Schooling in Crisis

(Came on here to write this post and saw I've gained 3 more followers just overnight! Wow.:D )

My oldest daughter (a senior) has been in 6 different schools, my middle daughter (in 6th) 8, youngest two (in K and 3rd) kids 2, and my oldest son 6 (in 10th). But now it looks like we'll have to find a new school for him for next year- he just announced last night his current school (and the one we all love- a Waldorf based charter high school) will be closing after this year. This so sucks! It completely frustrates and irritates me to the core- (just a little vent now) after trying another charter school last year that was very new and having serious financial difficulties and couldn't keep a good teacher to save their lives, we found this one and he's grown so much, they support him and have him learning- not only academics but life skills too, they truly honor his IEP and just in general it was a gold mine of a school! And now we have to try again. And to top it all off- LOTS of charter schools will be closing after this year.

Why? One reason, and its a reoccurring theme: Money. The state is with holding public money these schools are entitled to. Money they are supposed to be receiving for each child that attends. (More on charter schools.) Charter schools are backed by private "investors"- corporations usually, but in this economy if they're struggling they don't have the extra money to back the school. And in the case of T's school, one backer is suing the other- and now no funding at all is going to the school. No money= no school. This is a crisis and a shame. (Especially since this is one of the longest running charter schools in the area, used to be a private school but wanted to open it up to more kids so they turned charter back in 1993.)

Again the world is forgetting our most important resource...Our Children. They have been over looked so often that they seem to be invisible.

Why have my children been is so many different schools? Two reasons- moving (they've done a lot) and lack of (what I feel) schools that put them first. I'm over public schools here...I have one child in one but that is because of her and lack options in our area. The rest are in charter schools- and the common theme for all the charter schools they attend is "meeting the individual needs of each child" and they do!

We're at a place where we think "if we'd have known all this this we may have made different decisions for the up coming years"- we had planned on keeping T in this school until he graduated in 2 years, putting off moving out of state (closer to DH's family). This is financially a smart move for us- housing prices are 1/2 as much there with wages equal, but we wanted what was best for him. Now....there's no point but no money to move. 

So we'll have to hunt for another school. He can't be in a mainstream public school, he'd get lost and end up failing...so much for no child left behind huh?! I know I'm not the only parent out there that's facing schools in crisis. I hear it in blogs, on FB, in mainstream news reports and "alternative" publications. More and more parents are turning to homeschooling, this is not an option for us. The nation's schools as a whole are failing. Thank you Mr. (I refuse to call him President, as I never voted for him) Bush and you're ingenious No Child Left Behind- it's not NO Child, it's ALL children.

Hey Government Officials- we want money going to schools, schools that meet our childrens' needs and individual learning styles, schools that care. Not to your stupid bullshit. Maybe just maybe if we concentrate on what's really important and not keeping the US #1 bullshitter then the World would like us! Hmm just a thought.

Okay rough morning here- too much going on that's interfered with this blog and now it's seeping into my writing, so I'll say "Goodbye".