I Love my city I so got community pride... to the point that it sickens my husband and friends. I grew up here I left here and came home here to raise my family. Now I am having a hard time dealing with the school system here. Which breaks my heart.

When I was in school I know our school system us to get bad press a lot with drug dogs at the school on a weekly basis and fights with Clorox in squirt guns and girls beating each other with combination locks...ouch... yeah the good ol' days. We were still great though we never made the papers for all the good stuff we did. Oh and let me let you in on a little secret the drugs we all know where they were out in the burbs for the most part I mean we had pot and beer all around at most parties but if you wanted more you had to get it form someone in the burbs where people could afford that crap. Well I had a friend who graduated form the school that would be wearing orange and black and she told me that when she was in school they would announce two days ahead of time that there was going to be a random locker search with drug dogs. Two days warning people..that's why they were never in the paper! They got a chance to get all the stuff they had stashed out, and then bash us for a kid getting busted with a bowl. The nerve.

On to what I was saying. Warren city schools aren't bad thats what I have been saying forever. And you get out what you put in. but what happens when they don't let you put in.

I put my son in his first year was spent at Lincoln thanks to the open enrollment. Lovely place it was. Then this year he went to Devon because he didnt get accepted for Lincolns open enrollment. We are literally 1 block away from the boundy. Now his new school is complete. And it is on the other side of a main road. I will be driving him or walking him just the same as i did when he went to Lincoln and Devon all of these schools are in walking distance.

Here is were my problems lie. Things have certainly changed from when I was in school. When I was in school parents were a welcome sight in the building the more the merrier. Children's whose parents participate succeed! Our parents knew that. I know that. Whats even better the schools knew that. My son has a fabulous teacher who has asked me to come in and help out in the class with centers and extra help in reading and math. Great I'm all for it, I want to go, sign me up! Problem.... It is like pulling teeth to get them to let parents just come to the school. I have asked to volunteer and I got to go in twice and cut Campbell's soup labels. Fun enough. but what about helping out like the teacher asked me? I want to be part of my sons education. On party days...get this they have a group of people sponsor the parties and allow them to be in the class room now these people aren't parents of the students perfect strangers doing charitable work.how nice right... well because those people are in the class room they sent a note home saying only one parent per class was allowed in the room during party time...WTF? How is that cool that some stranger can be there for my child's party but I can't?(though I was the parent who got picked but there were others that wanted to go but couldn't)

How am I suppose to get the best possible product (my son) If I am not permitted to put anything into his education? The fact the the districts scores are terrible is another story all on its own. Maybe scores would be higher if parents were a part of the equation or maybe challenging the kids a bit more. My son brings home this lil sheet once a month that says read 5 books for a pizza party... five books???? he reads that in a day plus a chapter book a week with me at bed time. I asked why it was only 5 and they said they have to make it attainable for everyone...OMGOSH! SAD SAD SAD... lower my sons standards to meet someone else need... disgust! We read more then is required but that's because after he protested and said he only HAD to read five books a month I told him he had to continue with his regular reading that he has always done... or his brain would shrink.

The environment of the school is that of a less savory flavor. The brand spanking new facility is fantastic but I am afraid that it will get destroyed by the areas thugs and brats that run a muck over there... much like where I grew up. I remember my elementary school would board up the windows and take the swings and the basket ball hoops down in prep for summer, because they didn't want the neighborhood kids playing distructo all summer long. I moved away from that side of town and bought a home on the east side because I wanted better for my children. and here we are. In the same boat just a few miles away, like I rowed in a circle.

Some one called me a snob for feeling that my son deserved better then what they are offering. It's not just my son.... I feel that every child in this city deserves better then what is being offered. better standards.

And another thing. this morning. when I was walking him up to the school a bus was unloading a female teacher was standing at the door, there was another female teacher standing like a drill Sargent with her hands behind her back smiling at the children as she told them to line up in a singel file in the 15 degrees they all had to wait to make a line. i looked at her and said wow...its like mility boot camp bus unloading... she said yeah, we try and keep some order... what ever I thought... and then I said "order? they are little kids".... I was thinking about how they are all going to be setting behind a desk for the next 6 hours that would be plenty of order for one day I would think let them bustle about and talk on their way to those desk.