Blocked.

There's a direct correlation between the peaks and valleys of taking care of College Guy, High School Girl, and Scooter the Wonder Dog and nurturing the Knitternall blog-realm. Hence, the looooooooooong break between posts. If I thought the family was busy when the kids were little, that perception has most definitely changed.

Thanks to Council Guy's commitments, I've met many fascinating people who have broadened and deepened my viewpoints on education, community service, sustainability, child rearing, self-employment, and other issues of special interest to me. I am impressed with the stamina of people who wade through the logjams of public education, launch new businesses, wrestle with lifechanging legislation, and take leadership roles in civic organizations. 

I appreciate their positive spirit because I've been very frustrated with the state of public education in our own community. While excellence happens every day in the classroom, the vagaries of politics and "wait for it" breath-holding while the new superintendent decides what's next are considerable impediments to success. For example, the DHS School Council has asked DeKalb's central office to give us a year-long schedule instead of the year-in-a-semester Block Schedule for eight years.

Does it make sense only to the parents that students need year-long math and writing? Does the school system not see the negative impact on arts education with the highly restrictive block schedule? Can they not understand that having multiple schedule models within the same school system makes it impossible for students to transfer from one school to the next? Isn't it obvious that students with ADD/ADHD, a different native language, difficulty in a core academic subject, and developmental delays find the pace of instruction in a block schedule and the very long class periods to be particularly challenging? Do they not see the falling yearly scores for students who need support?

Nope.

And each year, the central office comes up with another reason to keep the block schedule. They've mandated multiple surveys of parents/teachers/students, changed the rules and forms for making the request, "forgotten" to look at the paperwork until it's too late to act on it, and even neglected to tell the School Board that such changes would no longer come under their purview. The latest reason? That teachers would need special training to teach a year-long schedule, so administrators need another year to think about this.

Seriously?


Despite the chronically changing policies of the central office administration (and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Cheryl Atkinson's leadership will indeed improve things), Dunwoody High School, Peachtree Charter Middle School, and our local elementary schools thrive. Our high school ranks among the best in the state and the Southeast, graduates students with competitively high number of scholarships, acceptances to top colleges, and a high number of AP courses making them exempt from many freshman requirements.  Students' special interests in arts, music, athletics, service, scientific, and math advanced programs are satisfied with a robust selection of extracurricular activities. Teachers give far above and beyond the basic school day to their students.

That's what I try to remember when I'm beating my head against the bureaucratic wall.

What about the schools?

One of the most critical considerations for anyone moving with a family from one community to another is the quality of the schools. Dunwoody is blessed with great schools that thrive in spite of lackluster central office leadership, strangled budgets, self-protective personnel policies, and education pedagogy that change with the whims of state and county administrations. 

All those woes are well documented in DeKalb County School Watch, a blog that serves as watchdog and gadfly for our local system.  If you're a parent, you should read it. Knowledge is power.

For awhile, there was a grassroots effort underway to consider turning Dunwoody High School and all its feeder schools into a single Charter Cluster. I don't know if the steam has run out of that effort, if the folks engaged in the foundational work have turned to other issues, or where things stand today, but I hope the concept finds new energy in the near future.  Fulton County Schools are considering charter status, one of many school systems and clusters willing to tackle the massive documentation, research, and development work required to satisfy the state's evolving requirements.

DeKalb Schools has a new superintendent. Maybe she's a rainmaker and something good will finally come out of that dysfunctional nexus. We have an outstanding School Board representative in Nancy Jester, who is often the lone voice of pragmatism in a group of people who seem to add to our problems rather than solve them. Georgia is requesting a waiver from the illogical No Child Left Behind paradigm and trying on yet another measurement tool that ignores the realities of student capabilities and inconsistent parent support. Our state level elected representatives would have to change state regulations and budget limitations that prevent Dunwoody from having greater control over our schools. There are lots of obstacles (costs are #1) to having our own school system. But there are many, many positives to having our cluster go charter.

By the time the education juggernaut changes direction, my kids will likely no longer be in Dunwoody's public schools. But I'll still be a taxpayer, homeowner, and passionate booster of this community.

Schools are relevant now and for the future.

Volunteers do it for free.

What makes Dunwoody truly great is the limitless capacity of friends and neighbors to volunteer their time and talent for causes near and dear to their hearts. 

