A New Move was the Right Choice

Because Angela had opened up in 2020 about making the difficult choice to change schools [Original blog post here], I wanted to talk with her again and see how she feels about her decision nearly five years later.

“You know what? Every year has been better and better,” she begins. “This 8th grade year he just made strides—leaps and bounds. He is doing his homework independently and he doesn't have to be prompted to do so. I used to have to help him with his homework all the time. Right now he's totally independent. I ask him every day what his homework is: He tells me and he gets it done.”

Reflecting on his growth, she continues, “Typically, he would ask me, ‘Mom can you help me with this can you help me with that,’ but now he is he's getting it done and he's motivated to learn and the teachers told me that he's actually advocating in the classroom asking for help.”

Angela had so much to say about her son’s growth in these few years and recalled what brought her to search for something different. She thought back to the period of time she was witnessing him struggle at his previous school, where coincidently, she was also a substitute teacher.

It was during that time she gained insights to what school was like. “I was watching the curriculum and how overcrowded the classes were how the children weren't getting enough individualized attention. They did have intervention, but it wasn't it wasn't specialized enough. I knew that my son needed some extra some extra support and I knew we needed a different atmosphere.”

Angela had no idea whether a place like her son needed even existed, so she took to Google. Chucking a little, she tells me, “I found Springer, actually, just Googling! I thought, ‘If you guys specialize here, that’s what we need.’”

Brycen began to make progress quickly after beginning at Springer, alleviating Angela’s worst fears. “When he was little, I thought, ‘Will my kid ever read?’”

At Springer, Brycen is reading, working independently, and has made a ton of friends, even while being a self-described introvert.

He's reading better and with speech therapy he receives at school he's also speaking more fluently. “He's just growing into a level of independence,” Angela says. It was Brycen’s progress that prompted Angela to want to stay the course and seriously consider Springer High School. Brycen and his mother looked at other local schools, but ultimately have made the choice to enroll in ninth grade at Springer High School. At Springer she feels confident Brycen can continue taking advantage of the support that has helped him make great strides already.

As a parent, you want to see into the future to know whether you’re making the right choice. The closest we can come is to learn, talk with others and try to make the best of the options we have. For Angela, seeing her son’s progress is a great reminder that she made the right decision!