It makes a village

My kids just graduated from their elementary school.  They spend 6 wonderful years at PS 321.  The school is actually a magnet for parents with little kids.  Real estate agents list apartments as "zoned for PS 321".  Just this morning my next door neighbor who has a 9 month old told me she was moving a mile away.  She asked me how hard it would be to keep her kid in 321 if she just rents out her apartment.

I told her it would be impossible.  First of all they do home visits.  They make sure you potential kindergartner has a room in the home you say you live in.  Second of all it would be wrong;  Wrong because the great thing about PS 321 is the community it built.  If you live a bus ride away you will only be a visitor in that community.

• Some of my neighbors have older kids who went to PS 321 and many of my neighbors have younger kids who will.
• In third grade there were not enough TVs in the school for everyone to watch the Inauguration of President Obama.  It was a short walk to Mr Hess's house.
• At least 4 of my kids teachers on also members of my running club
• This past Fall, I tought an after school class for 2nd graders.  (Don't tell the administration, but) my daughter's teacher's kindergarten child came to the class.  There she is playing with my son at the class picnic for my daughter's class.
• On of my son's teachers kids in also on his track team.  I walked her to practice.  Her teacher is on my track team.
• One of my daughters teachers kids was my son's  class this year.  He will be going to their middle school, too.
• I ran a marathon with on of the 5th grade teachers who did not teach my kids.  
• On the last day of school my daughter's teacher took the kids on one last trip.  We walked around the corner to a day care center and fill the back row to see her 3 year old son "graduate"

• The president (elect) of the PTA and I are both board members of the Prospect Park Track Club. Even thought her son is 3 grades behind my son, he wanted to invite him to his birthday party.
• She also told me about a job in the school that I applied for.  It is a good thing I did not get it.  I don't know if I would really want to work 5 days a week when 2 of those day are only 2 hours long.

So this is one of the things that made the PS 321 experience great.  Not just preparing my kids to be proper lefties, but truing Park Slope into a little town.  

So yea, if you gotta take a bus to school you are not gonna get any of this.  Go get involved and make your school better.  It can be done.

Elizabeth Phillips, Principal Photo By: Daniel S. Burnstein

And thank you Liz Phillips.  You made more than a great school.