Last week I called the high school to set up a counseling appointment for us to begin the process of transitioning Camille from homeschool to school. While I’m not 100% sure she’ll be headed to Decatur High School in August, we’re very seriously considering it. My thought was that if we could talk to someone now about what will be expected of her and how her placement might work, we could make sure that she gets whatever she needs between now and August in order to make the transition smoother.
Camille has had a potpourri of learning through her homeschooling. With Algebra, Geometry and Algebra II complete, how miserable is math, which I believe is “integrated”, going to be for her? Will her years of Latin count towards the language requirement? And how about the Physics and high school Chemistry? Part of me things that with the challenges she will have elsewhere, maybe letting her have some “easy” classes would be a good idea.
I reached the guidance office by phone quite easily, but was then asked to email the head counselor. After a short email exchange, I was informed that the counselors do not talk to prospective students and parents individually, but we are welcome to attend a tour of the school and ask some questions right before the tour. No exceptions. Not a great start to the transition, and again I’m reminded that if this system is considered to be a very good one, then I can’t imagine how absolutely frustrating it would be to be in another system. I appreciate that they may not have the resources needed to meet with each prospective student and that perhaps in their experience the “group sessions” work well enough. And, perhaps, I will find that they can easily answer all of our concerns quite efficiently. One can hope, right?
Our tour is in early December. And we will be equipped with a list of questions.
