Sooo....this online job thing is wonderful except when it's time for sleep. I have to admit, it is so hard to turn off my brain. I've technically been done for nearly an hour, but I have so much in my head, it's hard to turn it off.
Things are going really well. As many of you know, I have been stressing a bit over the current situation in our school district. I am a teacher. I love my girls more than anything, and like any parent, I want the best I can realistically provide for them. But, I have to admit, unless you're a teacher, you don't really understand. I think there is a certain pressure you put on yourself to give your kids that much more to their educational experience. Brandon (the school district we live in) has had a recent influx of students from Pontiac. Pontiac is like Detroit is like Flint. It's bad. Now, I am not stupid enough to think that all students are bad that choose to come to Brandon for schools of choice. If I had to guess, I would say 75-80% are there for the right reasons. I just have TONS of apprehensions because the numbers of Pontiac students keep going up and up. And I have some insight.......I teach at Sylvan (as you know) and 90% of our clientele are Pontiac students. I know what these kids are coming from and I don't want to expose my children to this. Brandon is not putting a cap on students from Pontiac AND next year, 5 elementaries and 1 high school are closing in Pontiac...leaving not much room/place for them to go. Brandon will accept them. Our neighbor's daughter and I had an indepth conversation tonight. She's a senior at Brandon. She says that the influence is becoming much worse and "gang like" activity is prevalent at the high school level. THIS IS NOT WHAT I WANT FOR MY KIDS. So......I've been praying. Who am I kidding? I've been praying since they were born about school. We would love private education, but around here, the cost is 5K - 8K/year/kid. That's not going to happen with the Cliftons. So...we rely on a public education system that is allowing so much worse to enter our system with so little control.
I started researching. I called the next district over (Oxford) and I found what I was looking for! The programs are spectacular and include: required foreign language in K-12, no "pay to play" for sports, a tremendous amount of AP classes, and yes, schools of choice!!!! So, please be in prayer that God will orchestrate this over the next 2 years when McKenzie starts kindergarten. Pray that they will still have schools of choice; that they will "accept" us, and that they will accept Kylie. Please also pray (though not as likely at this point) that they will not allow Pontiac to overtake their schools. It is 25 minutes further east from Brandon, so I am assuming any kid from Pontaic willing to drive 40-50 minutes to go to a school like Oxford, really wants to go there. So, I am thrilled. And...........relieved.
On another note, please also be praying for McKenzie's 3rd birthday party. We are attempting to have it at a local park and we need good weather! It's April 18th....so.........be praying! :) The girls are doing great. Kylie is walking everywhere and got her 7th tooth today. McKenzie is just oh so super cute and has learned how to write "o's"!!! Yeah!!! :) My life is blessed. I am soooo very blessed.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
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2 comments:
FYI most kids from Pontiac who are at a 'school of choice' DO REALLY want to go there. They are not there to infect the building or harass the poor, defenseless local kids. Ever thought about the possibility of exposing your kids to the real world while they are still developing instead of waiting for reality to hit when they go to college or get a job? The whole world is not as fortunate, well-raised, or affluent as you are. Diversity is an important part of education too.
Anonymous:
Thanks for your anonymous post. I understand your point of view and I respect you for that...I wish you had the courage to sign your name. If you would like to further discuss this, leave your information. I am sure we can come to an agreeement to agree to disagree, but instead, you jump to the conclusion that I do not want anything less than "fortunate, well-rounded, affluent kids" around my children. Don't be so quick to judge.
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