[FSU_Alum]

Merrymack:

Don't worry, you have more than one option here!

The first thing I would do is get in contact with someone from the District's ESE Office. Gifted is part of ESE. Here is the website: Welcome to The School District of Lee County (http://www.leeschools.net/dept/ese/ - broken link) . There is actually a tab for Gifted up in the right column.

Call or email someone there, and he/she should be able to really run down your options for you. There is, I believe, a self-contained Gifted Program available in each zone and/or subzone.

(Lee County has three Zones--East, South and West. You are most likely in the South Zone if you are Near Bonita. Each zone is then divided up into 3 subzones. We have School Choice, so you can have a bit of a say in which school your child attends.)

Here's the site for Student Assignment, and you can see maps of the Zones, etc.: Welcome to The School District of Lee County (http://www.leeschools.net/dept/sta/welcome.htm - broken link)

First thing tomorrow, call someone in the ESE Department and ask them about Gifted Services and explain what is happening. They'll help you find a program for your son.

Remember, the second semester has just started, and it's not too late to salvage the school year. There are plenty of good teachers who understand and care about their students.

Please let me know if that helps; if you have any more questions, please ask. My heart really goes out to your son (and the child of the other poster).

--FSU_Alum

[oeabel]

Your advice is fabulous FSU Alum... Thank you!

Merrymack - I really hope the other school works out for you. I hold little hope that BSCS will change in any way. In many ways I'm tuned out, just keeping enough pressure to get what I can for my son and biding my time until I can pull him out. I want him in a school that will be more supportive and less deceitful. Right after we enrolled our kids, someone mentioned some things about others being forced to leave because they had "needs". There is just no oversight and, as far as I can tell, no one cares.

Please keep us posted on your progress and do not hesitate to send me a message if you have any questions at all.

[merrymack]

so far, so good, although it has only been 2 weeks. All the teachers are young, very thoughtful, bright and seem so concerned about al his needs. They have enrolled him without asking for a dime and are halping me work on a few sources for financial aid. They GAVE Michael 4 uniforms . Anpother plus is that they don't have to take the FCat tests so there is no pressure on the kids. Because there are only 16 kids in his class they have more time to learn and study which minimizes the amount of homework they must do. During BSCS we spent at least 1hr 1/2 every night and that is too much for a 9 yr old. They have the same Math book so that was easy . They do all the spelling sentences and ABC order in class..not for homework.
Also they have intramural sports and EVERYONE participates. We went to a football game against St Elizabeth Seton and Michael has signed up for the basketball team. Charter schools have no sports even within the school let alone playing other schools. It makes it more exciting for the boys and girls. Next week I have my first parent-teacher conference and will no more about his curriculum. If you are interested I can fill you in. Thanks for your concern.
PS I has been 6 weeks and I call Charter Schools USA in Ft Lauderdale and they give me lip service but never call me back.

[oeabel]

I am so happy for you!

And, I too never got the Charter School Organization to respond. They basically shut me down. I read their meeting minutes recently and they actually admitted to being over the state-mandated (but not required yet) class size limits. They said they needed the extra money. I know they fined the charter school in cape coral but apparently haven't noticed how large the classes are at BSCS.

[Iseeastar1983]

Originally Posted by oeabel

My kids attend Bonita Springs Charter School in Lee County and I'm having a hard time getting anyone with authority in the district to address the huge issues at this school. My son has already had 3 science teachers and 2 health teachers (there are only 6 or 7 teachers total in his grade) in the first three weeks of school and there was at least a 25% turnover at the end of last year. This is only part of a larger problem that exists here. Things have fallen to such a low and there is no oversight of the charter schools in this district. How do I advocate for my children if there is no one to listen?

Send them to public school!