kindergarten? really?!?!?

This weekend marks our official "start" to kindergarten shopping. Why do I have to go kindergarten shopping you ask? Well, it's because in Seattle the public schools seem to really be a hit or a total miss.
In our case, we live right across the street from a school where I'd hoped my children would go, but may not be welcome.
I grew up in Cincinnati, OH and went to public schools. They were very racially mixed (actually - there were really just 2 races: white & african american and not much else, but mixed between those 2 at least) and I really appreciated that and wanted the same for my children. That's part of why we live so close to the city and in the area we do.
So right now we have a possibly tough and confusing road ahead of us. If you read the article linked above you might better understand my "woes". I actually welcome a diverse student body, I feel like one of the best ways to help our children grow up color blind, is to put them in an environment that includes as many colors as possible. That at least gives them the opportunity to form their own opinions. The issue with Madrona K-8 is not that it's diverse, it's a little bit the test scores, but mostly it's the unwillingness to (or maybe inability) to account for ALL kids.
So fine, no biggie, we don't send the kids across the street.
Then where? In the central cluster the schools are completely polar. They're either really really good, or really really bad (keep in mind, this judgment is solely based on test scores - we don't start school tours until next week - and I'll update my opinions as we go). This weekend there is a kindergarten fair where we get to chat with all of these schools and next week we start touring.
I'm still trying to accept the fact that my baby bear is old enough to (almost) go to kindergarten!
This is a process that I'm dreading, but hopefully it won't be so bad. I think I've decided to just see how it goes for the next couple years, and if it all falls apart we'll either move or maybe save enough for private school.
*sigh*
until next time...
it really shouldn't be this hard