School tours bonanza, day three, part two

I went to Marvin with zero expectation and was pretty much blown away by it. Then I went to Hearst with all the expectations in the world and I wasn't totally enamored.

I'm not really sure what the problem is. Or if there's even one at all.

Hearst is the highest-rated school in my neighborhood and one of the best in San Diego. Parents who send their kids there love it and say it's like a private school. It's across the street from a synagogue and many of the students are Jewish.

The tour was different than anything I've experienced. It was held after a short day of school and parents crowded into one of the classrooms where all three kindergarten teachers and the principal addressed us. It was more like an orientation, telling us about what kinds of snacks to pack and how big the backpacks should be. Stuff I don't really need to know right now.

The teachers were on the older side, which I like because they've dealt with big class sizes before and are very confident that every child will thrive. But they're very obviously set in their ways, too.

This is one of the few schools that had play areas with blocks and toy kitchens; one of the teachers told me later that when Alan Bersin was the superintendent, they banned blocks and even took crayons away from the kindergartners. So I'm glad that's changed.

The campus isn't as well-kept as Marvin, you can tell it's on the older side. But the kinder area was very peaceful and lovely and also had a garden, library and atmosphere that I liked.

I know that the girls would get a good, solid public school education here. And because it's two miles away from our house, they'd make some area friends.

I think perhaps I am being too hard on the school? It's almost time to fill out my Choice list and Hearst is definitely going on it. I just need to figure out if it's still at the top.