The little man attends a charter school. This one has worked well for us. Because of its emphasis on inclusion of students with special needs, the small class sizes and the year-round schedule it’s been worth the extra commuting time. Today, though, I found a letter in the little man’s backpack. Informing me that the school’s lease is not being renewed, as I’d feared, and the search is on for a new site. Four areas are being considered - two of which would work really well for us and two that would not. At all. And there was no indication when this will all be settled. I find this feeling of transiency disturbing. Especially with my background. I grew up in the very same house my Dad was raised in and had the same bedroom for the first eighteen years of my life. I attended the same schools my Dad did and even shared some teachers (who all remembered him fondly). I walked to school until the eleventh grade, at which point I was finally offered bus service, but by then I mostly drove or caught a ride with a friend. My son has no classmates in our neighborhood. Heck, there are only a few in our city. And if the school is moved even further away? I’m not sure what we’ll do. But I’m going to have to put together a backup plan, stat.
Bonus: That note on my hand? I stopped by the library this afternoon to pick up Lanark: A Life in Four Books. Got the idea from my pal hoveringdog. Planning to curl up with it after I put the powerbook away.
Strong: Santogold was interviewed yesterday on BBC radio.
And: Meant to post this last week…a behind the scenes video made by Bre at etsy labs, a How-To for Gocco printing. I’d always wondered what magic was behind that. Neat.
6 Comments
If you ever feel like giving Gocco a try let me know. You could make postcards of one of the little man’s illustrations.
My gawd that would be so awesome.
that is really crappy news adn a very shitty way to find out that your son’t school may be moving. i hope they find a suitable replacemtn spot that will be convenient for you.
i just found your blog recently through flickr while searching autism and now check it almost daily. (i have no idea why i looked on flickr, i guess i am sort of searching in all areas for an answer for my son.) i have a 3 and a half year old named angus who my husband and i, as well as his montessori teachers, think may be on the autism spectrum. i would love to pick your brain regarding your son’s initial evaluation, diagnosis, and his educational and theraputic needs. he was treated through our local early intervention program for developmental delays, speech therapy, and sensory integration dysfunction, but once he aged out at 3 years old, they pretty much said he was fine and sent us about our business. but, as i knew all along, things aren’t fine and he is in need of more help and extra attention than his current montessori school can’t offer. so i guess my questions really center around how you much you had to fight to get your litle man the services he needs, and how did you go about getting him the best possible care? should i begin with a developmental pediatrician? or with a private evaluation? the schools have already failed us here in richmond, so i feel cornered.
Charter schools are evil, they rob resources from public schools and deliver mediocre results.
Oh come now. Evil? You might’ve bothered to post a more constructive criticism, but you seem to be out trolling. Especially as the email address you used isn’t legit.
I doubt I can change your mind on this issue, but my son’s charter school has been the best thing for us. He is autistic, diagnosed by specialists at the Children’s Hospital. The public school system wanted to chuck him into a kindergarten classroom with 30 other students and just one teacher. If you have spent any time around special needs students you would know that that is not an acceptable solution. It would have been horrible for my son, and disruptive for the other students.
Lame. There is a time and place for trolls, but Mass Distraction is definitely not one of them.
Anyway, I feel you, Sharyn–there is a lot to be said about having stability and a strong sense of “home” in those years. I was lucky enough, like you, to attend the same school, live in the same house, grow up with the same people, through all those years… and I think it did a lot of good.
Hope it all works out for you.
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