Whew

All I gotta say is...thank goodness I did Senior Parent Nite last night and not tonite. It feels great to have it out of the way.

That, and today was an EXCELLENT day. OK, as close to excellent as possible. I went to an IEP meeting that put people a bit on edge because of the family's negative past experience with the high school. It's tough finding a balance between respecting the history, and everyone giving each other a chance to prove that this time around with the second child is different. I don't think the parents are ready at this point to approach this situation without the barbs in and the claws out, but I'm optimistic this will improve as we move forward.

The best part of today was seeing some of the kids who help out around the office. One student, a sophomore, has come SUCH a long way from last year. Last year, he could not make it through an entire day going to class. He was so scared, that he would spend the bulk of the day in our office and go home early. This year, he came in a couple weeks ago, beaming, saying "Guess what, I just made it through my first week of going go ALL my classes!" He was so excited, and we were so excited for him! How great! Today, he was helping out in our office with another student (who is also just wonderful), and they started talking about classes and teachers. It was the first time I'd seen him interact with another kid, and it was not stressed or awkward.

He also was comfortable enough to joke around with me....He told me I sounded like a robot when I was leaving a voicemail for a parent, so after the next voicemail I left, I said "was that better? I tried to include a little more inflection." and both students and I had a great laugh. It's just so great to see him doing so much better this year, and to see him making connections with other kids. I know I may be sounding like a broken record, but god I love my job.