Day one done right

The charter organization I work for went into the business of opening elementary schools about five years ago. Today, on our campus (in fact, in the next building over), the first Austin elementary opened with 100 wide-eyed kindergartners in bright yellow uniform t-shirts and miniature khaki shorts and skorts. The occasion of them walking toward the buses at the end of their half day was enough to utterly disrupt our staff meeting as teachers rushed toward the windows to coo.

We knew we couldn't get any closer as they bobbed along (five year olds bob...there is no better verb) in their snaking little line. The elementary principal had sent around an email half-jokingly (but only half) reminding the middle and high school teachers that, no, we couldn't 1) pick them up or 2) take them home, tempting as it may be. In fact, it would probably be better if we didn't touch them at all. Or come anywhere near them in the first few days. So, we gazed through the glass at little ones on the very first day of their formal education. If they stay in the Austin area, they could spend every one of their K-12 years on our campus, moving from the elementary building to one of the two middle schools, then across the big parking lot to the high school. The theory is that after five years of a college-prep elementary education (not to mention dual-immersion bilingual Spanish-English), they will be able to enter middle school right on grade level (or above), literate in two languages and primed to continue their upward dash until they roar into college ready as any kid anywhere for the rigors of higher education. No need to play desperate catch up in middle school or high school. These kids will be well served from day one.

But this was supposed to be a frivolous post, and it is veering into serious territory, so let's get back to the uniforms. Is there anything cuter than a small child in a uniform? I challenge you to find it. Some might say polar bear cubs, but let's not forget that under that fluffy white fur are the jaws of a baby-seal-eating carnivore. Others might point to puppies, but I think that's a little redundant given the similarities between a kindergartner and a puppy (too many to name)! Baby elephants might be cuter, but baby elephants do not wear uniforms. So, that proves it. Small children in uniforms, solemn with the seriousness of their very, very first day of school, walking through the open breezeways of the Austin campus where every adult in the place is ready to drop everything just to look at their little faces. Imagine what kind of attention they'll get as they learn to sit in a circle, write their name, read their first words and solve their first word problems. Good luck founding class of 2023! Here's to the next 13 years...