P/T Conferences and the PTA

We had our first parent/teacher conference for The Boy today. And he is doing fantastic. I am so thrilled with his progress. And I wish you could’ve seen him sitting there, beaming with pride as his teacher went through his portfolio and asked him to explain different projects he had been working on. What they meant, why he chose to draw what he chose. They even did a self evaluation and his almost perfectly matched his teacher’s evaluation of him. Pretty cool when you think about it. Because it means that not only is he looking at himself realistically, but also that he has the confidence built already to be able to know when he’s doing well and being successful. And you can’t beat that with a stick. I mean the boy is 6 and he already has a clearer, more confident view of himself than most adults I know. I’m so proud of him I could burst. Can you tell?

His school is going through some pretty radical administrative changes. I’m pretty positive that they won’t affect his classroom experience, but I’m glad that the school is getting out from underneath a really toxic administrative tie. It will free the people who actually make the school a success to continue all of the good work they’ve started.

It also has me thinking about getting more involved. I’m actually thinking about joining the PTA, although my limited experience with PTA’s has me fairly soured on the whole prospect, perhaps I could do some good. And I’m thinking about getting involved with the school board now that it’s up and running; volunteering my experience and talents in the fundraising realm to jump start a fundraising committee. With the established administrative ties being broken and the school “going out on its own” as an independent charter school, the state mandated funding will still be in place, but they will surely need to fan the flames of supplementary fundraising and with a quickness.

I love this school. I love what it is doing for my son. So if I can figure out a way to give back, even in the smallest of ways, I’m up for the challenge.

Mi CASA

I was a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) for a little more than two years. I saw the ad for the volunteer position in the New Mexico small town newspaper where I was living at the time and immediately had mixed feelings. It came at a time when I was trying to decide if I wanted to go into the direct service or administrative field of social services. I knew that this would give me valuable training for direct service, but I also knew it would be extremely hard on me emotionally and most likely take an immense amount of time even if it was just a volunteer position.

But I jumped in with both feet and really just threw myself into it. Most CASA’s work on several cases over the course of a year. I had the same case for the entire time I was involved with the organization. It was a family of four children who was being raised by their grandparents. Their mother was a serious addict and every single child had a different father. The kids were taken away from their grandparents because they were found to be keeping these children in cages and keeping them so drugged that the oldest (he was 7 at the time) had started noticeably drooling in school. And it came out later that the grandfather had sexually molested the little girl and that he had severely beaten all four children.

I came onto the case about three days after the children had been removed from the home. And I stayed with them for more than two years. I celebrated birthdays. I worked with the treatment team to try to figure out new ways to work with the oldest when he started showing signs of developing a sociopathic nature due to the level of abuse he had endured. I became good friends with the foster family.

I still think about these children and wonder where they are today. I wonder if they ever found a family to adopt them. I wonder if they were able to find happiness. I wonder if those two years that I will never forget, made any difference to anyone except me.