Hall Lurking at it's best

Today, like many days, I got up and rounded up the kids, sent them off to school, and went to my second job, that of "Hall Mom" or "Helicopter Mom" at Jack's school. It's a thankless, self appointed position, and the pay is lousy. Hanging out at my child's school is the only way I can really know what is going on in Special Ed. Most years I don't have to do that, because in the past I have known someone that works at my child's school, who tells me everything, or the teachers are good about communicating to parents. This year I don't have either of those luxuries, the ones I took for granted when he was in Elementary. The Junior High teachers do not send any information home about Jack's day, and I don't know any of the Aides well enough, that they would call me. So that leads me to the lonely life of a hall lurker.

I am happy to do my duty and once in awhile it really pays off to be available. For instance, today I ran into the Director of Special Education for our school district. She had come to visit our Junior High because she had gotten wind of the problems.

Rewind several weeks...On a Friday about a month ago, I was on the front lawn of a good friends house, visiting with several prayerful women. I shared with them my concerns about Jack's situation at school. I explained that I did not know any other parents of special needs children at this new school and really missed having allies at this school. After asking for them to keep this in their prayers, we went our separate ways, to run our mom errands like we usually do, frantically trying to get everything done before the weekend hit.

Two hours later that same day, I received an email from a parent, someone I had never met, about a parent meeting taking place concerning Special Education at the Junior High level. The meeting was that same night, so I scrambled around making arrangements so that I could be there. By 7pm on that same day, I was sitting in a living room with half a dozen other parents concerned about what was going on in Special Education in our city. You can imagine my surprise to find out that the home we were meeting in was a family with a child who had just started going to the same school as Jack!. Since I don't believe in coincidences, I began to get goosebumps, knowing that the prayers of my fabulous friends were already at work.

But that's not the end of the story...After the meeting we were to each get an employee from our school district to recommend us to be on a Special Education Advisory Committee that was being put together to give input to the Director of Special Education, the Superintendent and the Board of Trustees for our ISD. I was excited, so the next day I called up a woman that I had known for along time, who was an employee of the ISD and asked her for a recommendation to this committee. She laughed and said, "I put your name in for that committee 10 days ago!"

I am reminded of Deuteronomy 31:8

The Lord himself goes before you, he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

The Special Education Advisory Committee met for the first time last night, and that is where I met the Director of Special Education for the first time. I ran in to her again at Jack's school today, so I am anxious to see what God has planned.