Education TRACKer: Saying Good-Bye to Summer; Avoiding Regrets

We didn’t get around to tie-dyeing t-shirts. That was the one thing I wish we could have fit in before the kids went back to school. We still have many balmy weekends left, but they will undoubtedly be filled with soccer and friends and all sorts of school year pleasures. Tie-dyeing will have to fill in any blanks left in the schedule.
As my children started back on August 25, I felt sad to see them go but also more satisfied about this summer than I had been in the past. We had fit in many of the things on my summer checklist: pool, beach, free movies, grandparents’ house, bowling, roller-skating, a mountain trip, goofing off, running through the sprinkler, biking to the grocery store, making homemade ice cream… I have no regrets.
And now as we head into a busy fall, I want to avoid regrets about the upcoming Board of Education vote (October 6) as well as my own town’s elections (November 3).
Every couple of days, I read more about those who are running, how certain members feel about Wake County school issues: bussing for diversity, magnet schools, redistricting--check out http://www.newsobserver.com/146/story/1667630.html … and I read about meetings where parents gather to further their own goals regarding the school board. This should be an interesting election.
I also worry about the effects of a poor economy on our teachers, students, school supplies and resources http://www.newsobserver.com/news/education/story/1659607.html. I wonder how our already underpaid teaching staff will keep up morale while trying to do more with less and in many cases, with larger class sizes.
As parents, we have plenty on our plates—I acknowledge that. But we need to continue to support our schools. They need our help now more than ever. If you can volunteer, great. If you can participate through community forums to educate the public about the Board of Education, terrific. If you’re helping your own child grasp a concept he can’t understand in his homework, it’s all a piece of the puzzle. Keep up the support, parents, because none of us wants to look back and have regrets.