Jeff and I have decided to move the kids to a different school.
We've been very disappointed in their current school. The kids are not sufficiently challenged, the curriculum is frustrating (I hate "new math") and we've had some issues with bullying. We know several other parents who have pulled their kids out of this school for the same issues. We've learned that it is an ok school up through grade 2, but after that, don't bother.
We were uncomfortable with the idea of pulling them. After all, you don't run away from your problems, you deal with them head-on. So we tried. We met with Christian's teacher (Samantha is really doing fine - it is just that I think she could achieve more in a more challenging environment). We discovered that his academics have plummeted in the past year. In first grade, we worked really hard to get him reading at (and slightly above) grade level. We worked to maintain that over the summer. At the beginning of second grade (last year), he tested above grade level, but he was a slow tester, so they put him in the second to the highest reading group (4 out of 5). He did fine there. At the beginning of this year, his reading level had dropped to the beginning of second grade level (at the beginning of second grade, he was testing at the beginning of third grade level!). So they put him in the lowest reading group. With all the special ed kids. And the special ed teacher sets the curriculum. So he came home with spelling words that were literally kindergarten sight words. And when we complained, we were told that it was out of the teacher's control. We don't like that the special ed teacher is setting our child's curriculum, as he is not in special ed. We were told that he really belongs in a higher reading group, but there is just no room. They don't decide what group kids belong in based entirely on their ability - they take the 30 kids with the lowest scores, and lump them in the bottom group; the next 30 go in the second group, and so on.
Now, admittedly, we could keep trying to get this problem fixed. But we feel that Christian is at a critical point right now. Research has shown that if children aren't strong readers by the end of third grade, the odds are against them for all future learning. We've been told that he is serving as an excellent example to the struggling students, which is nice, but what about HIS learning?
Then there is the bullying. Christian is a sensitive child, so it is hard to know how severe it really is. But he has been consistently complaining about the same kids since the beginning of the school year. He came home with his forehead split open last week because a kid jumped him on the playground and he hit his head on a rock. When we've talked to the teacher and the counselor, it has only gotten worse. The counselor gave him a report to fill out WITH the bully, and told him to come back after he'd completed it. The teacher talked to the boy's parents. Neither of these things has helped.
So, we started looking at options for other schools. We liked a few private school choices, but those are not financially possible right now. But then we found Parnassus Preparatory School. It is a charter school located about 5 miles from our home. It is run like a private school, but without the tuition. The children wear uniforms, discipline is strict, kids learn Spanish starting in kindergarten, Latin starting in 3rd grade and Greek starting in 9th grade. They use a Classical Education approach, where children learn basic facts in grammar school (K-4th grade), study logic in 5-8th grade and defend their ideas in the rhetoric stage (9-12th grade). The curriculum is highly literature based, with complex syntax taught beginning in kindergarten. They study college-level texts in 4th grade. This is not going to be a cakewalk for either of our children. But we believe that they are intelligent people who are capable of so much more than what is being asked of them.
Christian is thrilled. We told him last Thursday night, and after school on Friday he was walking on air. It was like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. It was a little harder for Samantha. She is happy where she is, and has a lot of friends. But when I told her that she would get to wear pretty uniforms with matching headbands, she was happy! She seems to be at peace with the decision, and maybe even a little excited.
I talked to the principal today, and he recommended that we start them as soon as possible. So they start on Monday!
I'll post a second "first day of school" picture then. Wish us luck!
We've been very disappointed in their current school. The kids are not sufficiently challenged, the curriculum is frustrating (I hate "new math") and we've had some issues with bullying. We know several other parents who have pulled their kids out of this school for the same issues. We've learned that it is an ok school up through grade 2, but after that, don't bother.
We were uncomfortable with the idea of pulling them. After all, you don't run away from your problems, you deal with them head-on. So we tried. We met with Christian's teacher (Samantha is really doing fine - it is just that I think she could achieve more in a more challenging environment). We discovered that his academics have plummeted in the past year. In first grade, we worked really hard to get him reading at (and slightly above) grade level. We worked to maintain that over the summer. At the beginning of second grade (last year), he tested above grade level, but he was a slow tester, so they put him in the second to the highest reading group (4 out of 5). He did fine there. At the beginning of this year, his reading level had dropped to the beginning of second grade level (at the beginning of second grade, he was testing at the beginning of third grade level!). So they put him in the lowest reading group. With all the special ed kids. And the special ed teacher sets the curriculum. So he came home with spelling words that were literally kindergarten sight words. And when we complained, we were told that it was out of the teacher's control. We don't like that the special ed teacher is setting our child's curriculum, as he is not in special ed. We were told that he really belongs in a higher reading group, but there is just no room. They don't decide what group kids belong in based entirely on their ability - they take the 30 kids with the lowest scores, and lump them in the bottom group; the next 30 go in the second group, and so on.
Now, admittedly, we could keep trying to get this problem fixed. But we feel that Christian is at a critical point right now. Research has shown that if children aren't strong readers by the end of third grade, the odds are against them for all future learning. We've been told that he is serving as an excellent example to the struggling students, which is nice, but what about HIS learning?
Then there is the bullying. Christian is a sensitive child, so it is hard to know how severe it really is. But he has been consistently complaining about the same kids since the beginning of the school year. He came home with his forehead split open last week because a kid jumped him on the playground and he hit his head on a rock. When we've talked to the teacher and the counselor, it has only gotten worse. The counselor gave him a report to fill out WITH the bully, and told him to come back after he'd completed it. The teacher talked to the boy's parents. Neither of these things has helped.
So, we started looking at options for other schools. We liked a few private school choices, but those are not financially possible right now. But then we found Parnassus Preparatory School. It is a charter school located about 5 miles from our home. It is run like a private school, but without the tuition. The children wear uniforms, discipline is strict, kids learn Spanish starting in kindergarten, Latin starting in 3rd grade and Greek starting in 9th grade. They use a Classical Education approach, where children learn basic facts in grammar school (K-4th grade), study logic in 5-8th grade and defend their ideas in the rhetoric stage (9-12th grade). The curriculum is highly literature based, with complex syntax taught beginning in kindergarten. They study college-level texts in 4th grade. This is not going to be a cakewalk for either of our children. But we believe that they are intelligent people who are capable of so much more than what is being asked of them.
Christian is thrilled. We told him last Thursday night, and after school on Friday he was walking on air. It was like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. It was a little harder for Samantha. She is happy where she is, and has a lot of friends. But when I told her that she would get to wear pretty uniforms with matching headbands, she was happy! She seems to be at peace with the decision, and maybe even a little excited.
I talked to the principal today, and he recommended that we start them as soon as possible. So they start on Monday!
I'll post a second "first day of school" picture then. Wish us luck!
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