So, today we had Xan's parent/teacher conference. He is enrolled in an all day Pre-K program. It took some adjusting at first, but he finally settled down and into his school routine. School assemblies were hard for him. Although he is not usually a sound sensitive kid, it is something about arena/theatre type places that Xan doesn't like. Also, the teaching style of his current teachers left alot to be desired. I was so used to daily planners, writing notes back and forth, steady contact, etc. with his PEEPS teacher, so when we basically got NONE-no contact most of the time, it was disheartening. Xan would cry daily, not wanting to get on the bus, and I was left to just using my imagination in regards to how the rest of his day was going. I had considered pulling him out, but decided to stick with it. After all, it is in a public school, a good school and he will be in kindergarten next school year. Might as well keep the ball rolling...
So, back to my story, now that you have a little history. In prior parent/teacher conferences, Xan would get upset and not want to go to school, in fear of being left. Well, today, he was excited for some reason, kissing all over Tyce, etc. Upon walking in school to sign him in, I hear an energetic "Hi Xan!!" from the secretary. You could tell Xan thought he ran the show :) We walked out into the hall and started on our path to his room, when a lady blurted something and hurriedly jumped out of her chair and out to the hall. She was like "I LOVE your son!!" I had recognized her from the initial school evaluation, but had no idea that she worked with Xan. She is a reading expert/has a main office in the hall and works with the kids. She goes on to tell me that Xan has made tremendous progress...almost like it is unbelievable. I felt myself blushing at every remark :) She statess "Did YOU know he is a Stage II reader now??" She states that she and Xan's teacher were screaming with excitement one day in regards to his newly discovered reading skills. She stated that when he read the page and flipped, and read the other page, that he got a huge smile on his face and was so proud :) She told me that she could have handed over her pay check right then and there!! She told me that he is hugging her and other people now too. Then she told me something...and I felt like I was going to bust out crying...I couldn't even look at her because I was trying to hold back the tears. Her eyes got very big and she looked at me dead in the eye and said "EXPECT GREAT THINGS OUT OF HIM...." I wanted to bawl my eyes out. For the past year and a half or so, I didn't know what to really "expect" out of him. His whole future was a blur, a fear, a dream. I appreciate those words and will never ever forget what she said.
So, she kept on some more and I was loving every minute of it :) The principal was there, bragging right along with her. Next up...his conference. We got a few more greetings from people and then went in for our conference. Only one of the teachers and one assistant were present. They both bragged on my boy endlessly...not one bad thing was reported. Remember the assembly issue I told you about?? Well, over the past several months, they have gone from having to have him sit separately with the teachers and having to "walk the halls" to calm down several times, to finally being able to sit on the floor with his friends, but on the side with his teacher still next to him. Well, yesterday they had an assembly, and he finally was able to sit completely with his friends..no assistance at all. She says he was clapping like the other kids and that you would not have been able to pick him apart from anyone else. This was so nice to hear. The teacher told me that every time she thinks about how far he has come since last year, she gets tears in her eyes. This was heartwarming to say the least.
So we leave the room and the guidance counselor says "I know you got a good review!!" I agreed...that was such an understatement. What an unbelievable feeling I had as I left the school. I think my son is going to be okay!! He still has lots of issues to work through, but he is progressing and is loved and accepted at school. He is becoming more independent and takes pride in the people he knows and the work that he does at school. He was so proud as I kept going on and on about how well he was doing in school. He loved being the center of attention.
Tomorrow is a new day. You never know what fires you may have to put out. But for today.....Well, today was a fairytale.
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