In the past few weeks, I've had the privilege of working with volunteers at Dunwoody High School, Dunwoody Nature Center, Campaign Guy's energetic yard sign brigade, the DeKalb Master Gardener program, and St. Luke's Presbyterian Church. As I've shopped, carpooled, and run errands, I've also encountered volunteers like the firefighters collecting for Muscular Dystrophy, a sweet woman staffing the gift shop at Scottish Rite, parents loading and unloading instruments for the Friday night Marching Band performance, a young mom carrying a bag and picking up trash as she walked her child to Austin Elementary School, bloggers spreading the news about community events to Dunwoody's virtual neighborhood, the Young Professionals of Dunwoody planning a spectacular block party benefiting the DHS Band program, and .... well, frankly, seeing volunteers isn't just an occasional thing in Dunwoody. It's a don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-'em, integral part of life in this It's a Wonderful Life town.

John F. Kennedy gave us all an echoing call to volunteerism, asking us to give, not receive; to look for opportunities to serve, not to benefit.  The Peace Corps, Habitat for Humanity, and other world-changing volunteer organizations are a legacy of my childhood, that era when a passion to change the world preempted practical considerations like retirement funds and keeping up with the Joneses. Dunwoody is well represented by volunteer service organizations like the National Charity League, Dunwoody Woman's Club, Rotary and Kiwanis, faith groups, medical-focused charities, and others.

As this economy makes all of us look over our shoulders and fret over savings and expenditures, volunteers are even more critical to the quality of life we enjoy.  According to The Nonprofit Times,

"(t)he total estimated value of volunteer service in 2010 reached $173 billion with the proportion of volunteers serving more than 100 hours increasing from 33.2 percent in 2009 to 33.8 percent in 2010."

My unsubstantiated guess is that the percentage of Dunwoody volunteers serving that 100+ hour mark is even higher.

As the 10th anniversary of 9/11 draws near, remember. And do something. Honor our men and women in uniform by using the freedoms they fight so hard to defend. Including volunteering your time and talent to enrich our community. Check with Dunwoody's own Pebbletossers,  Hands on Atlanta, and the City's volunteer opportunities board. Grab a trash bag and talk a walk around town - there's always windblown trash in natural areas and rights-of-way. 

Volunteers do it for free .... and from the heart.

I love a parade.

This year, the Knitternall family enjoyed Dunwoody's 4th of July parade from quite a different perspective. While we've marched alongside Troop 764, St. Luke's Presbyterian Church, swim team, and Dunwoody Nature Center entries in the past, this year, we did this:

We're having a blast supporting Terry in his bid for City Council. And discovering even more reasons to love Dunwoody.

For example:

• Kids say "thank you" when you give them candy. (Even the loudly assertive "We want candy!" contingent said "thanks.")
• In one morning, we got to say hello to more friends and neighbors than we normally see in a week.
• Dunwoody Police Officers on Segways - fun!
• Boy Scouts serving barbecue - the logistics are impressive and food quite good.
• Even as they melted into a sweaty puddle of overheated, flushed red exhaustion, parade participants and watchers wished each other a "Happy 4th!"
• The Dunwoody Homeowners Association and their volunteers ... just wow. Until you've been IN the parade, you can't fully appreciate all the work that goes into staging the state's largest 4th of July event.
• I bet the MJCC's Clifford the Big Red Dog bus could do a brisk business just giving rides to small ones. Loved the balloon ears.
• Hint to Italian food aficionados - Dunwoody's Carrabba's Italian Grill is not only a great place to eat, but the manager is a really nice guy and the restaurant is very generous in supporting the community.
• Master Gardeners ... the secret behind Dunwoody Nature Center's native plantings.  Their parade entry was accompanied by Junior Counselors, a cadre of volunteer teens who support the environmental education center's summer camp.
• Dunwoody High School ... band, football players, cheerleaders, lacrosse team, principal - our home town school does us proud every year.
• Peachtree race runners, who arrive to cheer on the parade after their early morning exertions (and celebrations).
• Unabashed patriotism, from Army and Marine bands to small children in special July 4th ensembles. Gotta love it.
• Instant gratification - getting to see all the parade entries we missed thanks to Dunwoody Patch.

We look forward to next year's parade. Rain or shine, it's the anchor of our family's July 4th celebrations.

Big things are happening in the Knitternall family.

College guy is heading to North Georgia, teen girl is moving up to Dunwoody High School, I'm writing for several new freelance clients, and Terry is stepping forth to serve the town that means so much to the Knitternall family.


