If you have read my post where I have gone Walkabout, then you know there were lots of struggles going on in my life when I decided to take a break from blogging and focus on my home situation. Here is the tale of how the school issue came to be resolved.
In the Spring of 2010, Regan was all set to graduate 8th grade from the happy little kingdom of Cougars, and we had no game plan for her. It is an issue I had put off for sometime hoping a solution would somehow just manifest itself to me. With her special needs in and out of the classroom, and her desire to be treated as normal as possible it was difficult to figure out what to do. Here were our three options.
The final say we brought to the girls. I felt like they should have a part in their academic decision and know about all the options on the table along with the pros and cons. It was their future and I wanted to make sure they would be happy wherever we decided to put them for high school. They actually had a hard time with the choice of Bulldogs vs.Comanches vs. Brahmas, but it finally came down to the place that they knew more people, would have a really great support group of friends when they got there, and felt safe and academically challenged. So I guess you could say we just added two more to the herd....Go Brahmas!
- Regan could go to the yard of the Bulldogs which is the town we reside in. The plus side was that it would be no effort to get her to school at all. The downside was the district has a lot of academic and discipline problems, and Regan requires a lot of one on one time. She also tends to be a follower, so I looked around at the kids who would be with her in her class, and found very few that would take the time to take her under their wing and develop a friendship with. Only two students from her 8th grade class would be going to that school and she wasn't particularly close to either of them. I was also worried that she would be lost in the large settting and not have the dream high school experience that I want for her.
- Regan could go to the Comanche tribe located in smaller town 10 miles south of us. I contacted the school district and was informed that although they do not usually take in transfers, that they might be willing to include us and our circumstances. It is a much smaller school and Regan knew a few of the kids that would be in her grade, although none from her current school. It has an excellent academic record , and very little discipline problems. It seemed like a very probable choice, and one worth looking in to.
- Regan could graze with the Brahmas located in medium size town 15 miles east of us. It was past the kingdom of cougars where I still intended to keep Rebecca for a while longer so I knew it would be easier to drop her off on the way. This school also had an excellent academic and discipline record. The superintendent was a good family friend who I had worked with for several years before she had changed to the bigger district. Most of Regan's classmates were going to attend here including the two she was closest too. When I called to discuss it with the superintendent she was thrilled to continue to be a part of Regan's education again, and it made our decision a little easier.
The final say we brought to the girls. I felt like they should have a part in their academic decision and know about all the options on the table along with the pros and cons. It was their future and I wanted to make sure they would be happy wherever we decided to put them for high school. They actually had a hard time with the choice of Bulldogs vs.Comanches vs. Brahmas, but it finally came down to the place that they knew more people, would have a really great support group of friends when they got there, and felt safe and academically challenged. So I guess you could say we just added two more to the herd....Go Brahmas!
