AM~Erica's Boiling Point Reached

So anyway...

As many of you know, I have shared my disdain for how our school district has handled a lot of things in the last couple of years. Last school year really had me questioning many things. (A reminder HERE <<=== then read the link with it, too, for additional background - then the blogception that will happen. A rabbit hole of background, if you dare.)

With that said, and put BACK out there in the same type of position, again, I feel another open letter is in order. Why the open letter? I need to see what other parents had anything close to what we dealt with. Also, these kids need advocates for them thru this madness. I'm willing to step up & say something in hopes that others will step up to speak up, too. Also, finding anyone from the district, on the school board, or the superintendent are not exactly easy to just find & meet up with.

So, here goes:

**********

Dear Independence School District, ISD School Board, and Dr. Dale Herl,

As a frustrated parent, I am finding this is becoming much more of a regular occurrence than not. Which is not a good sign. The levels of disappointment and anger I have reached are beyond measurable at this point.

Finding a positive, the school district does try to make strides in keeping up with the times. However, I am not sure how tested these methods are.

A couple of years ago, when class registration for high school's upcoming year, there was an idea to do it online. That's fine. But all the students who needed to sign up for classes had to show up to the school AND use any available computer in the library while being on a server that could not handle that much traffic at once. It also included classes no longer available, as well as classes that were supposed to be available, but not listed. The students were frustrated. The parents were frustrated. The counselors were frustrated. The server system was frustrated.

It was a total mess.

Now then, as my son enters his senior year of high school, he has found that he has had to make a schedule change, right off the bat, every year so far except for his freshman year. But he does say it's because he was just starting out and didn't know any better.

For this upcoming school year, the seemingly "optional" online registration (new this year) seemed like a nice amenity to have. So imagine our shock when we went to register our youngest just to find out online registration was mandatory. This is fine, but we took the wording in information to be optional. We found an onsite Chromebook (not our favorite to work with), since we didn't want to head home to register online, just to have to go back up to the school to finish enrollment. (more on this in a moment)

Imagine our additional shock that we had to create yet another online account to set this up. We already have an account set up on Power School to see our kids' grades, and even register for online summer school, but we still had to set this up completely separately. But we still used our kids' ID number from Power School to be able to connect our new account to be able to ensure their mandatory online enrollment. Confusing, but we went with it.

Some of the information in the online fields were pre-filled out from past information we'd given on forms in years past. A little freaky, but fine. Just keep hitting "Save" on all the areas so you could move on to the next page.

This included refilling out information for the health forms, now part of the online process. Odd, but fine. We had to go with it, or the kid doesn't get registered for school. I get it.

When all of that is complete, we can go to the school's office for residency verification & be assigned a teacher (for elementary).

By now, we get it. We realized why we didn't get a large amount of forms mailed to us for our high schooler, like we would usually get. We had to go to the newly set up account, add a kid with their student ID (the one that matches on Power School, but the account isn't attached to the Power School account, remember?) to go through the same process as our youngest.

As I got to the part about Primary Contact, and all my info had been pre-filled in (just like before), I had to put in a couple of things. I tried to save it. It wouldn't save. I tried changing things that might need to be changed, but nothing. I couldn't move on.
I gave it a rest & tried to come back.
The registration process for our high schooler said, "In Progress." It took me right back to the page I'd left off. Still no saving. My stress levels were building. Nothing seemed to be working. So I had to break down and call for help.

When I called the number, I spoke with Edna.

E:   *answers introducing herself*

Me: Hi. I am trying to register my son online, and I seem to be having trouble.

E:    First you have to fill out all the fields, make sure they are saved...

Me: *cutting her off* Excuse me. I wasn't finished & I need you to listen.

E:    Oh, I'm sorry. Please continue.

Me:  I am on a page where everything is filled out, but it won't seem to save. I've tried changing some
        some things, but it won't seem to save.

E:   Well OK. If you don't mind, can I log in to see what's going on?

Me: Sure!

E:  OK, I'll need your email address.

Me: *recites email adress*

E:   Thank you. Now, can I get your password?

Me: Hold on. Let me go to another room so my kiddos can't hear it.

E:   *laughs* Oh, I understand.

Me: OK. *gives password*

E:   Thank you. Now which child are you wanting to register?

Me: *face palm* Umm...[Teen Boy], the one in progress.

E:   Of course. Oh, I see the problem! You need to put in an employer.

Me: I've been trying, but it won't save. I put it in on [Lil Guy]'s registration & it took fine. I've filled
       out everything else, but it won't seem to save here.

E:   Well, this does seem to be acting like a booger...
       Oh! I see the problem. You have a space after your email address, and this system is very sensitive.

Me: Are you serious?

E:   OK. It's saved now.

Me: *a bit irritated how that worked out, but not at Edna* OK. Thank you very much!


Yeah...you know those pre-filled-out fields? That's what screwed me over. I couldn't move on because of an extra space in a pre-filled-out field. How frustrating!! I'm thankful Edna could help me, but what hangup in the process! But I got to move on with the rest of it, including the health form section.

But it's done & now I can get my son to the school, on the selected day he was given, to do residency verification and get his schedule. Fine.

Here's where it gets really hairy...

First, we approached the "Start Here" table in the main foyer. A couple of students, apparently part of Student Council, were there to get us "started." We were asked, "Did you register online?" We answered with a yes, and were abruptly handed a salmon-colored form & told to head down the hall to the library.

There's a line that had formed, even so quickly after the hour & a half lunch break had ended. We took a moment to look at the form, make sure we had our residency verification in hand, as well as the mandatory dance contract that has to be signed to have on file. The salmon form had a list of check-off points to stop by, only 3 (or four, if you count "register online") were required.

