Kindergarten: 'a school that looks like the world'

Dannica O, Parent | Neill Elementary School

When Dannica and her husband Patrick were house hunting in 2014, they weren’t just thinking about square footage or resale value. They were thinking about schools.

“We chose our home in Crystal because of the school district,” Dannica said. “We wanted our kids to go to a school that reflects the world—where they’d grow up surrounded by the richness of different cultures, languages, and perspectives.”

Growing up in small midwestern towns, Dannica and her husband were surrounded by familiarity—but not a lot of diversity. When they became parents, their perspective shifted. “We didn’t want our kids’ first experience with difference to come later in life,” Dannica said. “We wanted them to grow up seeing the beauty in different cultures, perspectives, and ways of life—because that’s the real world, and that’s what makes it vibrant.”

Their search led them to Robbinsdale Area Schools (Rdale)—and to Neill Elementary, where their daughter is now in third grade, and their son is in first.

“There’s so much richness in growing up with people who don’t look or live exactly like you.”

Like many parents, Dannica remembers the nerves she felt before sending her oldest to kindergarten.

“It’s hard to let your child go into the world without being in control of their environment and who they’ll encounter,” she said. “You wonder—will they be safe? Will they be cared for? And if something isn’t right, will we know about it?”

Those concerns quickly eased as her children settled into the rhythms of school life at Neill. What stood out the most, Dannica said, were the relationships—with teachers, yes, but also with every adult in the building.

“Our kids have had positive experiences with everyone—from the principal to the lunchroom staff to the specialists and librarians,” she said. “We couldn’t say a bad thing about the adults in their lives at school. That makes a difference—not just in how they feel at school, but in how they show up in the world.”

Her children have grown in confidence and developed real people skills. “They can carry a conversation with other kids and with adults too,” she said. “That’s a big deal.”

She laughed as she recalled a period when her daughter became a regular visitor to the nurse’s office—just to say hi. “Eventually, I had to say, ‘Okay, you don’t need to go unless you’re really sick,’” Dannica joked. “But it said something—that she felt so comfortable and connected there.”

“They walk into Kindergarten as one little kid and walk out as a totally different one—in all the best ways.”

Even her son, she noted, had a “favorite lunch man” and couldn’t wait to tell his grandpa all about the football team the “lunch man” rooted for. “That kind of thing makes me so happy,” she said. “It tells me they feel seen.”

One moment that stood out to Dannica was the first kindergarten parent-teacher conference. “You meet the teacher at open house, of course, but by conference time, your child and their teacher really know each other,” she said. “To hear that mutual admiration come through—that was so meaningful. I’ll never forget it.”

And then there was kindergarten graduation.

“As a parent, you kind of laugh at the whole thing because they’re so little and it’s such a big ceremony,” she said. “Maybe at first it seems silly. But it’s also really moving. You realize how much they’ve grown since that first day. They walk in as one little kid and walk out as a totally different one—in all the best ways.”

Now, a few years removed from that first kindergarten experience, Dannica says her kids still love school. “When they’re sick, they cry because they can’t go to school,” she said. “That tells you everything.”

When other parents ask her about school choices, she’s quick to share what made Robbinsdale the right choice for her family.

“Just like you take the time to choose the right formula or the best diapers for your baby, the school community you choose matters. It shapes who your child becomes.”

For her, Rdale’s diversity is a strength—one that’s genuinely lived out, not just talked about.

“Our kids have New Food Friday. They’ve tasted sambusas and sweet potato pie. They’re learning to appreciate cultures we don’t belong to—but that we celebrate. It’s not just something they do once a year during a special month. It’s part of everyday life at the school.

Dannica hopes more families will see the value in investing in their neighborhood schools and the communities they’re a part of.

“There’s a lot of conversation about what makes a school ‘good,’” she said. “Test scores matter, of course—but sometimes we overlook what’s just as important: relationships, a sense of belonging, and the opportunity for kids to learn alongside classmates with different backgrounds and perspectives. That kind of environment helps our children grow in empathy and understanding.”

“We wanted our kids to go to a school that reflects the world—where they’d grow up surrounded by the richness of different cultures, languages, and perspectives.”

She added, “When families choose something else, I think kids can miss out—all kids. There’s so much richness in growing up with people who don’t look like you or live exactly like you. That’s how we learn about the world—and about ourselves.”

For Dannica’s family, choosing their local school wasn’t just about education. It was about community, connection, and raising kids who are curious, compassionate, and ready for the world.

Learn more about kindergarten in Robbinsdale Area Schools and find the right fit for your family! Visit our All About Kindergarten page, schedule a school tour, and explore our welcoming elementary schools: FAIR School Pilgrim Lane, Forest, Lakeview, Meadow Lake, Neill, Noble, Northport, Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion (RSI), School for Engineering and Arts (SEA), Sonnesyn, and Zachary Lane. We can’t wait to meet you!