The Rebel Housewife Goes To Washington DC

The Rebel Housewife Goes to Washington DC
by Sherri Caldwell, Parent Advocate

Several months ago, I was invited to Washington, D.C. in July for a “parent advocacy training boot camp”. As an active parent and freelance journalist often reporting on civic and education issues, I have long been involved in our traditional public schools (Atlanta Public Schools). I also know intimately the desperate search for public school options, including private and virtual schools, when our neighborhood public schools did not work for our youngest child.

I had no idea what to expect from this adventure, and 2015 has been such a crazy-busy summer, with our daughter’s high school graduation; Navy son visiting from Guam for three short weeks on leave; various college summer programs, school competitions and travel; two summer birthdays; Freshman Orientation & Registration--figuring out how to pay for the first year of college (much less the next three or four); and a big cross-town move... I never had a minute to think about it, worry about it, research or prepare. I just got on the plane--

As it turned out, PublicSchoolOptions.org BOOT CAMP 2015 National Parent Advocacy Conference was a life-changing, two-and-a-half-day, whirlwind event, jam-packed with meeting new people, learning new things, finding my voice, and advocating -- in Washington, D.C.! on Capitol Hill! In my Representatives’ and Senators’ offices! -- for my child and others, for education reform, and PublicSchoolOptions.org.

PublicSchoolOptions.org is an alliance of parents that supports and defends parents’ rights to access the best public school options for their children. The Coalition supports the creation of public school options, including charter schools, online schools, magnet schools, open enrollment policies and other innovative education programs. Additionally, we advocate for free and equal access without restrictions to these public schools for all children.

PSO BOOT CAMP was the adventure of a lifetime. After and alongside power networking with parents and teachers from all over the country, we enjoyed (survived?!) a full day of advocacy training Monday on lobbying and the issues, prior to spending Tuesday morning on The Hill. Capitol Hill. (I still can’t quite believe I was there!)

Tuesday began with a public rally on the Upper Senate Park, in the midst of Washington’s most iconic buildings. On Capitol Hill. School Choice champions and supporters spoke to the crowd and the cameras, while more than one hundred parents from thirty states rallied in bright red #ITrustParents tshirts, with signs, stickers, and other SWAG.

The Georgia Coalition (five of us) had to leave the rally early to make our first appointment in Representative John Lewis’s (D-GA) office, which was... AMAZING.

[Note: The politics of ESEA Re-Authorization (a.k.a. “No Child Left Behind”) is complicated, and there is a very helpful article here. I found myself a Blue Lady (Democrat) in a contingent of Red (Republicans), which was fine, after a minor crisis in ideology. Education is a child-centered issue, and that is primary, although there are some differences in approach and detail. Nevertheless, we were able to visit both Democrats and Republicans as a bi-partisan coalition, which was very effective.]

Although we were scheduled to meet with “Staffers” in the legislative offices, Representative Lewis walked in while we were meeting around a table in his small antechamber. For many reasons, I think John Lewis is a living national treasure, and I was in awe. He took a picture with us -- one of the most extraordinary events of my life:



From Congressman Lewis’s office (excellent meeting), we visited Representative David Scott’s (D-GA) office, and met with his Education Staffer. (The meeting was not as excellent, but we held our own.) We also visited Senator David Perdue’s (R-GA) office, but Senator Perdue already supports the Senate version of the School Choice Bill, so it was more of a check-in, not a formal meeting. (Sen. Perdue was not there.)

And that was it. A big luncheon, additional networking and good-byes, and we were done. My colleague and I went on a quick visit to Arlington National Cemetery, and Uber-ed our way back to the airport in time for our flight home to Atlanta, back to Real Life.

For more about The Adventure -- what I said & why I was there -- click on:
TRH Goes To DC - Part Two.

TRH Goes To D.C. - Part Two

PublicSchoolOptions.org
MY STORY – MY VOICE
by Sherri Caldwell, Parent Advocate

Also see: The Rebel Housewife Goes To Washington DC (Part One)

My husband and I raised three children in Midtown Atlanta, in Atlanta Public Schools since 1999. We graduated two successfully, in 2013 and 2015, amidst funding crises, re-zoning battles, cheating and accreditation scandals.

Our older son graduated from Grady High School in 2013. He was the lead cadet of the Grady JROTC. He enlisted in the Navy from high school, and is now serving in Guam (8000 miles away from home).

