My fellow blogger Michele Cheplic, reminded me of an unfinished end to a blog I had written about a huge mistake I had made with my daughter. There was an uncertainty to her future and where she would end up for high school.
To recap, the county I live in has a terrible school system. It gets worse by the time children make it to high school. So my boys were put into another school district by what is called “open enrollment.”
When it came time to sign my daughter up for open enrollment, I apparently failed to put on the application that she has siblings who attend this other school district. That was important because it would have automatically guaranteed her a spot. As a result, she was put on a waiting list. However after making a couple of phone calls (accompanied with some pleading), they moved her to the number one spot.
I had been told that I may not know until summer if she got in or not. So we anxiously awaited an answer. This was a pretty big deal because it would mean that I would have to keep her home for an entire year. There was just no way I would send her to our local high school.
Thankfully, the day before she graduated from middle school, I received a phone call that there was an opening. They would be sending me the paperwork and I had 10 days to reply, indicating that we were accepting the spot. Obviously I was more than careful when I filled out the paperwork and sent it back. Just a few days later, we received a phone call to come in and meet with the guidance counselor…she was in!
I love happy endings, don’t you? But guess what? My daughter wasn’t so happy. She had thought about the idea of being home for a year and taking classes on the computer. Suddenly she was keener on that idea. I believe she was envisioning sleeping in later and getting to work whenever she wanted.
More than anything, I think she didn’t want to admit that she was just plain scared about the whole idea. While one of my boys had the advantage of first attending a large middle school before making that transition (and my youngest will have that advantage), she is coming from a graduating class of 28 students. She is coming from a small school where the principal knows every single student’s name from kindergarten through 8th grade. She is coming from a family-like atmosphere.
So when we went to meet with the guidance counselor and she saw the inside of the high school, I could see the fear in her eyes. But I also saw the excitement when she picked out her art classes. Needless to say she has all summer to prepare herself for the big change to come in September.
I have my own concerns…while I am thrilled she got in, I am a bit worried about the transition. I am sure it will all work out but it’s just one of those times in life where you wish you could be in total control of the situation and make everything better as a parent.
What tips do you have for helping teens transition into high school?
Related Articles:
My Daughter’s Graduation from Middle School
Photo by Mark Manalaysay in Stockvault