Monday, August 25, 2008

Thoughts...AND the turmoil of change...

I am sitting here today doing some work with NILMDTS and thinking about my children. One thing that has hit close to home with me is my son Chase. Chase will be 15 in October. This year Mike and I have decided put him in a new highschool (D'EVELYN) down the hill. I have tried to lottery Chase in this school for the past two years, and finally this year, his number was called. And because his number was called, Anna is sibling priority. So she has started 7th grade at D'Evelyn also. (she is doing great) This school was ranked number one last year for their ACT tests...Is Chase struggling? Yes, he is. Not scholastically, but socially. He misses his friends. I have told him that he will make new friends, while keeping his old friends. His education is so important to Mike and myself. This is the one gift we can give him. We care about his education. We want to give him the best we can. This is a gift that can't be thrown away. Does Chase understand this? No, honestly he doesn't. Is life getting better for him? Yes it is. Will he look back one day, and say, 'Thanks Mom and Dad for the gift of education?' God, I hope so! LOL! Last night he bet me $10.00 that he wouldn't. I told him in four years, I would take that bet! And his money, with interest!

http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/high-schools/2007/11/29/gold-medal-schools.html US NEWs ranked D'Evelyn highschool number 62 in the US!

http://www.tonymassey.com/what-are-the-best-schools-in-colorado

4 comments:

Rosalie said...

Cheryl,
You and Mike are doing the right thing. Chase's education is very important. He may not see it now, but in the future... When my little brother Mike left for college he left a long letter under his pillow for my mom to find after he was gone. It was to both my parents thanking them for giving him the "best education a kid could ask for". Later on he said in college there were so many students who could not write a decent term paper!!! He graduated from college and is now working a dream job with ESPN!!

Linda said...

Cheryl, I have a huge lump in my throat! Our children are so pecious to us. We want nothing but the world for them. So when we decide to do something like move them schools to better them and then it back fires slightly it hurts. It's not the decision that hurts but the reaction. We just did the same thing with Elijah putting him in the charter school near our house. In addition we had to retain him. It was a very difficult desicion. Elijah took a map test just a few weeks ago and was at a 1st grade reading level and 2nd grade math level. Elijah has been on an IEP and in special ed for a few years and all I saw was a constant. Oh he'll be fine. No child left behind view...Elijah is a fabulous kid who because his mom and dad have crazy jobs has suffered educationally from moving. He just needs a little bit of time to catch up. Long story short he's getting that this year. The charter school agreed with us and held him back. He says he loves it. It's only been a few weeks but he seems to be doing very well. We meet with the teacher, special ed teacher and principle on Friday.

Anonymous said...

#62 in the nation! Now I want to move there! Hang in there... I know it's tough when our kids struggle, but Chase will get through this and learn and grow so much. This will provide him with great life experience, not just a fantastic academic boost. Life can be very difficult and the path of least resistance is rarely the best path to take. It'll be tough in many respects, but it will also be the most rewarding and he'll be stronger and better prepared for life because of the challenges he's going through.

Something Beautiful said...

D'Evelyn is a fabulous school and their athletic trainer is just as fabulous! Chase is at a tough age...so much pressure for high schoolers. I commend your difficult decision.
I wanted you to also know I mentioned you and precious Maddux on our adoption blog today.
love, mar