ScoopToo
Thursday, June 25, 2009
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If you're like me, you think the process of getting your kid into a good school should be simple and straightforward -- especially living in Stapleton. After all, isn't that one of the main reasons we live here?
As mom to a 3 year old, I was surprised to find the process difficult and, after we didn't get into either of our two choices in the Denver public school system, overwhelming.
Well, two moms are helping to do the research work for us -- check out ScoopToo.
They profile lots of area schools and keep their finger on the pulse of Denver schools. What a great resource!
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Liz,
Thanks so much for the "shout out". I have been following your blog as well. Cheers to information! It is indeed power.
Jenn
ScoopToo is a good concept. Something to consider - even restaurant reviewers visit a restaurant more than once before writing a review. In the case of ScoopToo perhaps they would consider touring a facility more than one time, or having the two authors tour separately, and conduct parent interviews before publishing a review. Food for thought. Might make for some more accurate reviews that reflect multiple views rather than one-sided recaps. Based on the review of Bill Roberts, which was not very accurate or well-researched, I don't know that ScoopToo is a very reliable source of information. I hope they can work out the kinks.
Hi Anonymous (July 3 2009, 8:46 AM),
We actually did consider each of us "profiling" each school, and for the moment, decided against it. The reason is that there are hundreds of schools in metro Denver alone and we simply don't have the time to go to all of them as it is. If we went twice, it would take us years to get to all of them.
I thought of the restaurant reviewer analogy myself and concluded that the restaurant would only get one chance to impress upon the reviewer before that review was written (until the next time they visit)- and the same goes for schools. A reviewer might change their mind after a second visit but that doesn't change the fact that the first time, the meal was not up to snuff.
The other reason we cannot tour every school twice is that we have other obligations in our lives like jobs and children. The blog, for now, is only in existence as a hobby because we felt that it was a necessary resource.
Lastly, the recaps are not one-sided. We do conduct interviews with parents whose children attend the schools (please re-read the profile and you will see that we did indeed do this contrary to what you say), administrators and other people who've attended a tour.
I have yet to hear from a Bill Roberts Administrator (after multiple attempts) who challenges anything about what I've written(impressions not included).
If anyone specific and factual information, experiences and examples at Bill Roberts, by all means, let us know. I think the readers would love to hear about the meat and not just the bones. So far, no one has really spoken about anything of substance.
In conclusion, the ScoopToo blog is just a blog and that means that the content and commentary is not scientific. It's purpose is to be a aid...a resource for people on a quest like the one we went though.
p.s. I just re-read and noticed two glaring typos after reading it numerous times. Don't hold it against me!
p.p.s. I also wanted to say that we appreciate all comments and suggestions with respect to the blog :-).