Dailard

What happens when you throw yourself a pity party? You get strep throat. Lesson learned.

Nonetheless, I hauled myself out of bed for my last school tour of 2010 (don't worry, January is a marathon of tours).

Dailard is in a hidden part of San Carlos and has an excellent reputation. I grew up around that neighborhood and we happen to live about three miles away and I had no idea it even existed until recently.

The principal is a young, earnest guy with kids of his own. I felt like the problems he has with his kids school in a different neighborhood are solved at Dailard. Like he hates all the nickel-and-dime fundraising he has to do and so at Dailard he asks for donations once or twice a year. He noticed that his own son didn't want to get dressed for school and wasn't talking very much in class, so he places great importance on mental health. Also, he was wearing a Red Sox lanyard, so . . .

One thing I don't like is the modular style design of the campus, to me it looks more like a college than a primary school. Like Green, the kinders are in one building and are separated by partitions, not walls. Because of this, the principal said their curriculum has to be more structured.

That being said, I found the classrooms bright, happy and not at all chaotic. Next year, all San Diego public schools are going to go to 29 students, which is very troubling to me. But I did feel this school was well equipped to handle it because partitions could be moved to fit extra kids.

Back to the mental health thing. There is a room dedicated for students who may not be adjusting or perhaps they are having troubles with friends or whatever. There's a staffer who does one-on-one play and we were able to see it in action. I was incredibly impressed. I am having issues with Ella being controlling about her clothes and not talking to her teachers, so I think it struck a nerve with me.

Other pluses: It has one of the only Dad's groups in the county, it has a strong music focus, there are other Jewish kids there, the principal knew every kids name, lots of playground space and is next door to a park.

Negatives: The 1970s modular building, the impending class sizes, I didn't really look into the upper grades program and I've heard both great and not so great things about it.

In the end I will confidently put this one down as one of my top five choices.