As we moved our way SLOWLY into the library, we were SLOWLY approaching a table where parents were signing half-sheets of paper stacked on a clipboard & being handed a booklet of papers. When we finally got to the table, we were asked by a woman in scrubs, "Have you registered online?" Umm...yes, or we wouldn't be there in the line, but yes. Then she proceeded to say they needed me to fill out one of the super-simplified half-sheets to have on file if the student needs major health needs within the first week of school because they won't have access to the health info we put online.
*FACE PALM*

But we filled it out just to hurry & wait to SLOWLY make our way around to residency verification. We finally got there! We were to sit down across from one of the four staff members checking documentation (which is not how it worked at the elementary school, but I digress for now). The first question we were asked was, "So have you registered online?"
UGH!!!!!!! *ahem* Yes. Yes, we registered online. It's noted as "REQUIRED" on your salmon sheet. We couldn't move on to going through the process at the school if we hadn't done the mandatory pre-registering online. Why do we keep getting asked this?
Anyway, we were not asked for the student's name, but instead asked for our address first. It was a weird part of the process. But we got through it fine, and then went on to the next on our list: getting the bus pass.

As we got up to the table, there were 3 people working the table with stacks of papers. The woman stepped away to apparently take some sort of bizarre call, so it left a couple of men to handle the families. When it was our turn to step up, we were asked, "Last name?" (glad it wasn't if we'd registered online) So I replied, "[Boy], first name [Teen]." The man in the middle seat detested, "Whoa! A step at a time! We have files to go through!"
The other man kindly picked up on it, then asked if he was going to be a senior. We acknowledged that he had the right student, but the man in the middle was still sorting.

MiM:  What's the first name?

Me:       [Teen].

MiM:  Ah! There he is. So, a freshman?


Yikes! After we went through that weird station, it was time to head to get his schedule.

Remember when I said that my son has just come to realize he will have to change SOMETHING on his schedule? We could not fully brace for what we encountered...

One of my husband's staff also has kiddos at THS. She gave him a head's up that both of her kids' schedules had major issues...like missing entire blocks: like no 2nd block class listed, as an example. Apparently it had happened to others, too. So we tried to brace.

When my son got his schedule, he was almost immediately handed a schedule change form. And for good reason...
As he looked at his schedule, he was missing 2nd block, 4th block, and had two 8th blocks. Then he was told that if was taking Advanced Placement World History, then they were scheduled completely wrong, so that would have to be changed. And he didn't see any of his 2nd semester classes listed. On the gold form to make schedule changes, my son had to make notes on 4 of the 5 categories to do so. That's insane! And? The room was full of other students doing the same thing. We didn't see a single student leave that room with a schedule that was fine. Not. A. Single. One.

This never should have happened. For a district to, not only add yet another class to the already crowded high school schedule, but to also force online registration all at the same time...it was too much.

My question really is whether or not this was all tested out to make sure any glitches were taken care of.
Also, for a district to want to cut back on budgeting, like paper usage, there was so much paper & ink used to have such a large populous of the student body schedules to be screwed up.

Oh, and we won't hear anything until August 7th...but start calling if we don't hear anything by the 9th.

All. The. Paper.
All. The. Ink.

Half-sheets & screwed up schedules all due to not matching up with the online registration. That was mandatory.

WHAT A WASTE!! Waste of time. Waste of resources. But teachers need to watch their budgeting & such. Especially on those resources. Right?

In this mess, what was actually accomplished?

Then, when my son made his changes to turn back in, he looked so defeated. He showed me something on his schedule that made my heart sink to my stomach...
He got a new counselor. Again.
See, this will be his 4th year at this high school. This will be his 4th counselor.

He's worked so hard to try to build a relationship with his counselor. Not just for helping him through his high school experience, but to help get him a good reference for college. One of the requirements from his top colleges he wants is to get a reference from their counselor. This is crushing right now. Especially since we just visited his top choices & this is what they are looking for.

As he walked out of that room, defeated, we realized we were still holding on to that dance contract. No one had ever asked for it! We finally ended up asking the "Start Here" table students what to do with it. The girl asked him if he'd already gotten his schedule. Well, yes. Then she shrugged, said she just handed hers to the principal at some point & didn't know from there.
*FACE PALM*
So, we are still hanging onto that stupid dance contract!

It took us over 30 minutes to do what should have taken 5-10 minutes.

Realizing that he has a new counselor, it just hit us the amount of turnover in this district within the last couple of years. It's heartbreaking. My older son was reminiscing that, not only is he on his 4th counselor, but his 3rd principal.

When our youngest went to register, we already knew many of the teachers were planning on hightailing it out of the district. Lil Guy's teacher is new to the district; three of the four teachers in his grade are new this year.

Appears exciting, but that is a lot of turnover!

To use a levy to make it look like all of these new teaching jobs are being created, and baiting teachers from across the state boarder to try to fill positions, is really sneaky. There is no consistency, and I'm concerned for all the new teachers entering. Do they have any idea why there were so many teaching positions? It's not because there was a new school building or two to staff.

When we left the high school today, I was infuriated! My son was so let down. When we got into the car to head home, my son, a gifted speaker & debater, could barely finish a sentence about how crushed he felt. I'm not sure he did finish a sentence for most of the way home. He was choked up with so much defeated emotion.

