As I have noted more than once on this blog, B's preK experience has not been great. His teacher was ok, not awesome, not awful, but ok...but she's been out for weeks at a time due to serious personal issues, the principal retired this summer so there is an interim acting principal, and the have been some terrible decisions made at his school-ranging from substitute teachers who have never taught an early childhood class, to a class period where 4-6 classes so 80-120+ kids grades preK-5 (depending on if you take the teacher or the principal's word for it) were housed in a regular size classroom with only 3 teachers, to just a general atmosphere of extreme rudeness, hostility, and condescension--with no regard for the children, on the part of the principal and administration.
B hates school...we hate school...and I think after the past week (when we galvanized the parents and had a major discussion with the principal outlining what needed to change for our children) the school hates us.
B's teacher and assistant teacher were fine and are very grateful that we have been advocating with other parents for our children, but his main teacher is now on an indefinite leave of absence, his assistant teacher is trying to hold down the fort in the classroom but is not really trained or qualified to do that, and the current sub is a high school teacher who has no idea how to handle preK children.
We've been volunteering in the classroom almost constantly during the past few weeks and we've gotten to see even more clearly how ineffective and disorganized it is.
Following the group prep incident which violates all kinds of safety laws in addition to NYC board of Ed regulations, educational best practices, and general common sense, Ababa and I decided that B could not stay there. We reached out to several friends who work in education as well as several public and community-based schools to see if there was a way to move him mid-year.
In an amazing answer to prayer and a truly miraculous PreK do-over, B has been accepted into one first choice school in all of Manhattan for the rest of the year, he starts Monday. His new teacher has a nephew or godson (I wasn't totally clear which, maybe both...) who joined their families through Ethiopian adoption. She's an amazing teacher-calm, firm, kind, creative, understanding, respectful, listening...it's a small school and will be much less overwhelming for B, plus they are really going to try and observe him to see if there is any extra help he might benefit from to help him really excel.
Plus, there is an Ethiopian family with several children at the school (the principal introduced us today), there is an older kids classroom that is specifically studying Africa for the whole year!, the music teacher has been to Ethiopia, and if I understood things today (I was alternately tearing up and grinning from ear to ear at the prospect of B going here) there is another child in the school who joined their family through Ethiopian adoption.
This school is so amazing. It is basically my dream school, and now he will get to go there for preK, and possibly the rest of elementary school!!!!!!!!
Today on his trial day he sculpted with real clay in art, built towers with blocks, met the class guinea pigs, read books, talked way more than he would talk in his old school on a good day, actually interacted with other kids in his class (which he would not do at his old school), was held to a much higher standard of interaction/response/participation than he was at his old school...and he started to rise to the occasion!
I can not wait to see what the rest of this school year has in store for him!
Yes, it is a little further commute. Yes, it starts a little earlier and we will likely need to leave the house 30 minutes earlier to get to school, but it will be so worth it.
I have to keep pinching myself--it took 5 dramatic months of the school year in a not so great school situation but, he is going to the school we listed first on our PreK application!!!!!
We are praising God today for this incredible and miraculous change of preK circumstances!
We will miss the students and parents at his old school who we grew close to in the past few weeks especially, and hope that they will have the stamina to keep pushing for positive change and that the administration will recognize that the parents in that class are engaged, want the best for their children, and will keep pushing to get it. We will continue to advocate for them and with them as much as we can.
B hates school...we hate school...and I think after the past week (when we galvanized the parents and had a major discussion with the principal outlining what needed to change for our children) the school hates us.
B's teacher and assistant teacher were fine and are very grateful that we have been advocating with other parents for our children, but his main teacher is now on an indefinite leave of absence, his assistant teacher is trying to hold down the fort in the classroom but is not really trained or qualified to do that, and the current sub is a high school teacher who has no idea how to handle preK children.
We've been volunteering in the classroom almost constantly during the past few weeks and we've gotten to see even more clearly how ineffective and disorganized it is.
Following the group prep incident which violates all kinds of safety laws in addition to NYC board of Ed regulations, educational best practices, and general common sense, Ababa and I decided that B could not stay there. We reached out to several friends who work in education as well as several public and community-based schools to see if there was a way to move him mid-year.
In an amazing answer to prayer and a truly miraculous PreK do-over, B has been accepted into one first choice school in all of Manhattan for the rest of the year, he starts Monday. His new teacher has a nephew or godson (I wasn't totally clear which, maybe both...) who joined their families through Ethiopian adoption. She's an amazing teacher-calm, firm, kind, creative, understanding, respectful, listening...it's a small school and will be much less overwhelming for B, plus they are really going to try and observe him to see if there is any extra help he might benefit from to help him really excel.
Plus, there is an Ethiopian family with several children at the school (the principal introduced us today), there is an older kids classroom that is specifically studying Africa for the whole year!, the music teacher has been to Ethiopia, and if I understood things today (I was alternately tearing up and grinning from ear to ear at the prospect of B going here) there is another child in the school who joined their family through Ethiopian adoption.
This school is so amazing. It is basically my dream school, and now he will get to go there for preK, and possibly the rest of elementary school!!!!!!!!
Today on his trial day he sculpted with real clay in art, built towers with blocks, met the class guinea pigs, read books, talked way more than he would talk in his old school on a good day, actually interacted with other kids in his class (which he would not do at his old school), was held to a much higher standard of interaction/response/participation than he was at his old school...and he started to rise to the occasion!
I can not wait to see what the rest of this school year has in store for him!
Yes, it is a little further commute. Yes, it starts a little earlier and we will likely need to leave the house 30 minutes earlier to get to school, but it will be so worth it.
I have to keep pinching myself--it took 5 dramatic months of the school year in a not so great school situation but, he is going to the school we listed first on our PreK application!!!!!
We are praising God today for this incredible and miraculous change of preK circumstances!
We will miss the students and parents at his old school who we grew close to in the past few weeks especially, and hope that they will have the stamina to keep pushing for positive change and that the administration will recognize that the parents in that class are engaged, want the best for their children, and will keep pushing to get it. We will continue to advocate for them and with them as much as we can.
What great news for your family!
ReplyDeletethanks Sharon! New York City public school admission is the craziest thing...we are just feeling so, so blessed! it really is like a do-over.
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome!!! The teacher at the new place sounds like an outstanding preschool person, which truly is a calling and a gift. (I only work w/ preK at summer school, and the about 20 min. per class that I have w/ them is usually about enough!!) Tee hee. No, really, they're great, and it's way fun to do participative activities, sing w/ them, see them grow, and help them interact w/ each other appropriately. This will be an awesome experience for him!! Praise God for His provision!!
ReplyDelete