Declining Enrollment

Do any of you remember last fall during the school voucher debates? One of the pro-vouchers points was that with students leaving public schools for private schools, the class size would decrease. Well, this is proof that that is not so. Unfortunately there is a formula that all public school must use which determines how many teachers are allowed to teach in proportion to how many students attend the school.

We had a faculty meeting this morning. Our school's enrollment has been declining over the past bunch of years simply because of the area's changing demographics, and in result of that, some teachers have to leave our school. This is called being RIS-ed (Reduction In Staff)--basically being forced to leave your school while being assured another position within the district. We found out last week that our school would be losing two teachers and two classes. They way the administration decides is simply by what department needs to be RIS-ed and then by seniority. We found out today who will not be coming back next year. Unfortunately, the whole process of choosing by seniority and not by who is a better teacher is flawed. In one case, our school is losing a very good teacher just because the other teacher in her department, who isn't as good of a teacher, has been there longer. I do believe that kids can get a quality education in public schools; however, I do believe that many policies and procedures do need to change in order to help these kids have the best chance at learning.

In other news, while other electives at my school are at risk, the Foreign Language Department is staying strong. Regardless of the fact that enrollment is going down, I was able to keep enrollment in French class exactly how it is this year: two French 1 classes and one French 2 class. That's a pretty good accomplishment for how small our school is becoming! It's just too bad I won't be the one teaching all these kids next year. I will miss them (most of them, anyway).

My piggy bank after filling my car up yesterday!

I got this forward from a coworker the other day and that's exactly how I feel. After driving two cars and a U-Haul up to Washington with the gas prices they are these days, I think my piggy bank may starve to death!

Home Sweet Home

I had many requests for me to post pictures of our new apartment in Washington, and I am just now getting around to it. Unfortunately, they are not very good pictures. We hadn't finished unpacking and our batteries were dying, so we only got pictures of two of the rooms.

This is our living room. The blow-up mattress, sleeping bags, and boxes are now gone. We're looking for a cheap couch, but until then, we just have a LoveSac. And that bookshelf on the right was a nice gift from Chris' parents, but it was a beast to move up three flights of stairs! Our balcony is through those blinds. On a clear day you can see the Cascade Mountains; we also have a great view of the sunrise coming over the mountains.

This is our dining area. Again, imagine it with less clutter and fewer boxes. Because we have a corner apartment, we have an extra window on the left which is nice. On the right is the kitchen.

This is our skinny little kitchen. Not huge, but it'll do. Looking past Dad is our bathroom. It's a pretty good-sized bathroom with a washer and dryer area included.

We didn't get any pictures of our bedroom or Sam's bedroom. That will have to wait until I go up in three weeks (thanks Mom and Dad!) with our camera. Chris left here last Friday night and will be there until June when he comes to pick me and Sam up. The bakery officially becomes ours April 1st.

Bath Time Mystery

One of Sam's towels has the following question:

"What do tiny turtles have for lunch?"

It sounds like it's supposed to be a joke, but I can't find or figure out the punchline, and it's really driving me nuts! Anyone have any insights?