My short-term long-distance communications w/ my daughter

My daughter is currently in Seattle, relaxing for another week or so as I undergo Sloan Orientation. She'll join me on Saturday and begin school in Cambridge on Tuesday, September 8th. We'll then embark on the Boston Odyssey for a short cruise that night to celebrate our first Fall school day. Growing up, I never celebrated big that way on my first day of school, but hey, I can be a cool parent too.

I wanted to share a small window into Chassitty "Chas" and into our relationship by posting some of her communications while we're away.

On my first day of school for the LGO program (June, 2009), she sent me this video message via OoVoo (I apologize for the Seattle glare!):

Link to Youtube




Today, on my first day of Orientation for the formal Sloan MBA program, I received this email:

On 9/1/09 12:22 AM, "Chassitty Saldana" <@yahoo.com> wrote:

Hey mommy,
Since you haven't been emailing me besides information that's important, I wanted to talk to you.
I just wanted to say that i love you and miss you so much and that
you are the best mommy in the whole world!!! Even my friends tell me that, every time I have a sleepover they always end up telling me that you are the best mom in the world and that they wish their mom was just as cool and pretty and nice as you!

IF YOU'RE OUT ON THE ROAD
FEELING LONELY AND SO COLD
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS CALL MY NAME
AND I WILL BE THERE ON THE NEXT TRAIN

WHERE YOU LEAD
I WILL FOLLOW YOU
ANYWHERE THAT YOU TELL ME TO
IF YOU NEED
IF YOU NEED ME TO BE WITH YOU
I WILL FOLLOW
WHERE YOU LEAD!!!
our song

TE QUIERO TANTO TANTO TANTO.......
our other song

~Chassitty

The first song excerpt is the theme song to the show "Gilmore Girls" (Official Link), a show we've been watching since she was a baby and a show whose characters (Lorelai and Rory) we relate to.

The second song referenced is "Te Quiero Tanto" by Onda Vaselina and is a song I sang to my daughter when she was a baby. As she got older, I stopped singing the song, but one day, she heard it on TV, connected the memory, and we've sung it together for fun since then.

You'll read more about Chas later!

School-aged children & the Cambridge Public School System

Have school-aged children? Looking into the Cambridge Public School System? Start early!

I had been planning my adventure in Cambridge for the last 3 years or so, and most seriously over the last year (I was admitted to the program w/ the class of 2010, but opted to defer admission). I knew that my daughter, now age 11, would be relocating with me and that I'd need to "look into" schools. However, based on my experience with schools in Los Angeles and in the Seattle area, I was predisposed to believing that the apartment address dictated the school. In L.A, in Seattle, and in most other civilized U.S towns, public schools are assigned to district zones and where you live determines where you may learn, unless you're part of a magnet program or have a crazy talent or something like that.

So, in about March or so, I started looking into schools and behold the CPS (Cambridge Public School) surprise. Within Cambridge city limits, all schools are assigned by lottery. Parents apply to the district, rank the schools of their preference, and the system runs through a crazy algorithm that attempts to diversify gender, race, and socio-economic factors (ex whether or not a child qualifies for free lunch).

Why is this system a pain for parents?
1. The "good" or popular schools have a long waiting list. The waiting list is prioritized primarily by the date your application is submitted.
2. In order to submit an application, you must have secured a place to live within Cambridge city limits.
3. The application must include your choice of schools - in order to rank school choices, you have to conduct lots of research and arrange school tours (time, stress, reading, time, stress, reading).
4. The application must be submitted, in its entirety IN PERSON at the Family Resource Center in Cambridge.
5. The coup de gras for me is that you're forced to select an apartment...then your school is selected for you...and the school selected could inflict more time and stress due to transportation, after-school programs, accessibility concerns.

So, what happened in MY case? I found out about the CPS process in mid March and picked 5 schools I was interested in [also note that in Cambridge, most elementary schools service grades K-8]. I also found out about a program called Intensive Studies Program (ISP), offered at 2 Cambridge Public Schools. The program covers the same curriculum as every other class, but is geared towards students with a motivation and interest in learning. Nothing fancy - same breadth, but more depth. As my luck had it, the application for the program was due early April, and in order to apply to the program, I had to concurrently apply to the district. In order to apply to the district, I had to secure an apartment.