The more I bring up about the direction this district is going, the more frustrated I become. I want my kids to have a good education; I want them to go to good schools. Because of the fact we were sent here, and then provided a wonderful place specifically to get us to these schools now has me concerned about where this district is headed. There are people from here who had/have faith in the district. And they are seeing it crumble as we are. And we have to attend here.

With that said, I will fight for my kids to have better in the district we were made to believe it once was. Because we don't see it. Today had me at my boiling point. My rising senior, too.

My son's final year in this district, and he already wants it done.
That's heartbreaking!

I'm concerned that decisions are being made based on only trying to move forward with times & for the sake of power, but not with the wellbeing of the students or any faculty in mind. That needs to change!

And it needs to change NOW!

Sincerely,

~ A Very Concerned Parent Trying to Advocate for the Kids & Faculty

**********

People who are part of this, raise your voice. Get word out there. Email, blog, call, show up to meetings, etc. ANYTHING we can if you care about your kids in this district. For anyone who grew up here & wanted your kids here, it's not what it was when you went through. It's also not the same leadership, if you want to call it that. If you don't take off blinders, you're kids will fall through the cracks. Not just of our system, but any higher education plans afterward. This is going to affect your kids if they are in sports, too. I guarantee it.

So, anyone else want to speak up? Our kids should not be going through this. At all.
Neither should the educators.

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

AM~Erica Apparently Needs Address it Again

So anyway...

Another school year is coming to a close. And we have had to deal with some flighty decisions made by a school district who is trying to hide behind a veil of "care", but many of us see the writing on the wall. A veil that can easily be seen thru if you take a moment to actually look thru it. When the light hits it just right, it's clear.

Last night was one of those times that the veil could be seen thru. And we were reminded how not pretty the face beneath it lies.

So, I'm going to take another moment to lift the veil to speak to those who hide underneath, and I will address those who need addressed in an open letter.

**********

Dear Dr. Herl & the Independence District School Board Members,

The flood of changes that have been made throughout these last couple of years have been mostly baffling. Trying to keep up with decisions made nearly out of the blue are concerning.

Many of these changes made have not shown where the kids have been kept in mind. Instead it appears there is an irresponsible wielding of power going on. It's disheartening & disappointing as a parent watching & witnessing the amount of seemingly unnecessary changes going on way too often.

With the recent levy that passed (by nearly a roughly 60/40% passing - which isn't an overwhelming margin by any means), that was supposed to mean it's supposed to bring in more teachers to help control class size. Which sounds great on the surface. But a couple of types of people got their votes to pass it in who either:

A) don't have direct contact or involvement in the schools, but think they are helping the kids without further information expect blindly listening to those pushing in favor of it,

B) have kids in the district because this is where they went & just want anything that sounds remotely positive to happen to keep the veil pulled over their eyes in hopes the bad stuff isn't really happening so their kids could go thru the same buildings they did.

This combination is your 60%. The other 40% know what's up, or at least can see the problems with the scenario. If the citizen remain & continue to be informed, plus letting more of the 60% know, and then that is true power.

And with that said, every year, with each class of seniors that come thru, there will be a whole new round of those kids turning 18. This means all of them will have the power to vote. This means that they have lived the confusing changes, don't trust the district, and, therefore, will not vote for any moves they deem unworthy of their support.

Just like much of what's taken place over these last two years. Great administrators were chased out because there's a district who thought they were also in real estate. Teachers left after being used as chess pieces within the district for not a lot of good reason. The only reason, really, was to prove the district could move them. More money has been taken from anything that is not sports. As there are students excelling in their non-sports departments, even representing the district & their schools on upwards of a national level, funds keep getting taken away right & left. They seem to be the first with swift, chaotic changes that are happening way too often. They can't get settled in changes made.

In just this last year, alone, we have seen a superintendent abusing power, seemingly with the backing of the school board. But the question becomes whether or not the board really has tabs on the district leader. If you click HERE, I have already been giving examples leading up to this letter. (Please read the link within that link, too, for an even greater understanding of where some of this stems from.)

There are many of us afraid of watching a villain coming forward. Someone who is in it for the power & the title. Someone who is willing to hide behind charity to "prove" right decisions are being made. And there's too many who refuse to speak up about it.

Things are not good here. If you look at Independence school rankings, even in just Missouri, it's embarrassing how far down the list this district is listed. If you look thru any given top high schools or school districts in Missouri, NONE of the Independence schools are even in the top 100. On one of the sites, which I'm trying to remember where we found it, Independence was given a 5 out 10 possible points. Neighboring districts, Blue Springs & Liberty, were given 8 or 9. Embarrassing.

With all of these things going down, and teachers being used as chess pieces, or just watching them leave so they don't get caught up being game pieces, something is already seemingly coming to fruition that I was trying to warn voters of when the levy came out. I went on some rants about how I was concerned with who would be handling the money since there has been no trust built as of late. Supposedly, there was to be a tight look on how the money would be spent & it was going to be monitored closely.

Dr. Herl was supposed to be speaking to a Sunday school class at our church about the levy, before the vote. I was prepped & ready to find him to discuss major issues behind my opinion of the levy & how I felt it was a catch-22. Then I found out he had backed out about 2 day beforehand, and a couple members of the school board would be there instead. I was disappointed, but looked at the situation as an opportunity to be able to approach the board about all of my concerns about the proposed levy & about the superintendent that is more than not-trusted. I was willing to lay out the reasons, too. Then it turned out it wouldn't be school board members, but instead a FORMER board member AND a spouse of a board member! Apparently it was against the rules for those who would be handling the levy money could not make a push for the levy, but send cronies out instead. Ugh.

