For those who follow me on Instagram you know last week was crazy. After a year at our old school, we decided to change schools for our youngest son. I knew it would be stressful. We have an IEP and I am always full of anxiety dealing with making sure his IEP and anxiety issues are addressed.
I sat and brewed with this idea for all of September and then discussed it with my husband and he agreed. We didn’t come to this decision on our own. As we do with all significant discussions we discussed it with the child it would affect. As soon as I brought up the subject he said he wanted to do it.
Why did we want to change schools?
Last year my son had a lot of what I was calling “invisible” illnesses. My head hurts, my tummy hurts etc. He always had to use the bathroom when it was time to leave, almost missing his bus numerous times. I feel like shit now when I look back as I realize it was anxiety. As an anxiety sufferer myself I should have picked it up much more quickly.
He was also having trouble making friends. He said the kids were mean to him. I addressed this with the principal and when I named the child who was being mean to him at that time she said to me “Her, no way, she is so sweet”. He complained the teacher was mean to him. Always telling him to sit down and shut up. My child has ADHD and his IEP states he needs body breaks. The IEP also suggests the teacher give him tasks around the classroom to help him with his energy. Sounds like this was not happening.
The very final straw for me was when he came home this year and told me three different kids had smacked him in the back of the head. I was done! I informed the principal of the incident. She e-mailed me the next week that she was still dealing with this but was waiting for all kids to be present at school to talk to them as a group. It didn’t matter anymore, I was done.
The Process of Changing Schools
I called the other school we had an option of attending that day. When I spoke with the principal at the new school I informed her of everything going on and the bullying that we felt was not being addressed properly. I told her I needed to get him out of this school ASAP for his mental health. She agreed.
The next day I called the new school to follow up. The principal was out of the building at a meeting but the secretary told me he could start at the school the next day if we wanted. Of course, I said yes. I then went and picked up my son and all his stuff from his old school and brought him home.
The only thing left to do was get him bussing. It is up to parents to apply for bussing. When I get home with my son I applied for his bussing. I wasn’t in too much of a rush for that as thankfully I am a stay-at-home mom and could drive him until he got on the school bus. Ended up only having to drive him for two days as even the bus company was quick to get him assigned to a new bus.
How do we feel now?
It was a fast and furious week. I spent the weekend relaxing in my room and I was mentally drained. It was the best thing we could have done. My son is much happier at his new school. He has already made a handful of new friends.
Monday night when I reminded them school was the next day (It was Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada) my son replied with a sad response. It was quickly followed up by a loud YAY as he remembered he no longer had to go back to his old school.
We are looking forward to the rest of our year at his new school.
So happy your little one seems to like the change in schools. It’s hard being a parent and knowing for sure what the right decision is, but it sounds like you did the right thing. Wishing him a fantastic school year and some peace of mind for you.
Thank you. Worse case, this school only goes to grade 6 so he is off to another school next year no matter what.
Same thing happened with my nephew. He was also getting anxiety because he was bullied in school. Glad to know you learned the cause of his anxiety early on and found a solution. It’s truly important to put kids in an environment where they can grow and thrive and not be in constant distress.
Poor guy. What was their solution? I hope he is doing much better.