Assessment

All the middle schools we have applied to have had some kind of visiting experience to assess the applicants, combining something sort of like a tour or Q&A with something substituting for an interview (because ten-year-olds don’t interview well). In one case there was a tour and lunch with a faculty member, in another case there was a collaborative small-group activity and a Q&A, and in a third case the applicant tagged along with a host student in that day’s classes. A fourth school, however, hosted a whole fake school day for prospective students; all the regular students had the day off, and all the faculty were there to observe the visitors. 

Jordan loved the classes. In science, they did architecture. They grouped the students into teams and dumped a bunch of plastic straws and paper clips in front of them, saying something like, “Here you go, folks: Build something. And try to make it strong. Strong means it can hold up these big hardware nails over here. The record so far is 47. See what you can do.” Jordan got totally into it - when I picked him up he bubbled for five minutes about how they chose a triangle for the base because it’s the most stable shape, it had a kind of a saddle thing at the top to hold the nails, etc, etc. It sounded like a blast. In social studies they discussed current events that they knew about, and made a newspaper front page out of them. In language arts they read and discussed myths, and then wrote their own myth, something about why there are a lot of colors in the rainbow. As an educator I thought this sounded like a great way to spend a day; it seems like they must get a ton of information about the kids this way, much more than you could get from an awkward conversation over lunch. Jordan was extremely impressed with the experience and had a lot of fun, too.

This school is the only one whose application processes involves a parent visit. We had that this week. They asked us a lot of questions about how we see Jordan – three quintessential words to describe him, that kind of thing. It was a good conversation. I think we are pretty thoughtful and articulate about who our kid is. The kicker, though, was when they showed us the myth he had written. It was a whole page packed with text! He had a ton to say, and he got it onto the paper! They didn't invite us to read it, but they said it was a "wonderful piece": they said he had characters, details, and showed excellent comprehension of the reading. Really? Really? Wow. This is such a huge, dramatic change from where he was a year ago. It also suggests that they did a great job of making the activity meaningful and interesting for Jordan, because if he isn’t into it, he doesn’t write. I was amazed and so was Dale.

It took a bit for the emotions to set in (I didn't start blubbering in the interview) but for the whole rest of the day I felt overwhelmed with relief, pride, gratitude, and I don't know what else. The minute I got to work I wrote a thank you letter to his teachers. I think the team of them (and it is quite a team) are really making it happen for Jordan. He is becoming a person who can express himself in writing. I thought he might have to live without that, and I was trying to adjust to my own sense of loss, because writing is a wonderful part of life. Now I feel that no door need be closed to him… especially if he can go to a school with teachers that will support his continued growth.