Well, I still took the opportunity to corner one of the speakers about my concerns. He was not at all aware about what had been going on. Everything I told him was complete news to him. And it was after speaking to a class of grandparents...you know, part of the 60%. The clueless ones hoping to get information, but only listening blindly to what is being fed to them. I am glad a few of them are friends of mine & already had an idea from me as to what is actually happening in the district.

I'm laying all of this out, right now, Dr. Herl & Board, so that you will know where this next piece of information is coming from.

Last night, the Truman HS speech & debate squad had their end-of-the-year awards banquet. It was a lovely evening & we were so proud of the accomplishments of, not only our own child, but those of the whole squad. Seniors were giving their farewells. And it was awesome how they did after the major double-change that was a part of the chaos being dealt with this year.

When you wanted to continue to lift up Van Horn, while continuing to lay great focus on that high school (without a great deal of care for the other two high schools that need your great attention, too),  by doubling up the great speech & debate coaching team at Truman by dividing their time between the two schools, that was enough to hurt our hearts to watch our beloved coaches working with TWO separate squads. Squads that still compete against each other at their tournaments. Sounds like a conflict of interest to me. But I digress....
After this had been decided upon, the competitive drama teacher decided it would be best to leave the district instead, going to a neighboring district and taking her talents with her. It was a bombshell dropped upon the squad and parents. This meant bringing in another coach. Another coach who would be sharing their time between two squads. Double bombshell.

So, a new coach was brought in, much to the dismay of the competitive drama side of the squad. But, thru this year, he proved to be a worthy coach & really helped these kids to make great strides! In a school-year's time the kids were so thankful for him coming on board & being the great coach that he has been. The seniors gave him high praise, even apologizing for emotional attitudes out of early defiance...because they came to love him & couldn't wait to see how he would coach the other squad members in the time to come. Heck, he'd even turned down more money from a another school to stay on with this squad because he saw such great potential in this up & coming group of talented kids!

The squad persevered this past year of sharing coaches AND a new coach, too. And my son has been talking to the new coach to help him with some speaking pointers this coming year to help him excel more...

After the closing remarks from the squad president, then it came time for closing remarks from the debate coach...
As she took her place at the podium, she said that she had typed up what she would be saying so there would be no question about what was about to be said & that it could be made available to anyone who couldn't be there....

Uh-oh...something's up. We braced because whatever was coming wasn't going to be good.

Then, she shared these words:

As a celebratory & fun night of memories, tears, and accomplishments was a wonderful highlight, the sharing of this news made the night take a shocking downward spiral. After the last line was read, there was a stunned silence followed by sobs of sadness. Not only were the seniors experiencing the close of their final squad banquet, but the squad, as a whole, lost a whole lot in one fell swoop. Not only the seniors they've been looking up to, but there would be yet another huge change to deal with as they were just getting their footing.

I'm going to take this back to the passing of the levy vote for a moment:
Just because you have that money coming in now, this doesn't mean you should spend it almost frivolously. This lay out has Mr. Stafford on the way out the door within a few short years. It also is costing the district even more money. What has been proposed by the coaches to be able to keep the initial arrangement, set up for just this year, but to eliminate the travel money, would actually save the district a huge amount of money. Now they want to keep hiring staff that may or may not last. The squad just became OK with the set up after seeing they could still succeed, even sharing their coaches with another squad WHILE getting to know a new coach. And that has been torn away from them again.

Now, I'm going to be clear right now. Mrs. Adams did NOT engage in anymore conversation after reading the letter. She did NOT tell anyone to say anything concerning this. The squad members had already taken to Twitter to voice their disappointment. Several of us parents were discussing our great disappointment. And the answers we wanted were not coming from Mrs. Adams. She read the info she needed to, made the speech available, and that was it. Do NOT put blame on her as we express our great disappointment in the district. This is on you!

This is also a parent reaching out to have you reconsider their proposal. They want the kids to succeed & will do anything, apparently, to invest in the success of the kids. What are you doing about it?

We watch you tear away at relationships with teachers & students, messing with futures, education, and careers. It's disheartening.

After one year of a trial, that was a difficult one to get thru, you have decided to shake things up again. So, are you going to keep making huge changes every single year? Change can be good, once in while. If no one has time to settle with the changes, it is nothing but chaos. And I hurt for the kids having to deal with your actions.

The teachers, staff & students whose lives you are dealing with are people. They are not inanimate objects that can just be moved around & changed at random to "try a new arrangement." They are NOT furniture.

Now, if any of you could have been at that banquet last night in support of these students, outside of sports, you would have seen the wave of pain that fell over that room. There was a great sea of tears with the wailing & gnashing of teeth. And, understandably so.

So, when will you be taking responsibility for actions taken? When are you going to see that swift decisions can ruin lives? As we try to parent our kids about what a bad decision can do to mess up a life forever, you are proving in in vast masses.

With a superintendent who tweets with students while other administrators & educators cannot is just the tip of the irresponsibility iceberg. And things are sinking quickly.

The question now becomes whether or not you will see your actions in a different light. Are your decisions actually helping the students? Are you just doing things for money to look good in the public eye? Are you actually listening to concerns & willing to take action over them? And are your decisions actually for the whole student body, all the activities...or do you just want attention on sports hoping the boosters will just keep giving to that & pretending the district is doing well?

The district is failing. It is failing & falling fast. There is no consistency at all. And this community cannot keep up with the amount of change you are putting thru because you can't make up your minds as to how you can handle the district, the staff, the students as you just keep dollar signs in the forefront.

You cannot hide behind this veil any more. You are being watched. How are you going to handle the veil removal to see what is revealed underneath the pretentiousness?

