Ryan is doing REALLY WELL in his new school!! I'm amazed at the difference. But I'm not sure if the difference is his behavior or in how his behavior is perceived. He's been in school for 8 days, and has 7 green days and one yellow day...and she's not being lenient at all. Ryan is happy, he is fully involved with the kids in his class and has made a couple of close buddies already. One of them I hear making sure he says "good bye" to Ryan whenever I pick him up. I emailed his teacher to make sure his green days were actually true green days and not "giving Ryan a feeling of success" green days, and here was her response:

I really do feel that at this point Ryan has made a good transition to our classroom. He does need an occasional reminder, but not any more than any other student that receives a "green dot". (I do need to change the note on the calendar - a green dot really is better reflected by "a few reminders, maybe 1 or 2" yellow dot -several reminders and red dot many reminders.) It really is not unusual for 6 or 7 year olds to need to be reminded of correct behavior from time to time. At this point Ryan has not needed to have different standards. His most difficult times seems to be during transitions- when we're cleaning up from one activity and starting another, and walking in the hallways. It is sometimes hard for him to keep his hands to himself. I'm very glad he and Vance have become friends and that he is enjoying school. Please don't hesitate to email me anytime!

YAY for Ryan! I was talking to a few moms at M&L's preschool, several of whom are planning to send their kids to StMM next year. In talking with them, it seems like many people are having the same kinds of (negative) interactions with the administration there that I did, or they've heard of such interactions being common. I think it all boils down to two people there...the principal and the resource director. I'm hoping that the principal retires soon, I've heard rumblings that he's acting as if he really wants to (but that could just be wishful thinking). For the first time in *years* they have unfilled student spots in several grades. They have almost always had an extensive waiting list but I'm guessing that word has gotten out about dealings with these administrators. It's quite a shame actually, because the teachers there and other administrators all seem so on-the-ball and caring.

I still have to decide if I'm going to send Max and Lily there. The only thing holding me back from ditching the school altogether is the thought of sending them to our public middle schools, which are a mess. I plan to put them through the admissions process at both StMM and the public school Ryan is going to, and then make my decision in the spring, rather than in January when they actually have registration.