“School days, school days, dear old golden rule days…”
It’s that time again. School started Thursday at Crowley’s Ridge Academy, the private Christian school across from our campus, where some of our residents attend. The Balcom Learning Center opened its doors today (although the teachers had already been hard at work) and Greene County Tech will begin classes on Wednesday. By the end of the week, things will be back to “normal” around here. (Was it Erma Bombeck or some other contemporary sage who told us that normal is just a setting on your dryer?) The kids are not as excited as the housemoms about the new school year beginning, but I think most of them are at least looking forward to seeing their friends and catching up on what happened over the summer. And we should start hearing fewer cries of “I’m bored!” very quickly. (Some of the kids around here have figured out that complaints of boredom are often met with suggestions of extra chores to be done!) It’s been a good summer but I think we’re all ready to get back into our routine and looking forward to all the special gifts that fall holds – including Homecoming next month (Saturday, Sept. 24)!
Late in the summer, decisions have to be made on our campus about school. Some of the kids who’ve been with us a while will get the opportunity to go to public school or CRA. Occasionally, those decisions can be made at the end of the spring semester but, often, it depends a lot on what happens over the summer. Quite a few of our residents wait eagerly through the break to find out whether they’ll attend “real school,” as they may refer to it, or stay another semester in the BLC. It can be a nerve-wracking time. Many of them place a great deal of importance on whether or not they get to start the new school year off-campus. For a lot of our kids, the decision is seen as a commentary on their progress or even the opportunity to move back home. Being able to attend public or private school is frequently a step in the transition to returning home, but it isn’t always an indication that a particular child is or isn’t ready to leave CHI.
A case in point of a child like I just described took place over the last few weeks. This young lady has been here a little over a year and wants desperately to attend the Academy. The appropriate adults met to discuss it before school registration and the tentative decision to let her go was made. She was delirious! However, over the next week or so, the adults closest to her saw some issues which made them question whether it was in her best interest to go off-campus to school and whether she was really prepared. After bringing in a supervisor to get another perspective, in the end, the decision was reversed. That was a black day. The girl wept, begged, bargained and did everything she could think of to convince the adults that she should attend CRA. The interesting thing she said was, “Let me go there just one day and then pull me out.” When her housemom questioned her about the reason to go just one day, her response was, “Then I’ll know that at least I made it.” She was convinced that attending off-campus school just one day would somehow prove that she was ready to go home. It was extremely hard for that young lady to accept the fact that the adults here were doing what was best for her and that she still has room for a lot of growth in preparation for her return to her family.
On the other hand, another young lady saw Day One of school at CRA come with no thought of attending there. She’s been in the BLC for two school years and she anticipated being there again this year. But a decision was made that day that she was ready to try something new. That afternoon, her housemom took her shopping for a new outfit and she was in her new class the next day. She was very nervous but thrilled to find that the staff here felt she was prepared to face another challenge. As she told me about it over the weekend, her face glowed with joy and healthy pride in her accomplishment.
We at Children’s Homes covet your prayers for all our students, on- and off-campus alike. All of them will face challenges and struggles this year and will need God’s help and protection.
May this be the year that each of them reaches a new level of maturity and courage to follow in His ways.