Ball is in your court, but we are watching. Closely. Are you going to be the hero, or just wait to see if you become the villain? Many of us are concerned it's the latter.

Most Sincerely for the Children,

~Erica Williams
a very concerned parent

**********

With all of that said, I feel the need to put it in open-letter form so that many of you will be informed of things that are actually happening within this district. Those who don't want to believe anything is wrong because your kid isn't seemingly affected. But it affects every child in the district.

If these irrational decisions continue from the top, it's going to bite everyone in every school building, and within the families. You will see a greater rise of homeschooling (which I've already seen happen out of this district, by the way).

If you are ones who refuse to question what is happening, you are part of the problem. If you kissing their hands or hineys, you are part of the problem. Eventually, you will see the brunt of this. Especially if you have kiddos still going thru this district.

So, to those reading this within the Independence School District, who's willing to speak up? Many of you are willing to just speak quietly, but we need to get loud. But in a diplomatic way. Name calling & nasty language will get you no where. But we need to corner these folks on the board and the superintendent to let them know what we think. I'm willing speak to them beyond just what I print. If I wasn't willing to talk to them, then I wouldn't put it out there.

Anyone willing to speak up, too? Or share this open letter? Or write your own?

Email, call, write, get word out. We need to let them know we mean business when it comes to our kids, their education, their futures, as well as the treatment of the educators who are trying to invest in the kids if they are given the chance.

