Last year when we took on the bulk of the kid's educational needs as they were all living with us for the majority of the time, we were shuffling 4 different schools in our neighborhood. Different start/end times, different locations, different administrations, different uniforms. We found a rhythm and it worked, but we desired to simplify the process as soon as it would be possible.
In our involvement and close observation of the public schools around us over the past two years we discovered a lot of the heart breaking things you are probably hearing in the news off and on. A lack of funding for extra-curricular activities, teachers stretched to their limit, important staff being laid off (like the fantastic social worker that helped Dante last year). The teachers we interacted with were great, but we started to learn that the kids were not getting all the education we thought they were. Our fourth grader didn't know how to read or write in cursive, our oldest was not prepared enough to flourish in PA Cyber. We had enrolled the oldest in PA Cyber instead of sending her to the local public middle school again and she enjoyed it and passed, but it was not a good fit for her and we knew we couldn't do it again this year.
When we realized that 3 of our kids would be in public middle schools next year (yikes!) we started researching charter schools and filling out lots and lots of applications all with different deadlines and paperwork needed. We sat through the lotteries, feeling helpless and quite pitiful as our children we reduced to a random number spinning in a wheel at the front of the room...and the disappointment as we left with not even a chance.
One of our co-workers at Cornerstone suggested that we look at the Christian school that their kids go to and my first thought was, that sounds nice, but there is no way we can afford that. But after our other options thinned out, we started to research how much it would cost to send the older kids.
To make a much longer story, short, we figured out we could squeeze things enough to send 4 out of the 5 kids to Cedar Grove Christian Academy! After the financial aid lady rolled her eyes at me several times going through our information and calculating all the possible options, we were sold. The middle child had been accepted to a magnet middle school down the street from us and we thought we would try that for him because 5 would have stretched us too far.
[Let me just insert here - that after they were tested to get into Cedar Grove and we saw their education levels (the older 3) based on a national average, I was appalled at where our public schools left them. Further affirmation that they need more support than they were getting and that we can offer them at home.]
A few days before school started on Sept. 6th we were talking with some friends of ours about this whole process. They came back to us soon after and said, "We have prayed about it, and we really feel like the Lord wants us to pay for your 5th child to go to Cedar Grove as well." *tears* He wanted to go to Cedar Grove so badly and participate in all the sports and extra stuff going on and now he could! There was room in his class - he tested - and was accepted into the school hours before the first day would begin.
So to summarize - all 5 of our kids are going to Cedar Grove Christian Academy. The same place. The same times. The same administration. The same uniforms. Thank you Jesus! The kids are in grades: Kindergarten, 2nd, 5th, 6th, and 7th.
There are still hurdles to jump over, sacrifices to be made, and huge adjustments for the kids academically as they begin the year but the excitement and joy of solid, Christian education outweighs the struggle for us all.
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