Thursday, August 09, 2007

HOT! HOT! HOT!

With temperatures soaring into the 100’s, are our kids better off in school or at home?

This is the first year in which my children have attended YR school and also the first time in which they are riding the bus.  The thought never occurred to me that the buses didn’t have air conditioning.  I thought that was a no brainer.  It gets HOT here and this week has been stifling.  When it was in the 90’s and the kids came home from school, their little faces were all red and sweaty.  I asked them that first day if the bus had air conditioning and they all said NO!  I was really not happy about that but they assured me that with all the windows open the breeze kept them cool.  I really didn’t buy that for one second but OK.

So when I first heard that the temps were going to get above 100 degrees this week I thought surely they would cancel school because of the dangers of heat on young children.  You see it all over the TV, be careful with the elderly and very young.  Well school went on as planned.  Recess has been indoors all week for the children so that they don’t get overwhelmed by the heat.  And yesterday, to my utter surprise, they came home on a different bus.  An air conditioned bus.  I was relieved.  Just sitting at the bus stop waiting for the kids was an extreme experience when my car thermometer read 107 degrees this afternoon. This showed that they had some planning in place to help relieve the heat on the bus for the riders.  I am, however, dismayed that this did not occur for everyone.  I should.  No questions asked. 

So the question was are they better off in school or at home.  That is a toss up for me.  I feel that if they were at home, then riding an overheated bus would not be an issue.  But then they would probably be bored watching movies or playing video games all day.  At least in school they are learning something and being productive.  I find that school administrators have made, for the most part, good decisions about recess at our school.  I did just find out that my older child did actually have morning recess but was only allowed to remain outside for 20 minutes max.  At least it was only in the nineties then;)  I don’t really agree with that one but he is at an active age and probably needed to run some outside to burn off excess energy. 

Why does this county still have buses without air conditioning?  For the safety of our children I must insist that this be a high priority if the county is going to continue with YR schedules.  This should have been part of the planning for this and yet somehow they seemed to overlook it.  Was it an honest oversight or a supreme lack of knowledge or caring for our children?  What do you think?

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

We’ve TRACKED OUT already!

Our first “track out” has begun.  The initial 3 weeks of school passed very quickly.  At our house we called those first 3 weeks of school “School Camp”, because we were going to be in and out so quickly—-AND because it was hard to believe that 2 of my kids actually had to go to school when the rest of us were playing at the pool.  The term “camp” doesn’t sound as serious as “school”, so that’s how we handled it.  This year it wasn’t too bad because all 4 kids got out of school with the traditional calendar in early June, so we had 5 weeks of summer together before my 2 younger kids had to go back to school.  Next year will be the real test when the younger kids only get 1 week of summer vacation before going right back into school!

From the perspective of a parent, I feel that the start of the school year at Leesville Elementary went very smoothly.  Of course I wasn’t anticipating any problems, because we have such a wonderful principal and staff, and I knew they’d make it all come together for everyone.  As with anything new there were a few kinks to work out, but overall, people (students, parents, staff) were in good spirits.  Even though the conversion was not what we wanted, at least the majority of the kids at our school are at a familiar place with familiar teachers and friends.  I’ve heard from several people at some of the other converted schools where the transition was not nearly as smooth or positive.  I do realize we’re fortunate for many reasons. 

As a family, it was strange not having my younger kids home to enjoy daytime summer activities with us, but thankfully we’re on track 3 where they only missed 3 weeks of the summer together this year.  Tracks 1 & 2 are still in school, and when they track out their older siblings in traditional middle and high schools will be starting back to school, so they miss out on this additional “common summertime” that track 3 receives. 

It seems that in any situation, people are more apt to share negative experiences than positive ones.  I know that I’d like to read some positive stories from others, so if anyone has some of those to share please pass them along for everyone to read!

Monday, July 30, 2007

First Day Back for Track 4

Are you on track 4?  How was your first day back?

Today is another day with new changes going on in several Wake County schools.  Track 4 starts while track 3 tracks out.  Will this go smoothly or will there be some confusion and conflict?  Today started like any other school day for us.  We were up early and off the to the bus stop around 7:30.  One thing was missing.  Our neighbors are all on different tracks than we are so one was missing out there today.  I miss the morning conversations with my neighbor which are sometimes the only adult interaction I get in a day.  I had made arrangements to pick up and bring home our track 1 neighbor so that his mother wouldn’t have to go during the time that her usual ride is tracked out.  These arrangements are out of courtesy for each other. 

And that is what we have here.  Mutual respect and kindness for our neighbors.  Whether they are on track 1, 2, 3 or 4 we have come together to make it easier on our children and our selves.  We all come from different parts of the country but we seem to be able to come together here for our children.  Seems very nice.

Any way this is a short entry.  If you were going back to school today for the first time let me and everyone here know how your day went.  Was it confusing or exciting?  How did your children handle it?  And for those of you on track 3 how was your first track out?  What did you do today?  Was it nice to sleep in again?  Let us know!

Friday, July 27, 2007

What Exactly Is A Blogger?

