K Files Blogger

Who is the K Files Blogger? My research on schools for Matthew has taught me a lot and led me to a lot of interesting people. Matthew starts Kindergarten Fall '08 and I've spent much of Fall '07 touring all the possibilities. I visited about 10 schools all together...public KN, independent KN, Catholic KN, Christian KN, Transitional KN (for young 5's). So much KN!

Given that I'm the VP of his preschool, I also give tours to all prospective parents. This adds up to a lot of touring...giving and taking. I now know WAY more than I ever thought I'd know about schools, kids, parents, admissions directors, financial aid, essays, and everything else related to this process. And so does Madeleine, because she was hanging on my hip every step of the way.

At various points I thought that perhaps I was a little crazy to be spending so much time figuring this all out. When I started KN, I think my parents just signed me up for the public school in the neighborhood. But, my concerns were obliterated after getting to know other parents on the tours. Many of them were attending all the same tours...and MORE. The parents at Matthew's preschool...same thing. Friends of ours with a prospective KN student...same thing.

At one school I visited, there were at least 60 other parents there along with me, and the school had around 15 other tours set-up for Fall just like that one. The numbers are astonishing.

As parents, it's no longer about the latest Duran Duran tour. It's all about the KN tour! We're groupies and we know every last detail about each concert/school in the tour. They should start selling T-shirts outside of the schools. The only difference is that, although all the parents are very nice and all, they are actually your competition! Since, at many private schools, there are well over 100 applications for an average of 10 spaces. And, with SF public schools, you pick your top 7 and then hope for the best.

Okay, back to the K Files Blogger. She's a mom in SF that was overwhelmed with the whole process herself and started a blog as a means of processing the experience. She wrote a total of 65 eloquent and amazing posts in 2007. If I didn't feel validated before, I did once I read her blog. She visited 15 schools and detailed every single one out in her posts. Plus, she wrote posts about all the little things that go on in your mind during the process. Public or private? What to wear at the interview? Should I approach the Admissions Director during the course of the tour to get face time? On and on. I think she should do a post on which school has the best coffee/pastry offering or if they have one at all.

A person, not me of course, could spend hours reading all the stuff she posted (except they have to split their time with greatschools.net). She has a fan club herself now. Lots and lots of people read it and make comments. She's even been spotted on tours. The constant note taking gives her away.

Since I just finished 2 applications this week, I thought it would be interesting to see what the K Files Blogger was saying about this phase. Turns out she wrote her 1st essay for an app back in November. Can you spell ANXIETY?

Her daughter, Alice, starts in Fall '08. I hope Matthew and Alice like their new schools. TBD.