Prayer Request

School starts in one week from tomorrow (August 22) and Steve and I have yet to settle on where Sarah Jane should attend first grade. She is officially enrolled in her elementary school from last year, Alyce Norman, but neither of us were very happy with the principal and the lack of programs available there. I checked out a charter school that allows you to home school while having the option of taking some classes on their campus. However, after much deliberation and earnest prayer, I have decided that God has not called me to home school. At least not right now. If there comes a time when a traditional school setting isn't working for one or more of the girls for any reason, then I am willing to do what needs to be done to ensure they get the best education. And at this point the best education for Sarah Jane will not come from me.
We have another school to look at this weekend, and this is possibly the best option for all of us. It is a charter school in a nearby town called Clarksburg. It is a small, rural town and the charter school will be the only elementary school. Their students are currently attending K-6 in another town at a regular public elementary. They have the option of keeping their children where they are, or joining the charter program. Since there aren't enough students to fill the school, even if all of Clarksburg chooses the charter option, they have opened enrollment to other areas, including West Sacramento.
We received a flyer in the mail last week and I began looking into it right away. It will offer things like music, art, drama and Spanish which public schools don't have funding for. But probably one of the neatest things they will offer is agriculture. This could be a great learning tool for their community, and I would love Sarah Jane, and the other girls for that matter, to have that opportunity also.
I spoke to the school secretary yesterday and she was just delightful. What a change from the Alyce Norman staff! She answered a lot of my questions and then gave me the email for the principal so I could contact her directly. The Principal/Director, Mrs. Daniels, will be on the campus this Saturday for a meet and greet with those who helped get the school up and running and Maria, the secretary, said we were more than welcome to stop by and check things out. Steve and I are both excited to actually meet the principal and see the school with our own eyes. I have emailed a list of questions we have and will wait to hear from her before I shoot off another round of inquiry.
This is the most comfortable I have felt about a school from the very beginning! And I haven't even seen it or know all I need to know. I really feel that God has put a peace in my heart about this, and that could be the sign that this is where the girls are supposed to be. The only con on my pro/con list so far is the drive. We will officially clock it this weekend, but it could take almost 30 minutes one way. We really need to weigh the positives and see if all of that time in the car, and the gas money spent, will be worth it. On the other hand, the secretary said that there are many West Sacramento families enrolled and many have asked about busing and ride sharing possibilities. To get a bus for West Sac kids could take a while to pass through the school board, but if enough of us push for it the possibility is there. In the meantime, she has suggested to the director that we create a car pooling club of some sort and meet together to map out who lives where and who can drive when. I see a community being built within the school already and it hasn't even opened yet! That is the environment we want for our kids, and it is so nice to see that it might actually be possible.
Please pray for our meeting this weekend with Mrs. Daniels, and for ability to hear God and make the decision that He says is right. I don't want to be somewhere that isn't in God's will, even if that means staying at Alyce Norman. If God says it's right, then the girls will be blessed. But again, I have a great peace and excitement about this charter school. Pray for wisdom!!!
Thanks, I'll let you know our decision as soon as we make it.