We Will Be Re Enrolling!

       I cannot believe we have already completed the first half of the school year!  This year has really just flown by!  
      As a parent of a 7th grade student, there have been a few things we have made note of. 

• There doesn't seem to be a National Junior Honor Society chapter.   My daughter has earned straight A's, which has given her Honor Roll and Academic Achievement status, but no NJHS.  We are currently researching other scholarship opportunities.  I will create a separate post for this later.
• There are certain normal school traditions that have given me lots of fond memories.  Powderpuff football, Senior skip day, Pep Rallies, ... I am still coming across things..  We are keeping this in mind as we get ready for the high school years.
• We are learning about AP classes and the credits given by universities and weighing this also.  Are we really ready to supervise AP classes? 
• We are currently paying for sports, music lessons, etc.  These are things that would be considerably cheaper in an actual school setting.

   These things are not necessarily "deal breakers".  I just bring them up because they were things we had not considered.  It is one thing to make a change for a year, but as this really does appear to be the best opportunity for education, it is important to not overlook other experiences. 
    Yes, I absolutely still love this school.  I love the curriculum.  I love our teachers.  I love what we are doing.  We just are going to look into changing a few things in the near future. 
    Our local school district does not allow for virtual students to participate in school activities.  In our personal situation, we have been looking at the possibility of moving.  Since this was already a long term goal, we may be making adjustments to this goal.  There is a possibility that we will now search for a community with both better schools and the ability to use the virtual schools.  Ideally, we would like there to be cooperation between the two.  It would be nice if we could continue to use the virtual school more progressive curriculum and also be able to cooperate with a local school for certain classes or even music and sports.   (Yes, these agreements exist.)
     We do know that for next year, we will be re-enrolling with our current school.  In our current location, this is absolutely the best option.  Our local high schools have just above an average rating, so it is likely that until we are in a different area, we will continue. 
     On a completely different note, it appears local laws may be changing soon.  It appears there is indeed an attempt to raise the expectations.  I will try to remain hopeful, even though I have seen how twisted the "No child left behind" laws became. 
     I do hope that by the time my children are parents, that the schools have made positive progress.  I have lived here for a long time and there were improvements made 15-20 years ago...and then it seems began the long disappointment.
    Our children deserve better from us, from teachers, principals, districts, as well as state and federal government.  Repeatedly lowering expectations has created a situation that has already put many of our children at risk.  Neither of my children is interested in tech fields right now, but if they were graduating right now there chances of being hired by US based tech companies would be microscopic.  Check the numbers.  The overseas recruits are beating us in education.
     That is completely appalling to me, so I will continue to push my children.  Reach higher.  Do not make excuses.  Find solutions.  Make progress.
    Now I must go purchase drinks so that my younger child will have 2 liter bottles for a science experiment.  We are lucky to have been invited to participate in a Science Fair.  Yay! 

Education is a constant choice.