I knew at a very early age about the importance of
education. As a
Texan, our school systems are fabulous.
Private school is not the “norm”.
I moved to Memphis
and had my first child and I was immediately asked what private school he would
attend…WHAT?!
We enrolled Michael into a private Catholic school. When our middle child enrolled in the same
private school, we quickly realized that our budget was getting very
tight. Needless to say when the economy
took a hit, private school was no longer in the future for our 4 boys. This was an emotional and difficult decision
for our family. Private school was the
only education that my husband understood.
Memphis’
public school system continues to be controversial. By the grace of God, a
public school was built behind our house at the same time we had to remove our
kids from Catholic school. The school is
in its 3rd year and it has been a wonderful experience! AND our kids walk to school everyday! Does it get any better?
Here’s where it gets crazy…
My oldest is attending middle school next year and the City and County
school districts are merging. The middle school of our choice is 30 minutes away and it allows 100 non-district
children to enroll into their program. 80 of those spots are given
based on a first come/first serve basis.
The other 20 are distributed based on a lottery system. A
couple of weeks ago, we camped out for 5 nights/6 days in order to guarantee a
spot within the first 80. With the help
of family, we did it!! The weather was
cold, the nights were long but the company and camaraderie made it bearable! The
benefit to the madness is that we have met many of the parents and children that hopefully will be attending the same school.
It was a wild ride and Christopher was interviewed on all of
the local TV stations. The 'campers'
realized quickly that he loved being in the spotlight!! We entered into the Board of Education at 6:30 a.m.Tuesday anxious to receive our bar code! We were Tent #12!!! The application has been submitted and we
have to wait for 6 weeks to see if we have been accepted. I realize that this process seems insane to
many of you. It was a mind blowing
experience but I have come to realize that every city has its
issues. If there was a perfect city, we
would ALL live there! As I raise my
boys, I am reminded daily of the sacrifices that my parents made for me and it
continues... We couldn’t have pulled
this off without my mother and stepfather!!
Did I mention that my stepfather is a superintendent? I feel sure that he was the only superintendent
camping…
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