Kennedy Update

We still have no answers on what is going on with Kennedy. I'm getting very nervous about Friday when we have her appointment at Children's Hospital in Seattle. Our appointment is 9:00 a.m. with an 8:45 a.m. check in. It will be a very early morning for us, I figure we have to leave no later than 6:30 a.m., that is EARLY for us around here.
I'm mostly nervous about how she will do. She has gone through so much already and there was talk of scoping her so I have no idea what we are in for down there. It could be an all day event. They are expecting something "fun" afterwards (zoo, Children's Museum, etc.) so it is going to be a very long day. I don't recall promising that to them but they have it in their minds so I may have said it to lessen the blow when I originally talked to her about it. They deserve that afterwards but I'm just concerned about what is in store and how late we will be getting done.
The tummy aches don't seem to be as bad, either that or she has just gotten used to living with them which seems to be the case because I see her holding her tummy without complaining a lot. The incontinence is what is disturbing me the most. She has sudden urgency and can't hold her bladder several times a day. This really bothers me and I really hope we can get some answers soon.
Please keep her in your thoughts and say a prayer if that's your thing, I need my little girl to be well.

I might as well write about all the bad news in one post....the girls' school will likely be getting shut down after next year. Ferndale has decided to close an elementary school and Mt. View was the one that was recommended by the Facilities Advisory Committee that is a group of 13 appointed volunteers. They have met numerous times over the past year + and their recommendation will likely be carried out by the school board. I have lots of thoughts about this. There is the aspect of my home value and what it will mean for our neighborhood. I think it will eventually be repurposed to the alternative high school which could further affect home values. This school is the anchor for many low-income children in the area. There are multiple apartment buildings surrounding the school and those children will no longer have a school that serves as their home base within view and walking distance. Many of the volunteering parents are single car households and will no longer be able to walk to their child's school to volunteer and feel connected. My heart breaks for the families that call Mt. View home. Mt. View holds the most special needs children where they are so beautifully integrated into the classrooms. Special needs students make up more than 21% of the student population at Mt. View. I am thankful for the way they are integrated and accepted by the student body there. There is the other side that makes me wonder what this means for MY girls. Mt. View has VERY low test scores. I agonized over this before starting Madison last year. I had the initial panic of not wanting to send my child to a school with low test scores but I did more research and educated myself about public school and came to realize there are a lot of factors that go into a child's education and the school's test scores are only one aspect. Madison has been able to establish herself as a leader at Mt. View. She has excelled in her work, been a model student and learned numerous valuable lessons about being in a public school around all sorts of different people. I am thankful for her experience but I think everything happens for a reason and on the aspect of their schooling this may be a blessing in disguise. She is often bored and she is ALWAYS the first one done with anything. I witness this first hand when I volunteer and her teacher validated the same concern (although nothing was offered as a solution). I know she is sometimes able to help other students finish and that is nice but she is ready for more. So, what about 3rd grade? When Mt. View closes I have no idea where Madison will be for 3rd grade (and Kennedy for 1st). A side note....I will have to send Kennedy to Mt. View for only one year before uprooting her to another school - NOT ideal! I *think* the girls will go to Skyline which happens to also have low test scores, in some categories much lower than Mt. View. If I am going to go through all of this I would like to ensure my daughters are at a school where they will be challenged. I'm sure Skyline is run differently than Mt. View and maybe I would have the same experience no matter where we were but I'm just feeling very frustrated at the lack of choice we really have (although I reluctantly do understand). I made some calls and they are going to be putting holds on all requests to choice-in to other schools next year and the following year (if not even longer) so this leaves me with just going along with the herd and letting my girls, possibly, get lost in the crowd and having to be part of the whole adjustment process OR switching school districts. I may be able to get them into a different school due to Mt. View not meetings it's AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) but that won't ensure that I could keep them in that same school for subsequent years. We can't afford private school. I was very frustrated last week and made lots of calls and inquiries about other schools out of district. I had considered driving them to and from Bellingham every single day but I have realized I was in panic mode and that wouldn't be a good idea. The sense of community would be lost (even though some of that will be lost anyway with our neighborhood school closing) and I just can't commit to the commute for the long haul and the last thing I want to do is move them more than necessary. I could go on and on but I just have so much going through my mind about this that it's hard to sort out. I know I probably over think things at times and sometimes just wish I just went along with the flow and believed everything would be fine but when we are talking out my girls' education I just worry. I don't want them to be part of a failing system and I want them to meet their potential. I also want to put it in perspective and believe in the public school but it's getting harder and harder. If I truly can't believe in public school then I think we are all in for some serious repercussions for our future. I have to believe in public school and know that the fate really lies in the hands of the teachers. I know there are amazing teachers in Ferndale (and some that are not so amazing). I also know more responsibility is on me, as their parent, to supplement what they are doing, be involved and to hold them to some accountability for their own education. The whole things scares the crap out of me!

**** Because I didn't add enough about the school stuff yesterday I just had to add more today : ) Yesterday afternoon a friend was telling me she stopped into the office to sign in for volunteering (10-11:00 a.m.) and heard the office lady on the phone with a student trying to talk himself into waking up and getting himself dressed for school. He was home alone (and a walker) and didn't have anyone at home to get him off to school. These kids will NOT be going to school when Mt. View closes. I always see kids walking to school late. The district is not going to send a bus for these kids when they miss it in the morning (obviously) and these kids are going to live too far away to walk. These are the kids that need a neighborhood school. WHY on earth is the district keeping 3 schools SO close together open and closing the one that is removed from the rest. I just can't wrap my head around. Yes, I've been to most of the meetings including the most recent one and I have heard the reasons they are closing Mt. View but they are not compelling. Having said all of this I understand there are probably similar situations at Custer and they most definitely wouldn't have a way to school if they missed the bus either. There is no easy solution but I just keep thinking of the families who are really going to suffer. I am not fully vested in Mt. View and I am not all that broken hearted about it closing, personally. I have had my own issues with the school and staff but I am seeing, more and more each day, how devastating it will be to close any neighborhood school. This act WILL be partially responsible for the future (or lack there of) some students who will suffer the most. Who will be responsible for these kids when their parents aren't?