Interdistrict Downtown School

I am biased when it comes to schools in MPls. My husband is a Mpls Public School teacher. We have a fifth grader at Loring Elementary and our 4 year old will be going to Loring next year. We love our schools! I am not a fan of Magnets nor of private schools. I also do not think k-8's or k-12 schools are appropriate for each age groups. Only in Middle schools will you find programs appropriate for middle school aged kids. K-8's are not funded properly to have enough programs for these kids. I could recommend schools for you if I knew which area of Mpls you were in. We know most of the different staffs and are confident in the public school systems. As long as parents are involved in their childrens education, they will be successful no matter where they go. I have always felt that Loring has done a great job of parent involvement. We can letters home every Wednesday afternoon, and the principle and teachers always have time to talk to each parent. They also respond very quickly and efficiently via e-mail as well. I would start looking into good preschools right now for your child. Too many kids do not have preschool education and are behind when they enter kindergarten. Our 3 and 4 year olds both go to preschool at our church, and I volunteer and teach in the preschool. It is great to be involved in their learning experience. I feel blessed with all the opportunities our children have.

My only experience with the school has been through my company providing reading buddies to certain classes. The environment is open classrooms which I found to be really distracting and a lot of the kids really struggled with reading comprehension. I came out of there thinking that I would not want to send my own children there.

I hate to be the first to respond, since my experience with the school is very fringe.

Just know that it depends on the district that you are in, what your chances are of getting in. Each district has a different number of openings, and it also depends on how many kids are in the lottery for your district.

When we visited the school, we were very impressed, especially with the way the Kindergarten teachers talked to and encouraged the creativity of our son. We entered the lottery, but did not get in. (We also loved that the school was K12, so there was consistency throughout the years and we wouldn't have to learn a whole new system.)

Well, siince not getting in, we learned that there is a lot of chaos at the school. The lower grades aren't so much, but the middle and high school areas are not very conducive to good learning. (I'm trying to be political, since my information is second hand, and I don't want to give away my sources with too much information.)

all I know is that subs do not return for a second day. The new administration that was brought in new last year to straighten things out, has been replaced yet again. It's hard to have strong leadership when things are in flux.

So, take it for what it's worth. I don't know specifically what schools are in Minneapolis. I would contact the district or check out their website.

Good luck. It's not too early to start gathering information. Maybe you won't be as flustered as the rest of us when it's time to make the big K decision.

I haven't heard very good things about the downtown school. My nephew attended Armitage in SW Mpls and it was fantastic!

Good luck with your decision.