Since When Was Summer School So Complicated?

The school talked about having Micah enrolled in Extended School Year over summer. I wasn't keen on this because it's summer, he hadn't learned a whole lot to lose over the months away from school, and he loves being with his siblings when they're here. I caved and enrolled him because he'll get occupational and speech therapy while there, and it's only 12 days in July.

But I still waffled. When I would take him shopping and the other kids were home, he was not a happy camper. He would not like getting on a van and being hauled to school while the big kids were jumping on the trampoline and swimming in the pool.

Last week was almost an answer to my dilemma when Micah burned his toes. He can't wear shoes, so it stands to reason that he can't go to school. Problem solved. I called the ESY contact number that I'd been given, but I should have known that it wouldn't be as easy as making a simple phone call. I had to fill out forms to dis-enroll him, call his teacher to let her know that he wasn't coming, contact his aide to let her know to stay home, and inform the transportation service that he wouldn't need picked up. I could stop at the school for the forms to fill out. I did. Nobody was there.

I figured it would be so much easier to just send him. So I did.

I put socks on my boy and sent him to school this morning. He was there an hour when I received the phone call that his aide wasn't there, and could I track her down please? He really can't be at school without his aide.

I called the aide. She is on vacation, and furthermore the teacher didn't send in her paperwork to be an aide over the summer months so she wasn't aware that she was to be working. She's not opposed to working, mind you, just wasn't aware that she should be.

I reported this information to the school. They said that she's hired through Agency B rather than Agency A that they normally work for, and she may have a summer contract already. I reminded the school that my home district hires through Agency B and they may have the summer contract there.

I called my home district. The principal wasn't aware of a summer contract with Agency B, but would call the agency to find out. He did. They do. He called me back to report his findings.

I called the school that Micah is attending and relayed this information. The aide can work over summer, but can't be there until next week when she's back from vacation. In the meantime, it was decided, Micah will stay home this week and let his toes recover.

Agency A called, who is in charge of the whole ESY to begin with, and asked if I could inform the van driver when she let Micah off that her services wouldn't be needed until next week. I could. And did.

It would have been so much easier to just pull him from school to begin with. I chalk it up to lack of experience. This is my first year with ESY, his aide's first year as an aide, and the home district principal's first year as a principal. We're all muddling through the best that we can, laughing at ourselves as we go.

Things are bound to get easier, right?



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