A New Chapter

Well, I'm sad to say that Hannah's situation at school never improved. After weeks of hearing from her about this girl 'getting in her face', or that boy 'fake punching' her, or someone pouring her milk all over her lunch while she was away from her table, I was at my wits end. I was on the phone almost daily with the assistant principal and his take (after listening to the other students involved) was that she was just as much at fault. Great. Do I believe her or him? Hmmm, last time I believed the school officials, I walked away with video evidence that they were completely wrong! It seemed to me that these kids were doing everything they could to push Hannah to her limits, but just enough so they wouldn't get in trouble; meaning, no physical contact.

I begged Hannah to keep her mouth shut, focus on school, and just get through the day. There were less than 20 days to go in the school year. Believe me, I didn't feel good about this, but the school was telling me they wouldn't do anything because of her 'involvement.' Hannah fully admits she shouts back at them but doesn't initiate- and I understand that you can't always just walk away. You need to stand up for yourself.

But of course, the school wasn't going to see it that way. Their solution was to place her in what they call ALC - Alternative Learning Center. Fine. Whatever. I don't care they consider that to be an in-school suspension. As long as she is safe and keeping up with her schoolwork. Hannah actually liked being in ALC. She was able to focus and get her work done.

The final straw came on Thursday when she was accosted while she was in that ALC classroom. A classroom where the door is locked. Locked, that is, until a student needs to leave and that's when a girl came into the room and confronted Hannah accusing her of "talking sh*t" about someone else and proceeded to punch and hit her in her head (Hannah was still sitting at her desk). Luckily a nearby student immediately stepped in (before the teacher could get to her) and pulled her away. This girl must have been waiting outside that classroom until someone came out so she could get in. Unbelievable. Hannah says she doesn't know what this girl was talking about and honestly, does it really matter? The bottom line is my daughter isn't safe there - period. Done. She's not going back.

So now I wait for the school board to make a decision on home schooling. I'll find out today what the decision is.

Update: We have been approved for homeschooling through the end of the school year. At this point I just hope she passes 10th grade. I don't know what we will do in the Fall. I know she (nor I) want her to continue to be homeschooled, so I am hoping we can afford to send her to a school out of the district.

Thanks for all the kind support - you girls are the best!