A hope and a dream

So Emily works at Rita's, the custard/ice place, and she works with a couple of girls that go to private school. One recent day Emily came home and said she wanted to go to private school too. Her main reason? She wants to be at a school where teachers care. Where the teachers don't have to follow the No Child Left Behind program and have the ability to teach till the kids learn, not just move on to the tests. She feels the teachers in her school have given up because so many of the kids are bad. Our neighborhood was redistricted to her current high school when Emily was ready to be a freshman. When I found out, the first thing I did was speak to a Realtor about moving. What I found out was that I couldn't afford a decent townhouse in a good neighborhood in a good school district. Then I checked into private schools. There was no way I could afford one, and Emily's father was against it for many reasons. Finally, Emily said she wanted to go to the local high school because it was where all of her friends would be. It's where she's been for the past 2 years. Today we had an appointment with THE most awesome private school. It's everything and more that a parent could wish for their child. Emily has a friend who attends the school, and they've been hearing about her for weeks. The field hockey coach wants her badly. The director of upper school admissions spent about 2 hours with us. When we sat down after the long tour that included meeting many of the teachers, I had tears in my eyes. It looks like Emily will be accepted with no problem. It looks like we'll be offered a 50% financial scholarship. It looks like we will get an additional $3000 off. It looks like this could be a reality. Did I mention the school hours are 9-5? School ends at 3:30 but all kids are involved in something after school, whether it's arts, sports, clubs, etc... I've probably gone on too much, especially since it's not a sure thing, but I'm just too excited not to talk about it. (A hummingbird just came to the feeder. A good luck sign?) I'll keep you posted. This could be so positively influential in Emily's life.

I thought this was a great picture of Emily and her dad on my deck before leaving for the school. The picture with me in it was terribly unflattering. I don't show those :)