The teens came home from their first days of school with positive reviews. They liked the kids, the school was okay, teachers are no worse than anywhere else, and even the food was good!
The only complaint is that the AIMS tests (AZ's standardized testing) will be next week and the girls are not familiar with a LOT of the material that will be covered. They are doing reviews in class this week, but Bee and Bella (especially Bella) say they are not familiar with about half of the subject matter. In Bella's words: "I haven't even heard of half of this stuff!" She is pretty stressed. Unfortunately this is a typical side effect of foster care. These girls have been in care four times over the past three years...in 6 different homes. That is a lot of shuffling. But it isn't unusual. Especially not for older kids/teens. When homes are shuffled so are schools, usually in the middle of the school year, and the results are huge gaping holes in these kids' education that can create stress and really damage self-esteem. Smart kids start to feel dumb, and kids with learning disabilities?? They start to feel like they can never catch up, so why even try? I can't even imagine dealing with these kind of issues as a kid! Fortunately, my girls have very positive attitudes about life and are trying their best to jump into their school work. They are very smart and determined so I am hoping that if we can just keep them here with us through the rest of this school year they will get caught up and do okay. Then when/if they go to a relative placement they will be on track to start the new school year with everyone else. There will still be holes though, and hopefully they will get filled in. Continuity will be the key and I pray they get enough of that to make a difference.
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