So...I attended LGO Open House in early April and set up 5 school tours while I was in town for 2 weekdays and 2 weekend days. I flew in on a red-eye from Seattle, arrived Thursday AM and went on 3 school tours and 1 apartment showing that day. I also attended most LGO activities. The following day, I went on 2 school tours and 3 apartment showings. I picked an apartment, signed a lease, got my affidavit of residency notarized, ranked my top school choices, and ran to the Family Resource Center to hand in my registration packet!! Months later, I heard back and was happy to hear that we got our first choice and the ISP!

In summary, life worked out and despite the heartache the CPS system caused ME, I must say that I appreciate the effort that goes into ensuring multi-faceted diversity in the classroom. As far as YOU are concerned, please start the process early!

For more information on registering your kids with the Cambridge Public School system, go here: http://www.cpsd.us/FRC/forms.cfm

I'm tackling after-school programs next!

Company Sponsorship

The LGO program is a special amongst seemingly comparable MBA programs for many reasons, although one of the most distinguishing is the financial "break" it gives students.

Typical MBA program tuition costs are on the order of $50K/year. According to mbaprograms.org:
The average cost is $40,000 for a year (or $80,000 for two years). Some MBAs are $60,000 a year, and with MBAs the more you pay the more you get. It’s not just the instruction, it’s the brand.

At the Harvard Business School, tuition for the Class of 2011 students is $46,150, according to the HBS website. At MIT Sloan, the 2009-2010 tuition cost for a "regular" MBA is $48,650/yr according to the MIT Sloan website. By comparison, the LGO tuition for both years of the program is $30,193, per the LGO website.

Not bad, huh? ~1/3 the price gets you 2 degrees, company visits, exclusive speakers, and an internship. What do you lose? 2 summers and some time throughout the two years due to the additional engineering courses and the committee work. Also, some shame befalls you if you happen to pursue a career in consulting post-grad.

Alright...we finally get to the subject of this post: Sponsorship.
Throughout LGO's history, partner companies have "sponsored" their employees through the two-year program. What sponsorship exactly entails is to the discretion of the company and therefore varies significantly. For most, sponsorship entails a post-grad employment commitment of ~2-3 years of employment with the sponsoring company; for others, there is no formal/legal/binding employment commitment. Sponsorship benefits often include tuition, housing, and a portion of the employee's salary at the time of leave.

Each year, the number of sponsored students varies based on company performance and policies and "the economy". The LGO Class of 2009 had ~5 sponsored students. The LGO Class of 2011 has only 2.

Post Summer Break!

After the summer term, we got about 1.5 weeks during which to relax and debrief before coming back for more and meeting the incoming "Sloanies".

Some of my classmates were headed to super cool places like Paris (Diego and Iliana), Belize (Mike & his new bride), Costa Rica possibly ?. Others were headed home to "hug their cars", see old friends and reminisce about the ordinary lives they left behind. Others yet were staying in Boston, taking in the sites and taking advantage of all New England has to offer via camping treks to Vermont, duck tours, kayaking, and the seemingly-endless happy hours.

Me? Chas and I headed home to Seattle. We flew out the morning after classes were over and I will be return Sunday night (Orientation starts Monday morning). Chas will stay an extra week and will come in just days before starting school.

Seattle welcomed me with 90+ degree weather. I was still feeling icky from the cold I caught the day of my Statistics final (I blame "it" for my performance, btw), and so the lack of an AC upset me more than usual and overpowered my mood for the first few days. Since then however, the weather cooled (now overcast and in the 70's, the way I like it), and i've managed to actually leave my house. I have a slew of appointments to take care of (doctor, dentist, nails, wax, hair). I'm also seeing some friends and old co-workers while in town.

Chas has been able to also visit with friends while in town. She hosted a "gathering" at our house on Friday - a handful of 11 year-old girls. They make look harmless, but together, they're like a Chuck E. Cheese's on a Sunday morning (think aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh; then repeat in various pitches until the pencil drives itself dangerously close to your pupil).

I'm looking forward to heading back to school, although i'm nervous about all the coordination that will have to take place once the year begins.