Wednesday, July 11, 2007

A Feeling Of Uncertainty

With the year-round school year having completed day 3, people are experiencing and feeling many different things, and it all depends on your individual situation.

To my elementary school kids, their actual school routine is pretty familiar.  They’re going to the same school they’ve always gone to, they have the same principal they’ve always known, and they know lots of children at school.  Other than the fact that they know their brother and sister are spending the day at the pool and playing tennis, it’s been a relatively easy adjustment for them.

As their parents, we’ve tried to make the new school year exciting for them.  Although saying goodbye at school on Monday brought out a lot of emotions after I watched them walk into the school, I know they’re at a place we all know and love, so that part is easy.

Tuesday night was our first swim meet since school has started.  We waited out the storm, but at 8:00 PM the meet was cancelled and rescheduled for tonight.  (It sounds like most of the league was in the same situation)  Everyone got a normal night’s sleep, and tonight we made the trek back to Cary.  After delaying the start for almost 2 hours, we were able to get one event in before the storms took over again.  This means we won’t be able to swim the meet, but the kids all get another pretty normal night of sleep.  SO, the problem of late Tuesday night swim meets won’t be much of an issue this season except for our last meet which is next Tuesday.

For my older children, they are enjoying their “normal summer routine”, but they do miss their siblings.  My boys have been tennis partners the past few years, and today was the first tennis match that they didn’t play together.  We typically see a movie on Tuesday afternoon with our swim team, and yesterday both of my older kids felt guilty that their younger siblings were in school while they were able to enjoy a movie.

At this point, I’m actually concerned for our teachers more than anyone else.  We’ve already lost so many excellent teachers due to the conversion.  We have quite a few current teachers who are also parents of children in the school system.  The numbers at our school and many others are much lower than anticipated.  Our principal is retiring, but he has agreed to stay on until October.  He’s handling this situation as calmly and professionally as he has handled everything in the past.  HOWEVER, when he pictured retirement in his mind, I’m certain this is not what he thought he’d be doing during his last 4 months at school. 

I understand that there is a feeling of uncertainty amongst the staff at our school because of our low numbers, and I’m guessing many of the other 22 schools being converted are in a similar situation.  Will we have to collapse tracks?  Will we have to move families to different tracks?  Will classes have to be combined?  None of these things have officially been discussed. (at least to my knowledge)  But, all of these situations could lead to teacher layoffs.  With the traditional calendar, our school was overcrowded, but no one really minded because we all loved the school and teachers so much.  The students and staff were thriving, and the teachers weren’t in danger of losing jobs.  It doesn’t sound like everyone feels real “secure” right now.

There was also mention in a News & Observer article this week that said “...school leaders say they might revert some to a traditional calendar…“.  Who are the school leaders that said that?  What schools are they looking at?  How soon might the conversion(s) back to traditional take place?  Hearing such a vague statement brings out even more questions and more uncertainty regarding the current situation.  Our school was so opposed to the year-round conversion that there is now a great deal of speculation that we may be one to convert back.  But, would this happen soon (after 10th day numbers come in)?  Mid-year?  At the end of the year?  Right now there are a lot of rumors flying around after reading that article.

So, how is everyone else doing this week, and are you experiencing the same low enrollment issues, questions, and uncertainty that we are?