A Great Honor

Next week, on Wednesday the 3rd, our little virtual school is coming together with a few other virtual schools in our state and having "Capital Day". It is a fun day for the kids to come together, meet their classmates, see their teachers, have activities, take tours, etc.

Why is this a big deal for me? It was the event last year that opened my eyes. It opened my eyes to Senate Bill 767, that was about to shut our school down. It opened my eyes to the backroom deals the school board and the school unions were making.....using my kid's education as a bargaining chip. It opened my eyes to how awful it is to have a super majority in one's state legislature. It opened my eyes up to my own representative and my own senator, who by the way, has never ever returned my call or given me her ear. Capital Day, last year, put a verb in my step.

It is nostalgic to go back again. It won't be as intense this year, mainly because our school isn't standing at the precipice of the gas chamber about to be snuffed out. But, it is important because there is a special session of the legislature in session and we will need to continue to be in front of lawmakers. That is one of our tasks during these events. Build relationships with lawmakers so they can see us, hear us, and not think of us as a bargaining chip.

With that said, anyone of my Oregonian friends, you are officially invited to this event if you would like to come and bring your children. It's a great civics lesson for them with fun activities. It also shows our legislators that you can support us without having enrolled students.

And here is what brings tears to my eyes......and I mean it. I will be receiving an award from the Oregon Connections Academy Parents Association. They unanimously voted me as "Parent of the Year". Honestly, any parent who would take on the commitment of being a virtual school family is "Parent of the Year" in my mind. But I know the people on this association, and it makes me humble to know they thought of me.

It also gives me fuel. This battle isn't over. The moratorium of SB 767 is still in place. There is still an enrollment cap. The Oregon Education Assocation (OEA), better known as the fourth member of our state's government as a public employee union (yes that was sarcasm) is still in business. Once SB 767 goes away, they will come at us again. They keep going at the regular bricks and mortar charter schools. It is constant. This battle will continue until my kids graduate from high school. My thoughts? We, as non traditional schools, need to keep growing our influence, building relationships with lawmakers, showing the schmarminess of the OEA, etc. When we build our influence, we take theirs away. That has to happen in this state if we are going to have any type of quality of education. That union is insidious, and it's absolutely frightening the unchecked power they have right now.

And so we keep on fighting for a prize we cannot see......the future of our kids.