Columbia's K-8 School Opens at 110th Street

It would seem that the opening day of The School at Columbia University went off without a hitch. Doctoral-degree faculty members' planners were filled to the brim with exciting plans for the year's integrated curriculum, the café was stocked with healthy snacks, and 200 elementary-aged students sat in brand-new, gleaming classrooms.

But if last Thursday was a complete success story, one might expect to find happier children on the scene. Instead, quite a few that left The School after a hard day's work wore sad, scared faces. The most common diagnosis: the students at The School miss their old friends.

As might be expected, most children of Columbia faculty were students at independent private schools last year, while the majority of neighborhood children went to local public schools. Of the entering fall class of 200 students, half are children of Columbia faculty and half are community members.

And as a result, The School's students are coming from two different types of schools and two different types of backgrounds.

This abrupt meshing has proved to be difficult for many students, and last week parents of upset children began to question whether or not The School's admissions process--which has already begun for the next academic year--is an effective one.

A third-grader leaving The School on Friday afternoon flashed a big smile when she saw her babysitter, but she soon burst into tears as she walked down the block.

"I'm worried that I won't have any friends at this school. All of my friends from P.S. 165 wanted to come here, but they couldn't get in," she said.

The student's babysitter, Yvonne Richards, said that although she knew her charge's first day would be a rough adjustment, she did not anticipate tears. "I'm not sure that this will go away. She sees her other friends all the time."

Other parents and friends of students said that they were disappointed with the results of the lottery system. "Neighborhood children have a rough time. They might have a few friends in their classes, but for the most part, they have to adjust to a whole new lifestyle," one parent said.

But it goes both ways. Children of Columbia faculty have to adapt in the same sense, and they were just as apprehensive of their first week on campus.

"I was a bit excited and a bit scared. I wasn't sure if I'd have any friends. But there are already people that I laugh around with," said Max, a third-grader whose parents are faculty members at the Mailman School of Public Health.

Getting used to any new school is very difficult; with this in mind, The School instituted a number of phase-in sessions for students and parents last week. In addition, teachers visited students at their homes before school began in order to make the children feel more comfortable upon entering the classroom. Open houses at The School will be on Oct. 8 and 9.

Although parents and students alike have typical concerns about becoming acclimated to life at The School, some feel that the admissions process is somewhat faulty.

"It's not a good idea to have a half-and-half system. As the year progresses, there will be an obvious divide between Columbia children and community children," one parent said.

School administrators would not return phone messages last week, because teachers and officials at The School must obtain special clearance from the administration before speaking with the press. Such clearance had not been issued as of late last week.

Despite the criticisms from some, admissions procedures for next year's classes will be very similar to those used for the 2003-2004 entering classes.

In 2004-2005, The School will enroll students in kindergarten through fifth grade. There is a possibility that the school will add a sixth grade, if there are enough students to create two sixth grade classes.

For admission to grades one through five, current faculty will have access on a space-available basis. Newly appointed faculty with children applying to those grades will be given the top priority. All faculty will have equal priority for grade six. For September 2003, all affiliate applicants were offered a space where appropriate.
Officials at The School advise that faculty members begin the application process before Nov. 1.

The School is also accepting applications from neighborhood families for a community admissions lottery, to be held on Nov. 3.

Seventeen hundred community residents were involved in two lotteries last year; this year, there will be only one lottery.
To be eligible for the lottery, a family must live within the boundaries of school districts three or five or have a child enrolled at one of six child care centers affiliated with the University.

In an interview earlier this month with Spectator, Head of The School Gardner Dunnan said that there were a few "painful" cases this year in which The School mistakenly accepted a child from the community who lived outside the designated applicant area. It is no longer acceptable for community members to provide a faulty local address for a student's application. In fact, each family chosen by the lottery must provide proof of their residency by providing a Consolidated Edison "Responsibility Letter."

Families of children accepted through the lottery will be invited to The School for an information session and a student screening process. Although the screening process has been a contested issue in the past, the School claims that it is designed to determine if the school will be a beneficial placement for each child.

According to The School's web site, cases where officials decide that The School is not an appropriate educational setting for a child will be addressed individually. Typically, The School will help a family locate a better match for the student through a search service.

Total tuition and fees for the 2004-2005 school year will be $23,100.