Entering Junior Highschool

Hello everyone! DD is currently on the 6th grade in a Japanese public school and we've gotten a lot of pamphlets for Junior HS. There's two schools that we're looking at, both are about 30-40mins walk from the house, only one of them accessible by bus. My daughter has made it clear that she does not want the HS near our house because she wants a change. She's skipped a lot of school days this year because she's not happy in school and refused to go. So now that she's about to enter JHS, I would really love for her to be able to choose.

I have been trying to move to a public housing which are closer to those schools, but I don't know if we'll be lucky to get a spot before school year starts.

I went to the kyoiku inkai to see what the process is. Told them we're looking at enrolling in either one of those schools but they said we cannot do that, and it has to be the one close to the house. Period.

I really do not want to buy all the uniforms only to transfer school at a later time. Money is a little bit hard these days, I could barely make ends meet. Plus, it's my daughter who's going to school so I want her to have that choice but they are making it difficult. I am sure about moving until Dec next year (should have enough saved up by then), just thought I'd try the public housing again.

I don't know where else to go and ask advise.
Why can't we choose schools?

Why can't we choose schools?

Because that's how public schools work in Japan (and in many other places as well).

If everyone started choosing schools, one school could be packed and even become better while another would be left behind. So, to even out the quality, there have been a long tradition of not being able to choose the local public elementary/JH schools you attend in Japan. However, everyone is still free to attend any private school that would accept the student.

That said, it's not impossible to attend a local public school which is close but not close enough to your home, if you have a very good reason. Reasons I've heard granted are (A) the student has been suffering bullying in the neighborhood or (B) the student strongly insists on joining a club activity that is not available at his/her original school, among other reasons.

But note that it's not really practical to attend a school that is not that accessible from your home. The student may end up being tired of commuting, and relying on buses and cars may cost you.

Meanwhile, as far as uniforms are concerned, you can talk to the JH principal to see if the student can get away with commuting in modest clothing which is not the uniform. Also, you can try to ask graduates to see if someone can give you a used uniform. Usually, a parent in the neighborhood would know someone willing to do so.

Back to the issue of choosing schools, perhaps the Kyouiku IInkai personnel just had to tell you the basics. You can try to negotiate by going back with an interpreter. In my city of Yokohama, the city can hire a non-profit interpreter for free if the interpreting is done inside a public facility. Ask your city hall to see if there is anything similar.

Best of luck.

you are lucky that you can choose one from two.
generally speaking, there is no such a option. school is pre-fixed to one, depending on the area you are living.

I think the parents have fully responsible for their child education. you have to make effort to make her happy in the school. I feel that you already gave up to make efforts, by using the beautiful words that you respect her will.
living in a foreign country is generally difficult.

generally speaking, elementary school is the place where small children learn how to communicate each other in the same age. the language is extremely important. you failed that you make your child join the community.
most of Japanese parents make their full efforts to do that.

Like Uco said, your best course of action would be to fully explain the situation to the kyouiku iinkai and see if they can accommodate you. A lot of that is going to depend on the specifics/severity of what you mentioned with 「She's skipped a lot of school days this year because she's not happy in school and refused to go.」

If the education boards looks at your daughter's case and sees it as a legitimate mental/emotional health issue, then the'll be more likely to approve of letting her go to a different school other than the one she's ordinarily supposed to. There is, of course, also the chance that they'll judge the issue to not be so serious and say she still has to go to the ordinarily designated school. A child being bullied and coming home regularly in tears, but a kid just not liking school because it's boring and they haven't made really close friends is another.

As to why you can't just choose, technically, you can, by applying for private school. Public schools at the compulsory-education level, though, are ordinarily tied to where you live, since they're government institutions meant to serve the community. It's kind of like how when you need to do something at the kuyakusho, you have to go to the one for the area you live in. You can't, for instance, just say "No, I want to go to the kuyakusho in Kyoto, because I don't like the one near me."

Like Uco said, your best course of action would be to fully explain the situation to the kyouiku iinkai and see if they can accommodate you. A lot of that is going to depend on the specifics/severity of what you mentioned with 「She's skipped a lot of school days this year because she's not happy in school and refused to go.」

If the education boards looks at your daughter's case and sees it as a legitimate mental/emotional health issue, then the'll be more likely to approve of letting her go to a different school other than the one she's ordinarily supposed to. There is, of course, also the chance that they'll judge the issue to not be so serious and say she still has to go to the ordinarily designated school. A child being bullied and coming home regularly in tears, but a kid just not liking school because it's boring and they haven't made really close friends is another.

As to why you can't just choose, technically, you can, by applying for private school. Public schools at the compulsory-education level, though, are ordinarily tied to where you live, since they're government institutions meant to serve the community. It's kind of like how when you need to do something at the kuyakusho, you have to go to the one for the area you live in. You can't, for instance, just say "No, I want to go to the kuyakusho in Kyoto, because I don't like the one near me."

You can choose the university later, the rest is based on your location.