Our daughter graduated in May (2015) from the Biomedical Science Academy at Grady High School. She is starting her Nursing Degree at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia, in just a few weeks.

Although our older children made it through our neighborhood public schools just fine, through all the ups and downs with Atlanta Public Schools over the last decade, it has been a very different journey for our third child.

Our youngest son, Tiger, just turned 15. He is going into 10th grade with Georgia Connections Academy, a virtual public charter school. Tiger was diagnosed with Asperger’s/Autism Spectrum Disorder at the end of 3rd grade, after struggling in Atlanta Public Schools from Day One. Our neighborhood public schools were never a good fit for him. He is a brilliant kid, but autism is characterized by anxiety, sensory overload, social challenges and difficulties with communication; oftentimes, he was bored and frustrated, which could lead to crises and meltdowns. In my experience, Asperger’s/ASD can be more of a Superpower than a disability, but our public schools are not yet prepared to handle this exceptionality.

In the middle of an incredibly difficult 4th grade year, just before Winter Break, I received a postcard with the simple question, "Is your child happy in school?" I broke down and cried. No, he was miserable. Every single day. By the end of the break, we had transferred him to Georgia Cyber Academy, the only public virtual charter school option we had at the time in Georgia. I think that postcard was heaven-sent.

Tiger has been in and out of Atlanta Public Schools-- he wanted to try again, in 6th grade and 9th grade, with his older brother and sister, but he prefers to go back to the virtual option to finish high school and start on early college through Georgia's Dual Enrollment Program.

The virtual schools in Georgia -- Georgia Cyber Academy, Georgia Connections Academy, and Georgia Provost Academy -- are online public charter schools; not private schools, not home school. Students have the same curriculum, attendance, and testing requirements as their counterparts in the brick & mortar public schools. Textbooks and materials are provided, and Title I students are eligible for free computers and internet connection. Each student has a primary teacher or team of teachers (middle & high school), including Special Education and IEP services, and they attend live classes online. Parents (or other designated adults) serve as Learning Coaches, and work with the teachers and the school to support the student. Although they are primarily online at home, cyber students enjoy a wealth of opportunities for social interaction, both with school -- sports, field trips, study groups, in-person events and activities -- and extracurricular.

Virtual school has given Tiger the opportunity to come into his own -- to succeed, to develop his strengths, to explore his own interests, to build confidence and skills toward a bright future in technology/cybersecurity: toward INDEPENDENCE.

It is essential to have options and support when the local public school is not a good fit for your child -- public school options that are accessible to families who cannot afford private school.

I went to Washington D.C. with PublicSchoolOptions.org to protect and promote school choice and public school options for all students. As another issue in the mix, how grateful we would be if federal funding followed our child to the public school of choice-- the school that works for him, when the neighborhood school does not.

PublicSchoolOptions.org is an alliance of parents that supports and defends parents’ rights to access the best public school options for their children. The Coalition supports the creation of public school options, including charter schools, online schools, magnet schools, open enrollment policies and other innovative education programs. Additionally, we advocate for free and equal access without restrictions to these public schools for all children.

Where Is Your Kid Going To College?

"Where Is Your Kid Going To College?"

The #1 most-often-asked question, as your child approaches his/her senior year of high school. Here it is, people, Part 1 of a new series in our continuing adventure on RebelHousewife.com: NAVY MOM.



My son is going into the Navy. He graduated from high school in May, and left for Basic Training, at Great Lakes Naval Recruit Training Center, outside of Chicago, just 30 days later. I am so proud of him, so excited for him, and I experienced such surprising devastation as the time came, and we handed our 18-year-old son over to the U.S. Military.

This is a kid who has never loved the academic aspects of school, although he is very bright and highly technical. If he could have earned his high school diploma in Mythbuster’s Science, MAKE Magazine, technology, video games, and taking things apart, he would have been a 4.0 student. Upon graduation, with decent grades, he just wanted to GO -- get out of Georgia! -- BE and DO. He is ready for adventure, and after the 13-year slog through public education...GO, Zac, GO!

His interest in the military was a surprise to us. He enrolled in the high school JROTC program after a presentation about elective choices in 8th grade. At the time, he was stumbling and grumbling through the dark tunnel of puberty -- a good kid, but for a year or two there, between 13 and 15, he lived furtively in his room or out in the wild, with not much to say to the parents. (It was such a relief when he turned 16 and emerged from the tunnel into a much more pleasant and interactive young man. What finally brought him out? He wanted to get his driver’s license and drive our car.)