What a crazy year it’s been.  A year ago I had never heard of MYR, VYR or GM (at least as they pertained to schools), and I thought school reassignment only happened to those who didn’t live geographically close to the school they were attending.  What I’ve learned and experienced during this time has been very eye opening, to say the least.

I certainly didn’t know what a “blogger” was, but if asked I probably would have guessed that blogging was some new form of internet dating.  Now I’ve been enlightened, and I have to admit that I am a blogger.  Whoa—what a difference a year makes.

I was first introduced to blogging last fall when I heard that a friend of mine was unfairly being criticized for saying things and acting in a certain way, and I knew for a FACT that the things said about her on that blog were not true.  Someone was actually putting my friend’s name on a blog, but in a cowardly way the person making the accusations was able to remain anonymous.  I couldn’t believe that people could do something like that in such a public fashion, so I had to find out what it was all about.  I became involved in that particular blog for awhile, but in the end I had to take a break because it was becoming such a negative place.  More often than not, I found myself constantly trying to be the “etiquitte police”.  It seemed so strange to me that people who didn’t even know each other felt compelled to argue and throw out insults at “cyber strangers”.  Unfortunately, when people can make statements behind a fake name/ID, they feel justified in saying things that they would never say “in person”.  My feeling is that if you are willing to say it, you should be willing to stand behind what you say.

When NBC-17 asked me to write this blog, they gave me “free rein” to write about my experiences and to share feelings and opinions that had been shared with me.  For the most, part people on this particular blog have had no problem revealing their true identity and saying exactly what they feel.  I appreciate that.  But there are still a few who feel empowered to dispute what others say, but then choose to remain anonymous.  I guess you’ll get that anywhere.  I continue to believe that if you’re willing to say it, you should be willing to stand behind what you say. 

One thing that has really surprised me during this past few weeks is the number of e-mails I am receiving “outside the blog”. I really haven’t counted, but a good estimate is that I hear from around 10-15 people per day.  That adds a whole dimension to what I write.  Many of these people are teachers, some are parents, some are administrators, and while they are willing to share their feelings with me (under their real identities) they fear retribution from employers and peers for saying what they say.  I don’t think they’ve been threatened in any way, but they value their jobs and friendships and I understand their positions.  Now I feel like a reporter who must protect the identity of “my sources”.  (and I have absolutely no problem doing that).  Because of this input, even though my blog entries ARE hugely based in fact, I have to present them as “general opinions”, and in turn I open myself up to being accused of seeking out negatives and spreading neighborhood gossip.  (I’m not complaining, but this is what it comes down to)  I personally want only the truth, and that’s what I pass along.  If I make a mistake, I’m the first to admit it.

I sincerely appreciate the honest entries added to the blog AND the “outside e-mails”.  This is a new process to many of us, and we’re all trying to work through it in our own ways.  It’s nice to hear that people are doing their best even though they’re in situations they didn’t choose. Hopefully we can all work together to make some positive changes for the future of Wake County Education.

Enjoy your weekends with your children!  I know I will!

Friday, July 20, 2007

Let’s Talk Shade Structures!

Back in the fall of last year when we were told that our school was going to be forced to convert to a Year-round schedule, we made up our minds that we’d research the subject as well as we could to see if there was any way to get our school taken off the list.  We felt that we had a very compelling case against the conversion,  so it was time to get to work on our strategy.

One thing we felt was misrepresented in the press was the TRUE COST OF CONVERSIONS.  What was printed in the newspaper as the “cost of conversion to year-round” was basically the cost of the teacher’s track-out carts (which was approximately $65,000)  As we dug deeper, we found that the cost of these carts was just a SMALL FRACTION of the true cost.

I’m happy to share our calculations with anyone interested, because it was close to $800,000 which is obviously a HUGE discrepancy.

But, one cost that was not included in the cost of conversion was shade structures to go over the school playgrounds.  We couldn’t believe that the school system was not considering putting shade structures over all of the playgrounds at the 19 Elementary schools being forced to convert to a YR schedule.  We all know how hot playground equipment can be in the North Carolina sun.  After a child slides down a hot slide or feels the burn of hot monkey bars on his/her hands, you can be pretty certain that he/she won’t be playing on the hot playground equipment for a long time.

I know that as an adult I am miserable being outside in the hot summer sun without a swimming pool nearby—-even just standing still.  Most children won’t stand still or seek shade when it’s recess time—-what they want to do is run and play with their friends, and this could really cause some problems.  (heat exhaustion, dehydration, and sunburn to name a few)

In the short time I’ve been involved in looking into shade structures, it appears that some schools are well on their way to getting these for their schools.  Unfortunately, from what I’ve been told (and I know that I could be wrong) it sounds like the school system is refusing to pay for these, so the funds have to be raised by the PTA at each school.

I thought that soliciting corporate sponsorships would be a great way to raise the necessary funds, however I was told that the Wake County School System will not allow corporations to fund these types of items.

What are other Year-Round schools doing in regards to shade structures?

Does anyone know if it’s true that the School System won’t allow corporations to pay for shade structures?

Does anyone have advice regarding grant applications?

THANKS for your input!