TRH Goes To D.C. - Part Two

PublicSchoolOptions.org
MY STORY – MY VOICE
by Sherri Caldwell, Parent Advocate

Also see: The Rebel Housewife Goes To Washington DC (Part One)

My husband and I raised three children in Midtown Atlanta, in Atlanta Public Schools since 1999. We graduated two successfully, in 2013 and 2015, amidst funding crises, re-zoning battles, cheating and accreditation scandals.

Our older son graduated from Grady High School in 2013. He was the lead cadet of the Grady JROTC. He enlisted in the Navy from high school, and is now serving in Guam (8000 miles away from home).

Our daughter graduated in May (2015) from the Biomedical Science Academy at Grady High School. She is starting her Nursing Degree at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia, in just a few weeks.

Although our older children made it through our neighborhood public schools just fine, through all the ups and downs with Atlanta Public Schools over the last decade, it has been a very different journey for our third child.

Our youngest son, Tiger, just turned 15. He is going into 10th grade with Georgia Connections Academy, a virtual public charter school. Tiger was diagnosed with Asperger’s/Autism Spectrum Disorder at the end of 3rd grade, after struggling in Atlanta Public Schools from Day One. Our neighborhood public schools were never a good fit for him. He is a brilliant kid, but autism is characterized by anxiety, sensory overload, social challenges and difficulties with communication; oftentimes, he was bored and frustrated, which could lead to crises and meltdowns. In my experience, Asperger’s/ASD can be more of a Superpower than a disability, but our public schools are not yet prepared to handle this exceptionality.

In the middle of an incredibly difficult 4th grade year, just before Winter Break, I received a postcard with the simple question, "Is your child happy in school?" I broke down and cried. No, he was miserable. Every single day. By the end of the break, we had transferred him to Georgia Cyber Academy, the only public virtual charter school option we had at the time in Georgia. I think that postcard was heaven-sent.

Tiger has been in and out of Atlanta Public Schools-- he wanted to try again, in 6th grade and 9th grade, with his older brother and sister, but he prefers to go back to the virtual option to finish high school and start on early college through Georgia's Dual Enrollment Program.

The virtual schools in Georgia -- Georgia Cyber Academy, Georgia Connections Academy, and Georgia Provost Academy -- are online public charter schools; not private schools, not home school. Students have the same curriculum, attendance, and testing requirements as their counterparts in the brick & mortar public schools. Textbooks and materials are provided, and Title I students are eligible for free computers and internet connection. Each student has a primary teacher or team of teachers (middle & high school), including Special Education and IEP services, and they attend live classes online. Parents (or other designated adults) serve as Learning Coaches, and work with the teachers and the school to support the student. Although they are primarily online at home, cyber students enjoy a wealth of opportunities for social interaction, both with school -- sports, field trips, study groups, in-person events and activities -- and extracurricular.

Virtual school has given Tiger the opportunity to come into his own -- to succeed, to develop his strengths, to explore his own interests, to build confidence and skills toward a bright future in technology/cybersecurity: toward INDEPENDENCE.

It is essential to have options and support when the local public school is not a good fit for your child -- public school options that are accessible to families who cannot afford private school.

I went to Washington D.C. with PublicSchoolOptions.org to protect and promote school choice and public school options for all students. As another issue in the mix, how grateful we would be if federal funding followed our child to the public school of choice-- the school that works for him, when the neighborhood school does not.

PublicSchoolOptions.org is an alliance of parents that supports and defends parents’ rights to access the best public school options for their children. The Coalition supports the creation of public school options, including charter schools, online schools, magnet schools, open enrollment policies and other innovative education programs. Additionally, we advocate for free and equal access without restrictions to these public schools for all children.