During that angsty time, I think the structure and discipline of the military, the community and brotherhood, attracted him in a way that 15 years of attempted structure and discipline at home, obviously, had not.

We didn’t hear too much about JROTC in 9th grade. Granted, he still wasn’t talking much, at that point. In 10th grade, things started to get serious. He kept his hair cut short and got up earlier than he even knew the day existed to run and work out. He was careful to arrange his schedule to show up for events and activities. He participated in all the extra-curriculars: Raiders, Drill Team, Rifle Team, parades, charity drives, academic competitions, community service. He asked us to help out, and by the end of 10th grade, we had become the JROTC Mom & Dad for 180 cadets: driving to meets and practices, cheering them on, providing field support (FOOD) at weekend competitions, and organizing Honors & Award Ceremony receptions (FOOD).

During that sophomore year, his high school JROTC program had strong student leadership, with two of the leaders earning full-ride scholarships to West Point Military Academy. Under that impressive example, Zac started taking JROTC even more seriously.

By 11th grade, he earned his commendation in the Saber Day Ceremony and became a cadet staff officer. His best friend, a fellow JROTC cadet leader, graduated that year and Zac was very interested and impressed with his friend’s direction: Having earned a full four-year scholarship with the Georgia National Guard, he went to Army Basic & Advanced Training that summer/fall, and then started college full-time in January. He will get paid, actually, on top of tuition and expenses, all through college for his Weekend Warrior service, and graduate as an officer.

In Zac’s Senior year, he was Cadet LT COL Caldwell, Battalion Commander in charge of the Grady High School unit. Under his leadership, they earned high honors throughout the year and were awarded #1 Army JROTC in Atlanta Public Schools. He was really good at this military stuff!

He seriously contemplated his future, worked really hard in JROTC and in school, still managing to have enough fun, and get into enough trouble, to fully enjoy his senior year. He started on college applications and the ROTC scholarship process. He scored very highly on the ASVAB, the military entrance test, and felt he did much better on the ASVAB than the SATs.

Ultimately, he decided to enlist. He wanted to GO, BE, and DO -- and figured, realistically, college could wait.

After four years in the ARMY JROTC program, immersed in the brotherhood of the ARMY; three summers at ARMY JROTC summer camp at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia; and with the best friend going ARMY -- we were worried. Although neither my husband nor I served in the military, we are both from Navy families -- his Dad was career Navy and my Dad was a Marine. We both grew up on and near Navy bases around the world. We are WATER people.

We attended a Visitor’s Day during one of Zac’s summer camps at Fort Benning -- in June. It was a hot, dusty, dirty level of hell (with apologies to the Army people). While we were exuberant in our support of the military, we tried to be subtle about our preferences. After Visitor’s Day, I pointed out to him, subtly, of course, that every Navy base I had ever been on had been so clean, so well-run, so modern -- ON THE WATER, beautiful beaches!!! Subtle.

He gave it a lot of thought and talked to a lot of people: his JROTC instructors, family, mentors, friends. He asked us to come along when he talked to both the Army and the Navy recruiters. He really did his research...

He chose NAVY!!! (Thank You, Sweet Little Baby Jesus!) With his ASVAB score, he was able to choose, and contract for, an IT career path, with a top security clearance and a six-year commitment (because of the extra schooling required for the rating).

Funny thing is, after 8 weeks’ Basic Training at Great Lakes, he goes to Pensacola, Florida for 22 weeks -- in school! (Hopefully, IT school will be more Mythbusters & MAKE Magazine than academics?) He will have his great adventure on the sea, but he’ll begin working toward his college degree -- and getting paid! -- at the same time. After his first year or two of active duty, he will have the opportunity to apply for college programs. The Navy will take him off active duty to finish his degree, he can go through Officer Training and finish his career as a "Mustang" (enlisted-turned-officer).

All in good time. This kid needs a year or two...or four, even, if that’s what he wants. There is plenty of time for college and serious girlfriends, a wife, babies and everything else. Better to have his adventure now, before all of that.

OF COURSE I worry about my son in the military -- how could I not? But in my Mom’s heart, I know this is the perfect plan for my GO, BE, DO, active son...

And I could not be more proud of him.

The Rebel Housewife on Asperger Syndrome

I published a two-part article about Asperger Syndrome on The Rebel Housewife blog because I needed to write this information for my son's school and also to provide a resource for other parents and teachers. When I first heard the term Asperger's, I had no idea what it was. My first question: "Is it a degenerative condition?" (No, it isn't!)

