Down to the last Grains of Sand

Regan is an 8th grader this year.
This means quite a few things for us, but primarily this is her last year at her beloved rural school. The little country school my girls go to only goes through 8th grade. The final year the students are preparing to head to the local high schools in the area. The great part is there is a wonderful selection. Within 5-15 miles in any direction there are five high schools to choose from (two Catholic and three public). You would think this would be wonderful to be faced with so many choices, but the truth is with Regan there really are other things that we have to use in determining her destination.

With her cerebral palsy affecting her physically it is important to look at handicapped accessibility. Yes all schools in Texas must be to some degree, but two of the choices are from such old buildings that I don't think they have changed so much as their furnace filters in the last fifty years. Those would be the Catholic schools which not only are painfully not really accessible, but will also not have the services such as PT, OT, RT, and special education prompts in place that we would need. That knocks two schools off the list.

Our local school that my girls have not attended due to the fact that I find our home district unsafe and not as educationally challenging is my last resort option. It is the largest of the local public schools. We have friends who work at the school in the classroom, administration, and through the school board. I know she could be looked after but it is also much larger than we are used to and it is imperative that she get her individual attention and a personalized game plan. Coupled with the fact that drugs, violence, and gang activity have seemingly rocked out small town....I have labeled our local school a last resort (and would even consider homeschooling over sending her there).

That leaves the final two choices for a public school. One I really love in a smaller town 10 miles south of us. The school district is exemplary, it is small in class size (about 60-80 kids per grade), and has a brand new high school built in the last five years completely up to code. It is my dream school for Regan. The problem then lies in the fact that will not take any transfers from out of town. You must live within the school district to attend the school. Yes, I have every intention of putting my house on the market, but my deadlines are quickly approaching and I am behind.

It feels like the hourglass is on its last ounce of sand, and we have decisions to make.