Rose Garden Resident

Education

Parents given opportunity to look at arts magnet school

By Mary Gottschalk

Trace Elementary School and Project Bookmark are co-sponsoring the fifth annual kindergarten information night on Jan. 17 from 7 to 8:45 p.m. at Historic Hoover Theatre.

"The purpose really is to bring in neighborhood parents to see the amazing programs, staff and other current parents that are at Trace. A lot of people don't know what we have in our own back yard when they're looking at schools," says Jane Hintz, who co-founded Project Bookmark with Marlee Benefiel in 2002. The group works to increase neighborhood school enrollment of local families.

"It's important to see what we have right here in our public schools. A lot of our programs rival or are even better than other choices," Hintz says.

"You can see it all in one night, meet current parents and get a feel for what Trace has to offer."

Rose Garden resident Lisa Scoffone attended the 2007 "K Night," as it's referred to, with her husband Mike.

"We were checking out schools for our son, and my husband was leaving the decision up to me," she says. "I'd looked at St. Leo's, St. Martin's and Discovery Charter School."

Scoffone says she was ready to enroll their son Weston at Discovery when her sister-in-law told her about K Night and she decided to check it out.

After listening to the presentation, which included talks by the principal, teachers and a panel of parents, Scoffone says she and her husband decided to try Trace.

"What convinced us was the parent panel of three moms and a dad. The dad said he and his wife were sitting on the fence agonizing what to do, and he named off the same schools we had looked at. He said he and his wife were completely happy and he knew what we were going through," she recalls.

"In other words, he was saying, 'Give it a chance.' "

Scoffone and her husband stayed afterward to talk to the parents. Then, she says, they decided, "OK, we should try it and if we're not happy, then we'll move to a charter school."

That didn't happen because, she says, "We're very happy. It's wonderful, and the progress he's making is very good."

While Scoffone says the presentation was informative and good, the final deciding factor was Trace's unique Parent Involvement in Education program, which requires a parent to commit to at least four hours of volunteer time during the school year in their child's class or at the school.

"I work part time, but on Thursdays, I don't work," Scoffone says. "Now on Thursdays, I work in the classroom. There's always two parents helping, and I think it's wonderful."

Scoffone says she has also established bonds with some of the other kindergarten mothers.

"We've had two moms' nights out where we go out and have dinner, and we also stay after school and let the kids play on the playground and the moms chat," she says.

Scoffone's experience is exactly what Hintz and Benefiel hope for each year.

The first K Night they organized attracted 50, while recent ones have averaged around 85.

Part of the popularity of Trace is the fact it is one of a trio of Rose Garden schools that are art magnet schools for the San Jose Unified School District. The others are Hoover Middle and Lincoln High schools.

"Trace has one of the only drama teachers in Northern California who teaches at an elementary school," Hintz says.

The PIE program is also attractive to parents.

Currently three of the six kindergarten classes at Trace are PIE. Two are in English, and the third is bilingual in Spanish and English. The other three classes are traditional kindergarten classes.

"We're a great value, and we're getting everything we want at our school," Benefiel says.

Trace kindergarten information night starts at 6:45 on Jan. 17 with sign-in at Historic Hoover Theatre, 1635 Park Ave. The program is from 7 to 8:45 p.m. and includes presentations by principal Mary Martinez, teachers and a parent panel, as well as guidelines for enrolling a child for the 2008-09 school year. There is no charge, reservations are not necessary and translation is provided for Spanish-speaking parents. Parking is available in the lot at Park Avenue and Sandringham Way. For additional information, visit www.projectbookmark.com or call 408.535.6257.