I had a lot to learn, as my son's diagnosis was confirmed several months later and my personal investigative journey into Autism and Asperger Syndrome began. I read everything I could get my hands or Internets on; I talked and worked with other parents, doctors and experts. I took my son out of an elementary school that wasn't working for him and home schooled (through Georgia Cyber Academy) for two years.

I have since come to see Asperger's as a gift -- a unique personality: quirky, but brilliant. I see Asperger's as a child, with love, support and guidance, destined for an amazing future, someone who can and will change the world.

Not easy, though. Never easy.

I like to think challenges build character, strength and resilience. I have a lot of faith that will prove to be true.

Although I have loved home schooling with my Aspie Phenom, as he enters 6th grade and Middle School, we both need more regular interaction with other kids and supportive adults. He is going back to public school and I have my hopes and concerns, optimism and pessimism in equal measure.

I needed to share my experience and what I have learned with my son's teachers and the people who will be working with him. I learned before that not a lot of people in our schools know much, if anything, about ASD/Asperger Syndrome, so I have tried to share some information, without deluge of technical detail or information overload.

Feel free to copy, link, reference, share and use this information as a brief introduction to ASD/Asperger Syndrome from an amateur expert. I hope it helps!

Part 1 - Helping Students With ASD/Asperger's Succeed
Part 2 - 10 Easy Ways to Help ASD/Asperger Students Succeed

Helping Students With ASD/Asperger's Succeed - For Teachers

Helping Student With ASD/Asperger's Succeed - For Teachers

By Sherri Caldwell, Asperger’s Parent, Researcher, Author and Learning Coach
For more information, contact Sherri@rebelhousewife.com.

Asperger Syndrome is a neurological difference and is classified as an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Every child is unique and Autism is a spectrum with wide variation. In my experience, Asperger’s kids are brilliant: sometimes scary-smart, logical and honest, with intense concentration, ability to focus and specialized interests, often in highly-technical areas: computers, science, math and defined aspects of history (i.e. WWII).

With so much brain specialization, it should not be a surprise that ASD/Asperger’s kids (also known as “Aspies”) can exhibit deficiencies in other areas:

• Emotional immaturity: Although often academically advanced, emotional maturity -- their understanding of self and others -- is typically about 3/4 their age: A 12-year-old Aspie behaves and responds to the world at a 9-year-old level.
  
• Social interaction/trust: A marked characteristic of Autism is extreme inner focus; kids seem to be preoccupied in their own little world much of the time. They have great difficulty seeing anyone else’s perspective or showing empathy. These kids must learn social awareness and interactions that we often take for granted.
  
• Sensory issues: Aspies see and experience the world very differently. Their five senses seem to be constantly under attack and overwhelm from noise, chaos, visual stimulation, touch, texture, hot/cold, etc.
  
• ANXIETY: Aspies have a high need for routine, structure and consistency.

Key areas ASD kids need to work on and need help with are flexibility, managing frustration/anxiety, social skills & interaction. They are easily overwhelmed, which can lead to dramatic meltdowns, from not knowing what to expect or how to respond and react in an often (to them) hostile and confusing environment.

Another marked characteristic of ASD/Asperger’s is the inability to look other people in the eye, which can be very frustrating to teachers, but should not be, if you understand why. As an extraordinary 13-year-old Aspie* author explains: “Sometimes it is too hard to concentrate on listening and looking at the same time.” The sensory overwhelm of trying to process and understand both visual and auditory cues at the same time is extremely challenging. So they listen. Eye contact improves as the Aspie child learns to trust the person who is speaking.
* Luke Jackson - Freaks, Geeks & Asperger Syndrome: A User Guide to Adolescence.

Supportive adults empower kids -- not only to recognize and manage challenges, but to value individual strengths and very special abilities, too. The key to success for any child is self-improvement through self-knowledge and learned strategies for self-management and interaction. ASD kids get upset very easily and recovery can be difficult. Very often, they simply need a break from the constant bombardment of sensory stimuli and confusion -- a quiet place to regroup. Most of all, they need supportive adults to accept them, love them and help them figure themselves out at school and in the world.

See Part 2: 10 Easy Ways to Help ASD/Asperger Students Succeed

Sherri Caldwell is an amateur Asperger's expert, with extensive personal experience as a parent, researcher, writer and teacher with an Asperger's son, diagnosed at age 9.
For more information, contact Sherri@rebelhousewife.com.