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

~~~~~~~~~~

*UPDATE* (May 15, 2015)

In amazing news....the board has reconsidered & will now leave the squad alone by allowing the same arrangement as this past year. Not sure if this open letter helped or not, but I do know the squad played a big part in it. Leave it to talented speakers & debaters!

From my understanding, the superintendent wasn't willing to budge...but the board decided to override that. This speaks volumes as to how the district is being run & hope it sends a message for how things should be taken care of in the future.

Change can happen!! This is amazing news!!

Even After 4 Hours, AM~Erica is Beaming

So anyway...

After Teen Girl having QUITE THE THEATRICAL WEEKEND (click on the link to read about it), we were subjected to another end-of-the-year deal...

Yes, it's that time of year when all the kids have activities going on that require award ceremonies & such. And...all of our kids are involved in totally different things. In general, that's so awesome that each kiddo can be involved in their own thing...but...it's really hard when none of these things are connected & all the end-of-year stuffs are being scheduled at the same time. Or one right after another. No rest for the weary! Amm-i-rite?

Well, tonight, we were subjected to another event. Teen Girl just finished all the play stuffs for the year, Lil Guy just finished his sports stuffs (but has some other things coming), but tonight was Teen Boy's turn.

Teen Boy's "thing" is the forensics stuff. He's part of the NFL! My dramatic friends know that is actually the National FORENSICS League. It has to do with speech (aka - competitive drama) & debate. The wall-talkers. And tonight was the night to recognize this group. We got dressed up & paid for an OK meal. We heard that Teen Boy would probably get a letter as a freshman, so we'd watch for that. But there was more!

So...he also got his Forensics degree of Excellence. I think he was recognized as degree of Honor, but not all the points were put in by the time the awards were put together. Between the points he picked up by doing both the drama AND debate side...he's accomplished a lot!

Then...THEN? Then he was also given the honorable mention (read: 1st runner up) for the team member votes as Novice Speaker of the Year! WOOT! Cuz he's in a large novice class this year. So this was huge!

Then do you see the red plaque, too? If we weren't already proud enough...this one came...
These plaques given were chosen by the coaches. The Outstanding Member Awards were to be given!

The debate coach stood up & started describing a young man up for the Novice NFL of the Year award. As she described him...we realized it wasn't Teen Boy. This was OK. It was his 1st year & was planning on sticking with it. But then she held up another Novice of the Year plaque & began describing another young man who she said would become obvious in a moment. At first, it sounded like Teen Boy...but she started saying that this young man would track her down, either by text or other means, to make sure she knew about any & all current events. She also said this young man would pour much of his extra time into helping out team members better prepare for debate & extemporaneous events. And then it happened...

She called out Teen Boy's name!!!!

Please pardon my crazy-mama reflection. That plaque is SHINY!!

Yes...I burst into tears! Hubby welled up. Even Teen Girl got emotional...which that's kind of a big deal.

Holy cannoli! Even the hardcore seniors...the ones that my son aspires to be...gave him a standing ovation and stopped him to shake his hand in congrats. These are national qualifying team members, folks. Even ones that have finished in the top 10 nationally. And they were right there to root on my son!

We. Are. Beaming.

The nearly 4 hours didn't seem so bad when we knew it was Teen Boy's time to shine...we just didn't realize how much more brightly compared to others.

Oh...and by the way...he lettered, too.

Someone! Hand me a hanky! I'm a bit verklempt over here...

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

AM~Erica Has Good Timing in Running Late

So anyway...

This weekend, Teen Girl finished up THE SPRING PLAY by playing Adela in "The House of Bernarda Alba".

Anyone familiar with this story will know it's a dark, heavy & intense drama. With Teen Girl having a love of musical theater, this was quite a stretch for her. However...she pulled it off amazingly. I promise...it's more than just a biased parental judgement.

I am still sick that we could not make it to opening night. Still not going to get on that rant to take away from this, but my heart does ache. However, we made it to the 2nd of 4 nights. It wasn't hubby's cup of tea since it was just high on shouting & drama thru the whole thing, it was still acted very well. It's not a typical high school go-to play...but the talent level in these high school girls was jaw-dropping.

Now there was supposed to be some family attending her closing night. But due to some circumstances, there would be no family there for her last night of shining glory. I felt so guilty about it, especially considering no one there for her on opening night, I decided last minute that I would go support her. Someone HAD to be there for her! I did so after I expressed my sadness, and hubby said I should just go...and I did. No arm-twisting...I grabbed my purse, said goodbye, and ran out the door...

If traffic would cooperate, I would be getting a ticket (if there were any left) & getting into the auditorium as things would be starting. Believe me...I prayed all the way there!
And it all went well. As I ran in the doors, money in hand, the ones at the ticket table had a ticket ready for me (I must have sent a desperation aura ahead of me), I gave my money, they tore my ticket stub, gave me my change...and I rushed to the theater doors. Keep in mind that this play is black boxed on the stage; late-comers are embarrassingly obvious. As I was handed my program, the theater teacher/director was on the edge of the stage motioning for the doors to be closed. WHEW! And he just shook his head at me as he motioned for me to hurry down the aisle so I could try to get a seat on the stage...D'oh!

Thankfully I am in good with him & he helped me look around for a seat since there were so few left. He asked a couple if the seat next to them was open...but they were "saving it" for "Jo[e]" (who never showed up, by the way). But it was OK...there was 1 seat left in the front on the very furthest stage left corner. As the director pointed it out to me, I thanked him & took 2 steps hurriedly moving toward getting seated when he grabbed my arm. He leaned in to me & said in a low voice, "The girl you will be sitting next to was my Adela 5 years ago." Imagine my shock! And how well that turned out!

I took my seat next to the very adorable young lady. She smiled at me courteously, and I asked her about being Adela. Her eyes lit up that I knew that as she nodded at me. I explained that my daughter would be playing Adela. She seemed thrilled! But we didn't get to chat much...cuz it was time to start things up. See? I slid right in there...WHEW!

Now, for all my past/present theater actor & crew friends out there...you know how it goes on the last performance. No. Holds. Barred. Now...it can get dicey & edgy when it's a musical &/or comedy. Amm-i-rite? But when it's a hardcore drama...it's different. An already intense story line gets even more so. I was on the edge of my seat just watching how much more these actresses were putting into this performance.

Even though this play isn't a long one, it was 3 acts, so a couple of intermissions were put in place. During these intermissions, I did get to chat with the "other Adela." She was already impressed with what she was seeing, and she was reminiscing about how much the director had kept so much of it the same as when she had done it (set & set up). She also told me that she felt bad that the director wanted to tell Teen Girl that his original Adela was in the audience. She didn't want to freak out the current actress in the role. However, she told me that she had a rose sent back to Teen Girl. I knew that, even though my kid would be freaking out that the director's original actress was there, she would be gushing about the encouragement!

