Oh my! Let me just start by saying my son is only in preschool and I am already getting fed up with the public school system. So if you don't feel like reading a crazy woman's ranting and raving blog post don't read any further than this. LOL
You still with me? Thank you for taking the time to listen to my ranting, here's a cup of coffee. We could probably both use a bit of caffeine right now. haha.
I am trying to keep my calm and give the school system some time, but I am finding my patience is running very VERY thin.
Here's what we are dealing with:
Last year my son went to preschool speech therapy once a week every week for the whole school year. I home-schooled him the rest of the time. But he showed such a huge interest in public school and just blossomed so when asked if we wanted him to attend preschool 4 days a week (half days of course) this year we decided to go ahead with it. He had met so many friends, and he really wanted to go back. We went to the school to sign him up on the sign up date, filled out all the paperwork, they made copies of shot records, proof of address, etc. Lucas was tested on his letters, numbers, etc.
After about 2 hours of this we were done and were told we would receive a letter in the mail to let us know what school he will be going to.
We waited...and waited...and waited some more. Finally we get a paper saying our son had been accepted into preschool and we should receive yet another paper informing us what school he will attend with the open house date so we can meet his teacher, see his class, other classmates, etc.
So we wait some more...even more...and longer still, but...as you probably guessed, nothing comes.
Being the constant worrier that I am something kept telling me something was wrong. School starts in a few weeks and we should have surely heard something by now!
Hubby kept telling me to give it some more time that I was stressing over nothing.
Meanwhile the school sales are booming at Walmart, Target, etc and prices are getting lower and lower.
I am the type of person who takes advantage of sales and I try to buy in bulk. Crayons are for sure going to get broken during school, markers are going to run out of ink, colored pencils and pencils are going to break, notebooks will be used up, etc. Not to mention backpacks, uniforms, etc are on sale too which are things he will need. I want to buy stuff up while it's super cheap and be set for the year. Why go back later on and pay full price if you don't have to? All the school lists are posted at the department stores, but since I don't know what school he is going to how am I going to know what the supply list will require? They are all dramatically different in brands they require, amounts of this and that, etc. Some want crayola crayons, some want Roseart, etc,. Grr..
Frustration mounts...
Finally I have enough. I gather up the kiddos and the hubby and we head out the door to the main school office that handles all the schools in our town. And do you know what we are told?
There is no record of Lucas being set up in preschool! He is still set up for once a week in his speech class. OMGosh! I want to scream, but I calmly explain that we filled out all the paperwork and received an acceptance letter. They consult the computer and say again there are no records. We go home, come back with the acceptance letter to show them, and they look totally confused and again say there is no record.
I stand there in silence for a minute waiting on her to continue but she just stares at me. Very patiently while gritting my teeth I ask:
"Then where did all of his forms go with his very personal information, all his shot records, etc?"
The woman looks at her computer again, says she will look into it and give us a call. We give her our phone number feeling defeated in so many ways, and mighty frustrated.
This was a week ago.
I have been back to the school office twice, called over a handful of times and left messages. I'm trying not to be a nag about it, but my goodness! School is in 3 weeks! I want to know how in the world they could mess up my son's records like this! I'm not too impressed with the school system thus far. I'm hoping that I hear something by Tuesday or I will be going back to the school office and if that does no good I will be calling or visiting the superintendence's office. I'm not trying to be Cruella De'ville here, but I do not want to have a crushed kid on my hands. He has been looking forward to meeting new friends, going to class, etc. He loves school, and he is very eager to help pick out school supplies he will need also.
So I guess all I can do until then is pray and be patient, but I can't help but be mightily frustrated at the same time. I know it's all going to work out somehow though so I'm trying not to stress. This is something that just jumped out at me while I was looking for helpful bible verses.
Colossians 3:12-13
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. (NLT)
Tori! How HORRIBLE. You are a better woman than I. Because I would be standing on some person's desk threatening them and their unborn progeny to get my kid confirmed at a school STAT. I'd probably leave the building in a squad car and my kid sent to foster care, but they'd know I meant to have him registered in preschool pronto.
ReplyDeleteLOL! Thank you for that comment Keesha, I needed that pick me up today. I couldn't stop laughing. :) I wanted to do just that, believe me. I was actually picturing such scenes in my head, but I kept making myself breathe. I am extremely upset by it though and I'm actually making a surprise visit up there today...again...to find out what is going on since nobody has returned my calls.
DeleteI think I see now why a lot of moms home-school if they can. BUT it will definitely be worth it in the end as he just loves school, making new friends, etc. So I'm gonna warrior on, and they WILL get him placed on time. LOL :)