A week in.

We have finished our first week of the school year! Despite a few little bumps, it's all turned out resoundingly well so far.

Our violin lesson forms were lost, so Erin was not measured when the teacher came to the school on Wednesday. I'm pretty sure our lunch calendar and check were lost, too, because the one day Erin wanted to eat the cafeteria lunch (it was a ham and cheese, her favorite) the people in the lunchroom told her to remember her lunchbox next time (which they shouldn't have, because she should have been on the list to eat. We turned in her calendar and the money for the three days she wanted lunch.) Well, I guess that's what we get for turning the stuff into someone who's very well known to be one of the most scatterbrained people alive.

I didn't love that they lost all our stuff, but I dealt with the violin thing at least. I called the school and asked why Erin hadn't been called when the violin teacher pulled all her students out of class. I said that we had filled out the forms and turned them in, so there was no reason why she wouldn't be on the list. I was super impressed with the way they responded to it. They said that she wasn't on the list, so I asked if her forms had been lost. They said that there was a good possibility of that, and that they'd send new forms with her for us to fill out, and that she would be on the list after that for sure. Great!

Here's why that was significant. It was the first time in my life that a school has dropped the ball, and hasn't blamed me for it. At every other school Erin has ever gone to, I've been misinformed of things, not told about what's going on, had paperwork lost, and then had to listen to the people blame me for their screw-up, and basically sit there and tell me that I did it, when THEY did. Here's a real conversation I had with one of Erin's former teachers:

Her: Since Erin won't be going on the field trip today, so you need to take her to room X.
Me: There's a field trip today? I was not informed of that.
Her: It's ok that you forgot. You're not the only parent who did.
Me: I didn't forget. I was never told.
Her: Like I said, you're not the only one who forgot.
Me: I was never told. I would never have my kid miss a field trip that I knew about in time to pay for and fill out the permission slip on.
Her: Well, next time, don't forget.

Do you have any idea how frustrating that is for someone to sit there and blame you for THEIR screw-up that cost YOUR kid something? Anyone who knows me knows that I have a very good memory. I don't forget anything, especially important things. ESPECIALLY things that pertain to Erin's schooling. It is like my biggest fear that I drop the ball when it comes to that. I'm ALWAYS on time to pick her up (except when Taylors Creek didn't tell me, and yes, tried to blame it on me, that after school tutoring had been canceled). I'm ALWAYS the first to turn in her permission slips and payment for field trips. I'm the most consistent parent of any in any class she's ever been in about having her do all her homework every single day. I seriously can't stand the thought that my kid would be the one who didn't get to do something because her mom dropped the ball, so I am extremely hard on myself when it comes to ANYTHING pertaining to Erin's education, and I have NEVER (knock on wood) dropped the ball. I have, however, been blamed for the school's screw-ups, and have always gotten the feeling that the staff of any of the schools that Erin has attended so far, think I'm just another idiot parent. It was very refreshing to NOT be blamed for the school's screw-up, and NOT to be assumed stupid right off the bat. Parents are treated a lot better at this school than any other I've ever dealt with. Maybe it's because they know if they piss us off and we stop giving money, they'll be screwed. I don't care why it is, though. I like it. It's working. My money and my daughter go to VDF, and will for the foreseeable future if I have anything to say about it.

I love that her class is only 16 kids. In public school, there would be twice that many. She gets tons of individualized attention, and is always telling me about all the fun activities her teacher does with the class, all the books he reads to them, and all the friends she's making. She's really happy there, and so NOT lost in the shuffle. Every day when I go pick her up, her teacher brings her to the car himself, and tells me about her day. So far, she's really doing well. We still have to have a conference about her learning disabilities and all that, but we'll do it next week. This week was really hectic for us. I'll probably call Monday to set up the conference, and we'll get the ball rolling on that. I think it's going to go fine. She's in an ideal situation to get the help she needs, and actually learn. With so few kids, every kid gets what they need.

After this, I'm almost sure I will never send my kids to public school again, at least not before high school (they might like to be in a big high school, with lots of other kids, and good athletic programs, and stuff like that). I hear everyone else complaining about all kinds of problems at their kids' schools, and we simply do not have that at VDF. I don't sit in line forever at pick-up time because there are only 32 families picking up at that time. I arrive 2 minutes before they dismiss (not before because then Kindergarten is still picking up), and 5 minutes later, I've got Erin in the car, smiling and happy. I don't have to deal crappy stupid teachers because this school has very high standards for who they're even willing to hire. I don't have to deal with people who treat me like crap, because they know at this school that if families aren't happy there, they'll take their kids and their money elsewhere, and that would defeat the purpose. My kid doesn't get bullied, because this school does not accept anyone without a completely clean disciplinary record, so the bullies never get in. I will N-E-V-E-R send my kids to public school again, at least while they're young. This is just worlds better. Yet when I tell people about it, and even suggest that they send their kids there if they're unhappy with their school (because we still have space for more kids at VDF!) they act like I've lost my mind. Kinda funny, really. I'm glad Thak and I have the nerve to change what we don't like. Sending Erin to this school is seeming like one of the best parenting decisions we've ever made, possibly THE best one pertaining to her. I'm just really glad we got in. It's going to be a great year.