When the play was over, "the other Adela" & I finally introduced ourselves. She was hoping to work her way out to meet Teen Girl, too.

As I finally got a chance to talk to Teen Girl about the experience, and her sadness about the play being over, she told me about the card(s) attached to the rose sent from the 1st Adela:

Awwww...!!! This was a very big deal to my daughter! And the "other Adela" really seemed genuinely thrilled by how the play went & how Teen Girl did.

Also, my daughter surprised a lot of people with her intensity, her sobbing & her portrayal of Adela. The feedback I heard, even from strangers whom I just overheard chatting, were amazed by Teen Girl.

We know she has it in her...and we are glad she was able to show her talent off in such a big way.

And the timing of me running behind actually led me to sitting & being a part of the coming-full-circle: Adela to Adela. It was exciting & amazing. And just kept feeding THE PROUD PARENT IN ME.

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

AM~Erica Has Gotta Brag

So anyway...

Remember when I pointed out WHAT A PROUD PARENT I AM? Well, a part of that brought up is in it's fruition/harvest stages right now!!

"The House of Bernarda Alba" is now showing at the high school! Opening night was last night, and there are shows each night thru Saturday.

Teen Girl is having her long-awaited shining moment.
LONG. A. WAIT. ED.

Here's my guilty mommy moment...and it breaks my heart: I could not make the opening night of her big moment unveiling. All of this crazy weather & makeup schedules of all kinds of other things...the final "games" of flag football for Lil Guy were having the scheduled makeup games at the same time. That's a rant I'm not going to go on here...but I could rant. Because...well...oh yeah...not here or now...

Anyhoo...I did get to hear the end part of the play. Part of that has to do with:

1. I had to pick up Teen Girl from rehearsal...it might have been rude to make her walk home 5+ miles

B. It's not full theater - it's in Black Box format on the stage, so you can't see from the main seats...only on the set up chairs on the stage (so seating is VERY limited)

However, the parts that I heard were so intense! I didn't even see what was going on & I wanted to burst into tears. That wasn't from a Proud Mama standpoint...but just from sheer delivery of what I was hearing happening.

The family will be going to see Teen Girl in a role that should make any father squirm...but, nonetheless, we are so proud of her hard work & efforts. And, from what I literally heard (not a hearsay kind of situation), I'm really excited to see what she does with this very large & challenging role.

Don't forget...I'm a realist parent. If my kid is good at something, I will let you know. But if they are struggling, I'm not a stage mom that everything only centers around my kid. It's usually a team effort. And if my daughter is doing well...it because of her gifts, hard work, and an amazing cast to keep things going.

Even though I haven't SEEN it yet...it SOUNDS very strong. A cast full of strong young women. And I'm excited to bring my tissues & see the story unfold.

Oh...and to brag on my kid a little more, too...

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

AM~Erica Will be Watching the NFL Draft: the DVR'd Special

So anyway...

Today.

Today is a big day.

Today is a big day for KC.

Today is the 1st round of the annual NFL Draft.

Today...Kansas City Chiefs have the #1 pick overall in that draft. FINALLY!

And, as my entire day has been turning upside-down & inside-out...it's taken me hours to get to this part in this post. And we are just under an hour until the draft begins...


Now then...today isn't going down as hoped...

It's about being a parent. Being a parent can throw some wrinkles into timing of things. Sometimes it thwarts our original plans all together. You know...kind of like MISSING COMIC-CON to be a parental unit instead.

Well...I am missing (again) meeting my kicker. That's right... Ryan Succop is the player I root for. Ever since the 2009 draft.

A. He was crowned that year's draft's "Mr. Irrelevant" (aka - the last player chosen); went to KC

2. He's a kicker

III. His last name is pronounced "suck-up"


Everything was against this poor guy. So I took it upon myself to be his fan. Someone needed to be rooting for him...and I decided it would be me. And this is while we were living in St. Louis. He may have been crowned "Mr. Irrelevant", but I crowned him as my very own Chiefs' player.

Well...he was making a couple of quick appearances at a couple of draft parties in town. Because of being a mommy on kiddo time...going to either of these was now out of play (sorry for the pun)

I barely missed him when we checked out Chiefs' training camp last year. I was so close to get my pic with him...in my very own Succop jersey...but it was the one day in the entire drought-like conditions that sent a storm a-brewin'...and the quick evacuation of the players before I could get to him. *sigh* figures.

Hard to see...but it's my #6 Succop jersey

Then...who schedules things around here during a BIG drafting moment? Oh...how about Lil Guy's very last football make up practice (irony?) & a meeting hubby had to be at. Go figure.

Yes...DURING the draft. What is wrong with this pic??? So much...that's what.

However...we are in an age where we can record, via DVR, and watch the event later. But I'm super bummed that we couldn't get to a party, or just watch live...or take in big festivities. Cuz it's an exciting time in KC right now, yo.

This week has had me in many different places:

1. A fine-dining/antioxidant-fortified Jesus water outing at OUR LOVE LOCK SPOT with great company

II. A poetry & music filled concert at the Kauffman Center, called Verses & Voices

C. Took in a night of the Young Playwright Festival at the Coterie Theater at Crown Center - in which Teen Girl is PART OF THE ROUND TABLE

#. I will be helping with costumes for Teen Girl's play next week

As you can see: I am having a very cultured week. I think my pinky finger may be permanently raised with so much culture taken in. I really NEEDED this sporting event!

Don't get me wrong...I love the cultured stuffs! LOVE IT!!! But there's gotta be some balance for me...

If you weren't aware, or might have forgotten, I REALLY LOVE FOOTBALL. Especially my Chiefs. It's totally my hubby's fault, too.

But we will have to enjoy this as a delayed special. And not until my hubby is home from his meeting.

And now as I start this part of the post, the draft has been going for 30 minutes. And we must wait...
TICK-TICK!

But it didn't stop me from dressing the part.

I will always show my support!

Even the Royals (who are doing very well so far) even pulled off an unbeliveable extra inning win in celebration of the great things in Kansas City! Amm-i-rite?

2013 is a good year for sports in KC. We can feel it!!

GO CHIEFS!!

So it looks like we will get to start watching the NFL Draft: DVR Special in about 1 hour delay. You know...for censorship...and stuffs. Amm-i-rite? *shrugs*

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

**** Oh...and because of kiddos getting cleaned up for the evening...it may be on an hour-&-a-half delay. Go figure in the Parenthood...*sigh* Tick-Tick...

***** OK...maybe only 1 hour & 15 minutes. Whatever...still behind. But gonna watch...GONNA WATCH!!!

AM~Erica Trying to Give Direction to Solution

So anyway...

The TRAGEDY IN CONNECTICUT is still fresh in our minds, as well as the shootings in Topeka. And it seems there's no slowing down the jumping to a solution of sorts to slow or stop all of this.

I was going to wait to give my take on all of this & really open up my thoughts & where I'm coming from, but it appears the time is now.

So...*deep breath in, deep breath out* here we go:

Off we go on more POLITICAL TANGENTS, even with the elections being over. It hasn't slowed up. It's frustrating. And, as usual, both "sides" are sounding as insane as ever.

With the fiscal cliff looming (Solution: FLAT TAXES by percentage of what you make. Too easy? Whatever, just do it & get over it.), there are still people mudslinging from all directions.

