Almost there

In about 45 minutes, my kids will be out of school for the day, and then only nine more days remain this year.  Single digits!  I'm honestly not sure who is more excited, the kids, me, or the teachers.  On most levels, this has not been the best year ever.  Sadly, that is true not just for our family, but frankly for the entire district.  I was so optimistic when the year began that the reconfiguration of our schools would be a blessing.  Sadly, it has been just the opposite.  It seems as though many, teachers and students alike, felt unsettled by the changes.  It was apparent early on that many things had not been thought through prior to implementation, and instead of adjusting with better solutions, everyone was basically just plowing through.  Questions began to be asked by parents, and way too often the answer from administrators was simply, "That's how we've always done it."  I was boggled by how excited the district advertised the "change" in our schools, and yet was slow to make any changes to make things easier for teachers and students...if they did at all.  JR by far had the worst year.  His grade level is about 30% larger than the average grade level size in our district.  And sadly, most of them are borderline thuds.  If JR was hoping to play football in order to fit in, just the opposite occurred.  He was suddenly on the radar of every thug in the sixth grade.  He has been harassed and bullied throughout the year.  The administrator is of his building is futile, and there isn't a single student in that building who seems to fear being sent to his office for discipline.  There were also 30 kids in each class at his grade level, and with that many negative personalities in one grade, there was no way to separate them.  We already know of another family that has left our district, and we know of another who while leaving their younger kids in school, are going to homeschool their current sixth grader next year as a seventh grader.  We also know of several other families who are finding alternative educational options instead of our school district.  And the scary thing is, these are the good families that are leaving...causing the not-so-good ones to become a larger percentage of the classroom environment.  As someone who has worked in the schools frequently, I've also watched as the teachers have become more and more frustrated each day.  They feel as though they have little or no support from their administrators, and they also feel that they have absolutely zero input in decisions that are made.  There are some who feel that teachers should not have input...they are there to teach and not run the building.  However, who are the people that are interacting with out students everyday and might actually have the best ideas on how to help the kids?  Because of significant budget issues, there are again MAJOR changes coming to our schools, and teachers are again being shifted around in their teaching assignments, not to mention layoffs occurring.  I know that most of the teachers love their jobs and their students, and are doing everything they can to shelter the kids and make sure all of these changes impact them as little as possible.  However, it is IMPOSSIBLE not to notice the negativity surrounding our schools as a whole.  I'm disappointed and saddened by the situation in our schools, and can only hope that somehow, someway, next year is a turn around.

All of this leads to the fact that I CAN NOT wait for school to be out this year!  I haven't written about any of this because, frankly, I prefer to live in the world of denial.  But as we are coming to a close, I recognize that I've been feeling a huge burden about this...I want to make the best decision for my children, and their educations are one of the biggest decisions we make as parents!  My husband and I will be doing some researching, soul-searching, and lots of praying as we make our decisions!