eat out there even during dense foggy days where it is literally misting. These are our precious kids?! I wish they would be more concern about sun protection, skin burns, skin cancer, or promote sun safety. The school does have a huge auditorium which sadly they do not use as the eating area. I guess if kids drop food or spill things outside, the natural elements will take care of this (rain/wind/birds/bees).
Jefferson has a yahoo group for communication. Parents, teachers, and the principal are on the lists.
My gripe about the school:
For all you full time parents who need before care for your child(ren) because school starts at 8:40a or need aftercare because school is over at 2:40p, you will be highly disappointed to learn that the options are not that fantastic for before/after school care.
Jefferson has ONE program. It's called Jefferson OST. Because there is only ONE program, they charge way more than any of the other after school programs that I know if. It's $510 per month for combined before (7:45a-8:40a) and after (2:40p to 5:45p) care. You can NOT get a discount if you only use say after school care and there is nothing prorated for anything. For such a high price you would expect MORE. But no, they don't offer anything special (cooking/field trips/teaching a second language/etc.). Here the other part that drives me nuts. They give PRIORITY for low-income or people who don't have to pay (i.e. qualifies for free care). Really?!! When my child's classmate's mother boasts about how they got in free because they make cash or choose not to work, that really angers me. Fine I don't care for these people, but you should treat every applicant fairly and not have this priority given. Oh by the way, there is not late fee structure. Rule states that your child's spot will be terminated after 3 late pick-ups. Now if only we can tell Muni bus driver (N train particularly) that if you are not on schedule more than 3 times, they are fired! I wish they would get rid of this program and bring in someone else different.
Throughout the year there are 3 sessions of afterschool paid activities that parents can sign their kids up for. These fill up quickly so there is no guarantee that your child will get in. The 3-time sessions are Fall, Winter, and Spring. So for example, they offer on Mondays 2:50p to 3:50p French. But that also means you have to pick up your kids by 3:50p. The Jefferson OST welcome you to take and pay for these additional classes, but you get $0 discount and still pay the full $510/month.
Jefferson OST basically has a monopoly over the site. Most parents who work full time really do not have a choice. The only other alternative is Sharon Baptist Church located half a block from Jefferson. They will come to pick up your child afterschool and walk them over to the Church. Sharon Baptist Church does not offer before school care. Their prices are a lot more reasonable and they have the common sense to adjust price according to holiday/days off. Their after-school care hours are 2:40p to 6:00pm. The only problem I have with sending my kinds to Sharon Baptist Church is that it just seems too boring. They don't have an outdoor playground to accommodate young kids and all activities there are "quiet" activities.
Here are some additional comparisons to before/after school care at other schools:
* Chinese Immersion School at DeAvila: cheaper than Jefferson OST with YMCA (previously was GLO but the parents were able to voice their dissatisfaction and bring positive change).
* Alice Fong Yu: cheaper than Jefferson OST with GLO and their operating hours for pick-up go to 6:00pm. This additional 15mins compared to Jefferson OST's 5:45pm is huge when you are working parents!
* Sunset Elementary: The before/after care use to be FREE...can you believe that...I said FREE. Now you have to pay but it's like half of Jefferson OST's amount and they have more than one option.
The list goes on... read more