Here's the dealio, y'all...the focus on gun control is not the answer...solely. Like it or not, there needs to be a major tightening. And even if you don't like to hear it, mental health issues need to be on the background checks for gun purchases, at least a reference from a doctor/phycologist/counselor, and a number of guns cap needs to be set. It's not a matter of taking them away, there is an issue of "control". Yet many just want to carry around pistol...or automatic weapons, like we are back in the old west. You know, settle an argument at high noon with a dual because you felt threatened. If you are not part of law enforcement or in the military...there is absolutely NO reason for a civilian to carry a gun unless it's in the woods because you are hunting for food...NOT GAME! The conceal & carry is a sham, in my opinion. I didn't say take them away. There's those who want to have them at home to defend their household & property from trespassers, but just note that you can still be shot, wounded, deablilitateyd, or killed by the trespasser who may have a gun. Your own gun would have done you no good. Will it keep the guns out of the hands of the "bad guys"? No. But keeping an actual registration of guns in the possession of persons will be a major start. You don't have to agree with me...but there is actual common sense here.

The biggest problem is the insurance & healthcare thing. Obamney-Care (that's right, it's still based off of Romney's stuff) is not the answer. Do we need all to be covered? Absolutely! But not at such a high of price. There is absolutely no reason anyone should be charged $20 to take 2 Tylenol while getting hospital care. It's about price gauging, for sure. Make it illegal to charge so much for use of equipment & things. Bring the price down so healthcare is affordable. Oh...and make it OK for people to get the prescriptions they need & make it OK to see the right specialists without the hinderance of insurance barriers. Trust me...it's happened to us. And marketing prescription drugs publicly is not OK, and should be taken away from them. Why? It's up to health professionals, not the everyday WebMD checker, to tell if they need it. Cut out that marketing & hopefully that will help with "big name" prescription costs going down. No one should ever have to pay $400 for any medication! When drug stores can offer $4 prescriptions, that should set a precedent.

It is so very wrong for people who need a particular attention given to them, but can't because insurance won't pay for it, and then one cannot afford to pay for it out of their own pocket. It's a disgusting vicious cycles that has to be broken! Oh...and taxing people who can't afford healthcare isn't the answer either.

These two issues are completely tied in together. It's both/and...not either/or. (see about my PURPLE POLITICS)

I, personally, am against the possession of civilian guns. That's my thinking. But...I wasn't brought up with them, either. No defending "my side" will make me want to jump into that mold of defending my 2nd amendment right when I've never had to deal with it...and been just fine. And the segway is that if I did want to get one, I truly hope I was turned down. Why? Because I have mental health issues.

If you remember when I've talked about my DEPRESSION ISSUES, I also said that I had been suicidal. I tried to overdose, and it didn't work. Luckily. However, those issues are never truly gone for me...I can easily slide back into those deep, dark areas. And I have brought up that I imagine another way of doing it, but I cannot make that work, which is a good thing. I can imagine the barrel of gun at my temple & can feel the cold metal against the right side of my head. If there was a gun in our house, I might find a way to use it. So the possession of this weapon is off limits!

That being said, I know there might be some kind of violation of privacy, blah-blah, if health records were a part of this background check to purchase a gun. I know of more than one person who either owns a gun or would like to that have mental health issues & are on medication. If this is the case...a weapon of destruction should not be in your possession...or under the same roof where they reside. Friends & relatives should know what your issue is & know that showing you where they stash their firearms or lending one (or more) to you is a serious lack of good judgement.

You know what all of that leads to? Murderous rampages. When someone who is in serious need of psychological help uses a firearm to take out many, and you turn around and defend them having a gun...guess what you look like. (Note: at the same time, whining & pouting because someone does have a firearm is just as crazy...because it is in the constitution.)

I have seen a couple of posts from people who have shared painstaking stories of loved ones who were lost to mental health issues to the point that they were no longer the same person. Good people, but who ended up with a twisted view on life for whatever reason. It's sad & horrible.

We have to realize that, if these people who need mental help, they can still use any means necessary to get their "point across"...they will find a bat or club, knives or axes, even create a bomb.

Along with some of these psychological triggers is the incidental glamorization of the assailants in these tragedies. If every name & face of these killers are all over the news & media, they got what they wanted...notoriety. Remembered for something big. The more we talk about their names & cover every inch of their lives...they have made a name for themselves...just as they had hoped to do - you know, like the last guy who did it. If we focus on the victims, it is no longer about the killer. We don't glamorize them anymore. But we get this sick curiosity about them & try to get into their minds. Why do we even want to be there when we see the outcome?

Morgan Freeman was credited with pointing out the media for being the big issue of a lot of these tragedies by sharing the name & face of the assailant over & over & over &...
As it turns out, Morgan Freeman didn't say it. But the words still ring true...to a point. The media is another large portion of the issue. Don't give anything personal away about any murderer. They seek & crave that kind of attention in these cases. And then we still cover their trials & every moment leading up to what's coming to them.

The glamorization of "reality" television with the people we make celebrity for outlandish behaviors & our lack of talking openly & honestly about mental health issues contribute greatly to this.

Gun control, healthcare, and media have jaded us as a people. Keeps us divided because we are focussing on the wrong things at the wrong times.

I've also heard that it's because God isn't allowed in our schools anymore. There is still prayer happening, mostly silently by teachers for their students & their days, and by students about to take a test. There is still gathering at flagpoles & Fellowship of Christian Athlete clubs that still meet & pray...in schools. We have worked SO hard to not offend, that we have been forced to be the defensive. And it forces us to hand out participation trophies & not make anyone work for anything. Just show up & you get recognized.
Where are our priorities, people? What are we really wanting & really fighting for?

President Obama, once again, delivered a beautiful speech at the inter-faith service for the fallen children & faculty in Newtown. Again, he spoke from being a parent. He was truly emotional...and I know. My hubby had to deliver A HARD SERMON this weekend & had the same tone. You get emotional, but know you have to keep it together in that moment. And when the president said that changes need to be made...everyone jumped to conclusions as to what he might mean. You know what he meant? He meant that CHANGES NEED TO BE MADE! That's it. That was not the time or place to spell it out. Did he elude to it? Yes...but guess what? It was a lot of what I pointed out here. It's more than gun control, folks...it's mental health issues, too. Don't just hear part of it...hear the whole of it. Much like scripture...take the whole thing instead of dissecting it into just pieces you want to get out of it.

I apologize for covering this so soon...but I'm sick of people's focus on just a couple of things while others deeply mourn.

I mourn. As a parent, as a human, as an American...I mourn.

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica