2nd Try at 2nd Grade

I apologize to those of you who have already hashed through this with me.  Thank you for all your advice and support.  

Austin started school yesterday (again), and we took "classic" porch pictures (again), and I filled out an entire packet of information last night (again). But, that's okay. We just want him to be in a place that is best for him.

As you can tell by now, the ALPS program didn't exactly work out. After only one week of school, Greg and I met with Austin's teacher, the principal, and the woman in charge of ALPS from the District. Of course, the first question was whether or not we had ever had him "tested." I explained that we had, but they wanted to do their own testing on him. The principal explained that they didn't need our permission to do this, but it was much better if we just gave our permission. I go over and over the entire conversation in my mind. They explained Austin's "typical" behavior (has difficulty staying in his seat, pokes other students when they are in line, has difficulty staying focused during independent study, forgets to raise his hand and blurts out answers, etc.). The District lady observed him the last hour of the school day (three hours since lunch and they don't have an afternoon recess). She was quite appalled when she explained that she observed that he blew on another little girl in the class. I was seriously waiting for someone to tell me that he was threatening the other kids with violence, or that he punched another kid in the nose, or something that would justify a meeting with the principal after one week of school!!! I know his "focus issues" are annoying, but is he really unmanageable?

Anyway, the thing that was the most frustrating was that they wanted to do the evaluation to determine whether or not he would stay in the ALPS program. Every time we started talking about some solutions, the District Lady would pipe up and explain that we don't even know if he's staying in the program. She kept explaining how demanding it is, and she obviously didn't think he could keep up. Finally, as we were leaving, I explained that it wasn't "The Program" (and I really didn't think it looked too demanding), Austin would struggle with these impulse control issues regardless. I felt like his old teacher and I were extremely up front with these issues. I spoke to three different people and explained these specific behaviors, and each time I was assured that Austin's scores indicated that ALPS was the right place for him. Then, how come after only one week of school, they have changed their mind? If they would have told us that they have reviewed Austin's scores, and it was apparent that ALPS was the place for him, and they wanted to work with us to find a solution, I would have been much more open to leaving him in that class. But, it was obvious to me that the District Lady didn't want him in the program, and I didn't want him to have to start another new class, not knowing anyone, with a different teacher in six weeks. We would just be starting completely over, and I knew the problems would not go away. So...We quit.

I had planned on homeschooling him for the year, but I called Entheos (in tears) to see if they had given his spot away yet. His teacher, Miss Rachael, called later that night to tell me how much she would love to have him back and that he was at the top of the list. They called back a couple of days later, and said that a student was moving, so Austin could have his spot.

I have been downright crazy the past few weeks full of anxiety for Austin to start school. I didn't eat anything on Tuesday just because I didn't have an appetite. We met with Miss Rachael to discuss some strategies, and I felt much better after our meeting. She has been so amazing through this entire experience. She took some of the credit/blame for the issues with Austin last year. She said she's really worked hard this summer to re-vamp some things with the classroom that should make a difference. Mostly, she is so good at seeing the good in Austin. We ended the conversation with her and her aide, Miss Karen, telling us how loving and thoughtful he is. I just feel better about him being somewhere where he is valued.
I know we'll have issues this year. Honestly, I don't know if the issues will end until he graduates High School. It is so difficult to be the only one that's doing something "different." This other school is one of the top-ranked schools in the entire state, everyone in our neighborhood has such good experiences there, and we couldn't make it a week!?! Sometimes I wonder why we just can't be like everyone else, who apparently start 2nd grade without all this drama. :) But, now I know that we are really doing what is best for our son and that is all that matters. Greg gave him a beautiful blessing last night, and we'll just keep praying. Hopefully, we can see some success this year.

Macy also started preschool. In fact, today I was able to run errands with Paige (ONLY) and it was so pleasant. Macy loves school. She runs in the door and says, "Mom...You gotta see this." Then, she proceeds to show me all of her school work.  However, when I ask what they did that day, she always says, "I don't know."  Why won't my kids talk to me?!?

Thank you, Daddy, for the Giants backpacks.  Greg went to Giants game in July with his dad and brothers and brought these back for the kids.  They think it is absolutely hilarious to wear them backward.  The other day, we were at the store, and a man came up to Austin and said, "Hey...Your head's on backward."  He thought it was so funny.