The Final PPT:  Yesterday, I received confirmation for our final PPT, mid May. Our daughter is now about to “exit” from our school district after 13 years of being under their auspices, since the age of 3.

From her entrance into an inclusion special education preschool through her freshman year at the local high school, (she repeated first grade), our district was one stop shopping for most of her special educational needs.

Someone Watching Over Her: These five years that our daughter has been at boarding school, the district remained legally responsible for her education, oversaw and approved the IEP’s generated by the boarding school via phone conferenced PPT’s.

True Grit: This is a moment of mixed emotions. Many wonderful educators and administrators worked hard for years to educate and socialize our gal. True grit went into their efforts. Much of the stuff took; some didn’t and finally we had to go elsewhere. That was hard. Never did it become acrimonious, though we did have to fight to send her elsewhere. But even that stressful phase didn’t get ugly.

A Farewell Touched With Sadness and Gratitude: I know other folks tell different stories about their district, even our district. But for me, it is a farewell touched with sadness, fear and excitement: the end of an era. And gratitude!

©Jill Edelman, M.S.W., L.C.S.W. 2011