Avengers on Hold

Tomorrow is the last day of school.

Sigh.

I remember a time when I looked forward to that. Not anymore. It means it's time for Camp Mom once again. Maggie and I have two weeks before summer school begins and we will have to start hitting the City's hot spots once again. I am tired already.

Though the academic year started off with Maggie fighting to keep her stamina up, it quickly improved and so did her health. In the beginning we were trying to convince Mr. G, her new teacher, that she wasn't really like this. I don't think he believed us. Finally around Halloween Maggie woke up and became her old self again. Then she flew through the rest of the year. All in all, her healthiest year in a very long time. One night in the hospital in November for a procedure and that's it. Hopefully we can repeat that next year.

First, though there is summer school to contend with. This is the first year in several that Maggie's regular teacher is staying to do summer school. It's great. It is so hard with all the transitions; having consistency is important. last year it was a new school and a new teacher, but the nurse and the staff were the same. This year she still has to go to a different school but there will be the same kids and the same teacher, nurse and staff.

Or so we thought. New school? yes. Same teacher? yes. Same nurse? yes. Same staff? NOOOOOOO!

It was just revealed this week that the paras (para professionals or teacher aides) in her class are not getting assigned to her classroom for the summer. Apparently they aren't being assigned anywhere because they are not senior enough and there are so few para positions in the summer. That is confusing because they all had jobs last year and they were less senior then.

There are three aides in her class, Ms. Eva, Ms. Laura and Mr. David,  and they are incredible. I feel terrible that they are being left out in the cold - and not just because I'm such a kind person. Oh no. I have selfish motivations as well. It is a lot safer for the kids if there are people around who know how to move them. These three actually know how to communicate with Maggie and with her classmates. They know and can program the communication devices and they know the kids. Each of these kids requires total care which means lifting, re-positioning and diapering several times a day. Seniority may not be that helpful for some of those skills. Transition to summer school things could have been seamless, but that would have been too easy. I've written to the powers that be pleading for some sanity, and asking for the kids safety to be considered, but I don't know what good it did..

I feel a little bit sorry for whatever more senior para gets assigned to this classroom if they don't know what they are getting into. It is not for the feint of heart. They may go running from the room.

We shall see what happens.  These three are like the Avengers, doing jobs very few can and I have a feeling one or more  may be called into action.

Hope so.

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Pictures: Maggie and Mr. David both wearing horse head shirts on the same day - by coincidence! Steve and Maggie with Ms. Laura, Nurse Janice and Ms. Eva at special olympics last week. Too bad Steve couldn't be a little taller here.