First the window sign.
If you been following this blog, you are aware that my daughter Sophia has just turned seven years old and we have moved across town last December. Sophie attended the Casa Esperanza Montessori public Charter school(CASA) for her kindergarten and first half of her current first grade year. When Sophie started school, our zoned public school for did not meet our desired standards for our child’s education. Most of our neighbors with older children apparently were in agreement with us as they too made arrangements to move their children out of this public school as soon as possible.
After failed attempts to place Sophie in other magnet schools(via the lottery), we thought that CASA would be the answer to our prayers. At least, it was a better alternative than the zoned public school that most of our neighbors had abandoned.
CASA offers a bilingual(Spanish and English) lower elementary Spanish enrichment and immersion Montessori program. In today’s multi-cultural world, the dual language focus appeared to be an added bonus to our child’s education.
From the beginning of her life, Sophie had a thirst for knowledge and problem solving. In fact, my parents would always say she would be an attorney when she grew up as they watched her negotiate with us to achieve what she wanted. The Montessori philosophy is a less structured approach to education where the students are allowed to make choices on how they will achieve the educational goals.
To promote the child’s independence, CASA policy was that parents had to drop their children off on the first day of school without walking them to their classroom. They also did not promote parents visiting their child or their teachers at the school without an appointment.
One challenge(like all schools) that all North Carolina Charter schools face is the issue of money. Charter schools do not receive any North Carolina tax money or educational lottery money. So it seemed that every week or so, there was a new fund raiser on the calendar.
My interactions with the administration left me with the feeling that they were not concerned at all with the parent’s needs for their child’s education. They came across with a certain aloofness that “we know what is best for your child.” The only time parents were important was when there was money to raised or volunteer work to be done.
One of the few times during the school day I was able to see my child in the classroom setting, I was faced with what appeared to be sheer chaos. The children appeared to be running the classroom and hallways not the teachers. I watched my child sitting quietly at her desk watching this chaos ensue. The teachers always complemented Sophie on how well behaved we was in class and how they wished that they had more students like her. I definitely understood why.
At the beginning of Sophie’s first grade year at CASA, she was accessed below grade in reading. Keep in mind, that the report card from her kindergarten teacher never indicated any reading deficiencies. Soon after she was placed in a title 1 reading assistance program. We discovered that most of her class was also placed in this program. We decided to get Sophie some outside testing and it confirmed that our child needed help with her reading. We also found out that this type of issue with reading is not uncommon for children that participate in the Montessori philosophy. This philosophy does not work for all children.
This situation prompted to us to decide to move from our previous home and get Sophie in a more structured environment. We felt that part of the problem was that the “squeaky wheel was getting the oil” in the sense that the teachers were playing more attention to misbehaving/boisterous children than the behaved/shy students.
I believe that when it comes to a child’s education that it takes a village. As parents, we have to take responsibility and ownership of our child’s education. I do not totally blame the school for our Sophie’s reading issues. There are things that parents should do to help ensure that she is progressing in her education. We have made some changes on our end to help her become a better reader.
In fact, overall I was impressed in the quality of the teachers that the CASA school. I believe their hearts are in the right place which is the children’s education. Putting the administration’s aloofness aside, I think that the issue mainly lies with the fact that the Montessori philosophy was not a fit for our child and we needed to be more proactively focused on our child’s education. She needs a more structured environment because for her “it is all about the rules.”
Starting the first week in January, Sophie started school at Hilburn Drive Elementary School - Raleigh, NC. We have totally impressed with principal Gregory Ford and assistant principal Cheryl Fenner and all the staff at this school especially Mandy Bayles who is Sophia’s first grade teacher.
This quote taken from the school’s About Hilburn Page sums it up best:
“This is the school where Children Come First. Our exceptional faculty and staff are committed to the pursuit of excellence in the classroom and to providing quality teaching and learning experiences for your child(ren). We welcome the involvement and support of our parents, community, and business partners as we work together to ensure that no child is left behind. Come along and be a part of this exciting learning adventure as our students continue to soar and reach new heights of learning and achievement! Welcome to the Hilburn School Family!”
I remember when I picked Sophie up from school on her first day in the car pool line. I mentioned to one of the faculty members that I was picking up a new student and she may not know the procedure for pickup. She said you must be talking about Sophie and promptly radio-ed another faculty member to bring her to the car. You talk about a great welcome! I act as the “main taxi” service as far as picking Sophia up from school. One thing I notice just about every day is the smiles on both the children and the faculty’s faces in the car pool line and the bus area.
On Tuesday, Sophia received a “terrific kid” for the month of March. She(among others) was honored at the school during a school assembly. I will provide more details on this in a future post. Anyway, my wife Jackie, my daughter Savannah, my mother-in-law, and myself attended the ceremony at the school. This was my first visit to the school while it was in session. One thing that impressed me was how well the children were behaved when heading to the ceremony in their single file lines as well as during the assembly. This was definitely a refreshing change from our previous school. We learned that there was a Hilburn school fight song. Every child proudly sang it in unison at the end of the ceremony.
That evening the school had a fund raising event called McTeacher’s night at a local McDonalds Restaurant. This is not the first Hilburn after school activity that we have participated in, but just the most recent. The faculty took turns working at various stations throughout the restaurant. Part of the proceeds from the food sales went to Hilburn school. As with all the fund raising events, the principals and faculty were there in full force with smiles on their faces. I decided to bring my camera document this event.
It was pleasure meeting many of the faculty and the turn out was great. I can not wait to the next event!
Gone are the previous memories of an aloof administration, “closed door” type of barriers, and classroom chaos. By way, I do see an improvement in Sophie’s reading skills. She has work still to do but the school change has been well worth it. We truly feel part of the Hilburn family in all aspects of our child’s education.
Here are shots from the event.
The principal and assistant principal who were up front and in full force.
The scene
Holler for a dollar.
The Bayles section.
Teacher and student having a fry together.
Sharing a famous Sophie hug!! (At least famous in my family :) )
Savannah needed a hug also. Remember we have to keep it even. Hopefully, she will have Miss Bayles as a teacher in the future.
After hanging with my girls, her shift is now up. It is off to the counter service she goes.
Looks like even great teachers may need a little assistance from others.
A helping hand has arrived.
The above images can not cover all the great enthusiasm of the faculty, parents, kids and employees.
If you are interested, head over to TrianglePhotoPrints.com for the entire gallery. Use the password hint, to get access.
If you have any issues gaining access to the photos, let me know. Please let me know your thoughts by commenting below.
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