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School choice: No Child Left Behind

BeachBum73BeachBum73 member
in School-Aged Children

We recently received a letter from my daughter's school telling us that they failed to meet the state testing standards and because of No Child Left Behind, we have the opportunity to move her to a different school in the district.

We haven't been huge fans of the school from the beginning for a lot of reasons so this is our opportunity to get her in a better school.  But of course she knows the school, has friends and when we brought it up to her as a "might happen" scenario she said no and she didn't want to talk about it.  She's 7 and going into 2nd grade.

There are a lot of pluses to moving her but it sickens me to take her away from an environment and friends that she knows.  She's very sensitive and on the quiet side in situations that she is unfamiliar with.  Growing up painfully shy in a military family and moving every 2-3 years, I am very sympathetic, to say the least.

Has anyone else gone through this?  How did your child react?  Any experience is greatly appreciated.

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Re: School choice: No Child Left Behind

  • CubbyMamaCubbyMama
    That's a tough one!  If the school is that terrible and you think it will have a long-term effect on her education for the better, maybe you need to put it to her as just a fact and not an option to her.  Part of me wants to say that if she's struggling academically and you don't see quality teaching going on at that school, maybe making academic gains will bring her more confidence at a new school eventually, although moving is always hard.  As a teacher, I do have to say that NCLB is nonsense, and that if she goes to school with a high population of English Learners or special education students, it's nearly impossible for those schools to meet the NCLB standards, and that doesn't mean they're necessarily a bad school.  GL with your decision!
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    Kiwi Fruit, 10.2.06 & Ellie Bug, 4.5.09

    My blog: Bear With Us
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  • shouldbworkinshouldbworkin
    Can you see if any of her friends are planning on switching too?  Are they going to bus you there or will you have to provide your own transportation?  If you provide your own, maybe they will want to car pool.
    DS1 age 7, DD age 5 and DS2 born 4/3/12
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  • neverblushedneverblushed member

    Many families where I live have gone through this because of population growth and redistricting.  My DD switched schools between K and first, then went into a magnet school for 4th and 5th.  I know other families whose kids went to THREE different elementary schools because of redistricting!  It's very stressful, certainly.

    My advice would be don't leave it up to your DD.  Of course her reaction will be not wanting to change schools.  She only knows one school.  This is not a decision she's equipped to make.  The benefits of moving to a much better school FAR outweigh the benefits of staying in a school with a few friends made in K and 1st!

    I'd take her to visit some of the schools that she might be able to attend, and talk to other parents about whether they're making the switch.  If you decide to switch her, assure her that she'll make friends in her new school and that you'll still have her old friends over for playdates, etc. 

    High School English teacher and mom of 2 kids:

    DD, born 9/06/00 -- 12th grade
    DS, born 8/25/04 -- 7th grade
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  • baby_lancebaby_lance
    Do you know what areas the school failed in? My daughters school failed this past school year in the special education department...which she isn't in. Maybe it was in some area like that, which would make your decision easier.
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  • stephsteph77stephsteph77 member

    I agree with pp's- check out why the school isn't meeting standard and go from there.  The school where I teach has been a "choice" school for a couple of years now so we have many new students from "failing" schools.  Some stay, some go back to their original school the next year because they miss their old friends.  Ironically, soon OUR school will not be meeting standard due to a sharp rise in ELL population.  It's so ridiculous!  Seriously, why these kids who are just learning the language are expected to pass a test that's difficult for kids who speak English perfectly... ARGH.  That's a rant for another day.

    Plus, if the law stays as is all schools will be failing in the next couple of years since I can't imagine any school with a typical student population hitting that mythical 100% passing rate.

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