School Report #7

The second school we visited last Friday was the Philbrick School. It was a smaller school tucked into a neighborhood on the other side of Roslindale. My GPS had a tough time getting me there, it kept trying to send me the wrong way down one-way roads. Transit getting there would not be a pleasant thing, as the neighborhood streets are tight, and the parking is minimal-to-nonexistant.

But the school itself was another classic cozy, cheerful Rozzie elementary school. It's another "single-strand" school, with one class per grade. I was a few minutes late, thanks to the parking situation, but was greeted by two cheerful students who opened the door and led us to join the group. The student gave us a quick tour on our way up the two floors to get to our destination. He did a great job for a (3rd?) grader. We got to interact with a lot of the teachers, which was great. I was impressed by everything I saw.

Here are some of the details I managed to write down:

• The school takes 8 - 15 field trips/year
• They have a partnership with the Boston Nature Ceneter
• The before- and after-school programs start at age 5. 
• The school has a big emphasis on technology, with carts of iPads and laptops that travel between classes and are used regularly. 
• The parent council focuses on community, and hosts a big social in February, and other monthly events.
• The parent council typically raises $20K in additional funding/year.
• The 4th and 5th graders start music lessons in trumpet, violin, clarinet, or flute.
• The 5th graders take a 4 night trip to a nature center on the beach.
• The K2 room appeared more play-based than the Sumner.
• Students get science 2x/wk, and art 2x/wk.
• There was a separate cafeteria, auditorium, music room, science room, art room, computer room, etc.
• The school does not offer AWP. Of the 25 children that were tested, 16 were accepted for the Advanced Work Program, but only 5 students left the school to participate in the program.
• The playground was large, and Playworks was not offered.
• Language instruction was not offered.

Unfortunately, there is a K0/K1 class with only 4 available seats (after siblings). I don't think we'll be attending the Philbrick.