Back Into the Swing of Things!

Hey everybody - I still haven't done anything with pictures for my Blog, but I'm attempting another post.

We've been in school now for 3 weeks. Fourth grade really suits me. I'm beginning to really get to know the students and enjoy them. There are 27 of them - not a small number, but do-able! The last few days have been great and it makes me realize I love what I'm doing!

I don't know how many of you are familiar with NCLB (No Child Left Behind), a federal program to supposedly keep children in the school system and force them to succeed. Part of it, and Arizona is big on it, is making sure every teacher is "highly qualified" in order to be teaching in the classroom. A few years ago, I "passed" as highly qualified as a special education teacher but now that I've moved into a regular 4th grade classroom, I'm no longer highly qualified (even though I am DUAL certified, Spec.Ed and Elem.Ed, AND have a Master's degree AND have been teaching for over 20 years) - go figure! I now have to go take the AEPA - Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessment. When I pass it, THEN I will be "highly qualified" - AGAIN! You know, Arizona is really hurting for teachers - this is not exactly the way to keep the good ones around! And life goes on..........

Labor Day weekend! Hooray (except for all the traffic)! I think I'll take Dallas to a show today or Monday - Mitch is hangin' with friends. I wish a great weekend to all of you! Catch ya later!