I am vindicated!

Seriously- remember that survey the kids' charter school sent out? And I let them know exactly what I thought and where they could improve..

Anyway.. with much reservation, I had re-enrolled them in the homeschool track. We weren't going to get the 2 day a week program anyway, since it's pretty much a closed society there. Since we weren't related to anyone in the older grades, we won't get in.. but that aside..

Today was the day I dropped our my list of what we were going to do for curriculum, pick through the available books to borrow and sign all the paperwork.

So as I'm reading through all the stuff.. I realize.. holy smokes- they took almost all my suggestions and implemented them!!!!!!!

Wow. I have power. Hear me roar!

Or I was one of a dozen who all said the same thing. Or I was the only one who bothered to complete multi-page questionnaire.

Either way.. it might be a better year ahead in dealing with them.
And if it goes poorly again, I'll re-think my suggestions and try again next year.
And realize I still don't have all the answers.

But now they have a bi-monthy meeting of all the C-track (the homeschool only group) with childcare provided. Cool. That was a gripe- that we didn't get to know anyone, our kids didn't get to form relationships with other homeschool kids and had no opportunity to interact, and another gripe was that they had stuff in the middle of the day and expected us to be able to find childcare. And then there was the gripe that they would cancel it at the last moment so by the time you got the babysitter there, and got to school, there wouldn't be anyone there and you'd have to track someone down who said they sent out an email canceling it and you get home and find the email sent out 30 minutes before the start of said meeting- after the survey they already seemed to try to give a day's notice on cancellations.

And my other gripes- C track is excluded on most stuff since it's at school and for the kids that are there at school that day or the 'labs' which were essentially for 2nd grade and up, etc.. Really crummy field trips which we were designed specifially for the other tracks- they now have field trips specifially for C track. I hope they'll be something worth going to and not the 'pay $5 a person to go clean up a beach' field trip, you provide your own transporation to it and your own stuff to collect the trash in' type of field trip. I mean, really.. get a grip.

So.. we'll see. Right now I'm optimistic it will go better. I'm thrilled to see any changes for the better in the doctrine and program coming from the school.

And I picked what we're doing and not using their cirriculum, so I'm *hoping* it will keep my kid's interest and be at their actual skill level.

But then again, I don't have a degree in childhood education- I might not have a clue. I'll probably have a clue by the time JM is in 8th grade. Maybe.