Our weather has been pretty fabulous here the last week or so - mid-60's overnight, and 80's during the day, and except for the storm we had a few days ago that brought water up to, but not inside, our garage, it's play-outside weather. The only drawback is that mosquitoes enjoy this weather too :(
The locusts were thick this year! I took the dogs outside one night when we were still having 90 degree evenings and forgot to turn off the porch light, so when I went to get them back in, I had a bunch of locusts and other night bugs buzzing around the light. The locusts were like B-52's with a drunk pilot at the stick - flying all over the place and hitting the walls and each other. Naturally, the dogs get distracted by the bugs and won't go inside. So, while I got Ruby Sue inside and was trying to get Stella, a locust got inside the house... Wonderful... got the dogs inside, the door shut, but the stupid locust was flopping around all over the place. The dogs were going crazy trying to catch it, and finally the silly thing was quiet. I assumed Ruby Sue probably had squashed it, but then it started its buzzing and rattling noises again, and Ruby Sue jumped like she'd been shot, frantically trying to locate the thing. At one point she looked up at me with the most amazingly human look of frustration on her face as if she was saying "Well? Just gonna stand there are ya?" In fact, I answered her look with, "Well, if you weren't such a chunky monkey, I might be able to get back there to get it!" But then Stella came to her (our) rescue and caught the locust...and promptly ate it with a loud crunching sound... eww! And the whole time this is going on, Toby is in the family room barking. Can't imagine how the men in my house all managed to sleep completely through all that racket...
I posted last summer that what we call 'locusts' here are really cicada's, but for convenience sake I continue to use the term locust. It should also be noted that I get corrected by certain family members, who don't live in my house, and that certain others (you know who you are) get downright offended by using the proper name. So, we have locusts...not cicadas.
In my last post I briefly mentioned a rumor about the real reason behind our recent elementary school upheaval. Primarily, to save a certain administrator's job. Well, apparently it was not a rumor, but rather a disturbing fact. We received a letter from the state, as did all parents of students enrolled in our district, that told us that the requirements for participation in the federally funded Title I program were not being met and the district has been identified for improvement in reading. "This means that the state will work closely with the district in analyzing why the district is not making adequate progress and will help in developing plans to address the problems." (directly quoting from letter) "Title I provides extra help primarily in reading and mathematics to students in schools with high free and reduced lunch counts, and requires each state to determine if Title I districts and schools are making adequate progress each year toward the goal of having all students meet standard by 2014." If they don't make adequate progress two years in a row, they are identified for improvement, and they will stay on improvement for at least two years as the districts/schools must show adequate progress for two years to go off of improvement. They determine the progress by testing, which is done on students from 3rd grade on, so now only one of the elementary school's is being tested, and that means that the person who was in charge of the previously failing school is now in charge of K through 2nd grades. It won't be tested, meaning that person will most likely have a job for a another year or two, if the parents don't grab their torches and pitchforks first. That particular person is not well-liked, but what really bothers me is that she is governing my impressionable 1st grader. Indirectly, yes, but in charge all the same. Disturbing, yes.
I haven't fully researched Title I, but it looks like for schools/districts that don't make adequate improvement in the allotted time get their funding restricted, and then the state takes a more direct hand in the situation by replacing administrators, etc. It also appears that if a state has too many under-achieving schools, that state's Title I funding gets restricted. That most likely results in inquiries into how and where that money was spent. Hmmm...interesting. By the way, "high free and reduced lunch counts" is code for "a lot of poor kids". I've got news for anyone who cares to pay attention: soon, all public schools in all states will have "high free and reduced lunch counts". We're probably already there. My humble opinion based on my observations. Now, who wants to know where we're going and why we're in this handbasket??
