Decsions, decsions, decisions

School is out and Chance could not be more excited to experience the swimming lessons, baseball, soccer, and play of summer.

Normally, we would just be chilling out knowing that at the end of summer, Chance would be returning to the same school he has always gone to. This summer is different. Chance's dad and I are weighing our options for Chance next year. It is a weight to decide what will be best for him.

On the one hand, there is a sense of accomplishment. Chance is now doing well enough, that he does not need to be serviced through the School for the Deaf anymore. He is at the top of his class in several subjects and we are delighted. This means that where before Chance was being pulled out for about 60 to 90 minutes everyday for language help, he scored high enough on language tests etc. that it has been determined that he does not need that kind of specialized attention anymore. This means that Chance can now just go to the school closest to our house; he has been attending a school 2 cities away since he started preschool.

Is Chance ready? We think he is up to the challenge of being mainstreamed for all of the subjects and academically is up to par. Is he fully caught up on language? No, he is not.

Furthermore, the speech therapist that worked with Chance all year has stated that her opinion is that Chance no longer needs speech therapy.

So, where does that leave us? With a lot to think about, that is where that leaves us.

The school that Chance has attended makes its class assignments in the spring, before we had our transition meeting to determine where Chance would go to school next year. Due to this fact, Chance has already been assigned a class for next year. There is the possibility that he would be assigned to a mixed class - a mix of 3rd and 4th graders. The teacher of the class requested she have 4th graders along with high scoring 3rd graders which is where Chance is. Such a class would challenge Chance and help him reach his potential.

There are two things that make this option difficult: Number one, we would have to get special permission now for Chance to attend this school as it is out of our home boundaries. We are no longer on a School for the Deaf IEP(Individualized Education Program), so Chance would have to have permission from the school principal before he could attend. The principal of the school knows Chance and would most likely have no reason to say no, except for the fact that a new principal will be coming in July. So, we would need to wait and ask this new principal if Chance could attend the school. There would probably not be a problem there, but we don't know for sure.

The second problem is transportation. For 6 years now, Chance has been bused to the school. Now, because we are not on an IEP through the School for the Deaf, Chance does not qualify for busing. We even asked if Chance could be dropped off and picked up at one of the students houses who will continue to be bused, who lives about a mile from our house. We figured then that would not require an extra stop. Since Chance has been moved from the School for the Deaf to our local school district, Chance can not be bused due to liability. Liability?! After 6 years, now suddenly there is liability?!

Could we commit to dropping Chance off every morning and picking him up every day at a school that is 2 cities away?

We have 4 other kids that have lives too. What if one of my other kids is sick? What if there is bad weather? Chance can not just be hanging out at the school. My experience has been that the teachers are gone almost as soon as school is over. At least there rooms are locked. Besides, we could not expect a teacher to be responsible for Chance if we were running late due to weather or an accident on the freeway.

Other options, are that Chance attend our local school, but he would not be challenged like he would have been in the 3rd and 4th grade mixed class. The other option, is that I homeschool him and keep him challenged.

Stay tuned for out thoughts on the other two options as we decide Chance's future. It is not really his whole future, but it sure feels like a weighty decision.