Seeing Change...cra cra cra cra (little little)

I've been meeting with a lot of parents lately to discuss the possibility of retention or students who are simply showing low performance.

Today, I met with Mama Happy. Two of her kids are attending Faith Roots. Prior to attending, they were living with their grandmother in the Volta region. Both of them had pretty shaky school beginnings. They both came in unable to read, write, and had very little number sense. I sent Christopher to 2nd grade and his brother Simon to first. They were both put in our afternoon small groups led by our school's special education teacher. She worked hard with both of them, but we had our share of difficulties, especially with the younger one, Simon.

Simon threw a few fits during his time in school with us. He has learned some, like the basics of holding a pencil, writing on a line, and the majority of his letters, but for a first grader, it's just not enough. We had to let the mom know that if we didn't see considerable improvement in Simon over the next school term, we would be retaining him this year.

But, Christopher...now Christopher is soaring! He has moved up to the more advanced afternoon class. He is writing and beginning to read. He is enjoying school and showing more success on classroom exams as well.

While it is always a frustrating situation to have to explain to parents that their child is not succeeding, it is always exciting to bring the good news of a child who is progressing.

Let's just say that Mama Happy was certainly happy when she left my office today. And I'm happy knowing that what we are doing is bringing change in some of these kids lives. I might have to face a battle everyday for various different reasons, but I can proudly say that we ARE SEEING CHANGE...and I guess that's what we're all about!