Sneak peek here.

We hosted a large campaign committee brunch this morning, getting input from a wide range of supporters as we begin to develop logos, positioning statements, July 4th Parade essentials, and strategies. I am simply humbled by the enthusiasm and energy of neighbors and friends - so many great ideas came out of the meeting.

The campaign website will have all the details, while I continue to chronicle our slice of life in Dunwoody here on this blog.

Fall 2011 will be especially memorable for all of us.

Yee-hah

I wish I had a picture from last night's Dunwoody High School Senior Blast: our son riding the mechanical bull.

We stepped back, giving our son room to go solo, driving himself at midnight to the DHS annual event and back home again at 6 am. A trial run for the parents, who probably have hovered a bit too much thanks to the never-far-from-mind challenges of Crohn's.

He's fine. And ready for college.

We couldn't be happier.

He had a great time last night, thanks to a huge cadre of parent volunteers who organized and staffed an event filled with music, casino games (strictly for fun), hypnotist, prizes, and more.

I really want a picture of him on that mechanical bull. 

Adam and Anna Grace on the lawn after the ceremony. Graduating high school senior and incoming high school freshman.

Our favorite graduation photo. This is quintessential Adam ... reserved, checking out the scene, relaxed now that the "have to" part is over.

An American Town

May in Dunwoody comes with a flurry of endings and beginnings, each tinged with an old-fashioned red-white-and-blue aura of small town life. Final exams, awards and honors programs, neighborhood block parties, festivals, season-ending games, Mother's Day, planting vegetables, yearbooks, spring cleaning, college acceptances, vacation planning, fundraisers, school dances, Scout crossover ceremonies, high school graduation, concerts .... May is the busiest month of the year.

It's exhilarating. And exhausting.

Of all the celebrations, perhaps one of the most heartwarming was our neighborhood block party, held to celebrate the end of a long and hard fought battle against a detrimental rezoning decision. Our wonderful neighbors surprised Terry with warm words and a gift, neither of which he expected. We lingered late into the evening, enjoying catching up, sharing news, and sampling an amazing array of foods. 

The stressful, stunningly expensive effort - more than $20,000 shared by neighbors and community supporters to fight a large daycare playground behind our homes - has become a template for other groups and communities facing similar decisions. We learned much about our city and legal system as well as just how complex our relationships can be.

Life lessons:

• Friends, neighbors, colleagues, and fellow volunteers will sometimes find themselves on opposing sides of critical issues. How we deal with each other has far-reaching consequences. I choose civility, setting aside disagreements for the sake of congeniality and progress in other arenas. 
• NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) is a term used with scorn by folks who are not directly impacted by eminent domain, rezoning decisions, and misdirected development. Take care. You may need those same neighbors someday when it's your NIMBY concern.
• The City's code of ordinance should not force citizens to expensive court actions rather than an intermediary Council veto.  I don't know how much our City had to spend on the legal action, but it was wholly unnecessary.  Even if the Council was aware that its rezoning committee's decision was deeply flawed, its own code of ordinances prevented it from taking action or intervening.
• Placing volunteers in powerful and influential committees such as Rezoning and Community Development without training and oversight is disingenuous and dangerous.

There are life lessons to be gained in every experience, particularly the hard ones. Mine is that you can love a town and want to help it thrive even when sometimes it lets you down.  I value the gadflies, those people who stand at the public speaker microphone, write letters to the editor, blog, and send emails because they are active, engaged, and concerned enough to speak up.  I am grateful for volunteers who are willing to take on overwhelming and sometimes thankless roles in policy-making. And I appreciate community leaders like John Heneghan, who listen to diatribes and disagreements with courtesy and respect.

It isn't easy, but it's quintessentially American to be a community of individuals, not head-nodding sheep.

And now, a few highlights from the Knitternall family album as May builds to a crescendo of activities before it bows to more leisurely summer pace.

Going to the Renaissance Faire means pulling an ensemble together from the family costume stash.

The PCMS Band's Spring Concert drew a huge crowd; it included a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society in memory of beloved teacher Keith Davis, who passed away this Spring. Both of our kids had Mr. Davis for 7th Grade Language Arts.

Dunwoody High School recognizes its college-bound students ... so many, they circled the gym nearly twice.

Peachtree Charter Middle School recognized its top students in academics, music, character, drama, and more.

Graduation Manners

Recently, we received the official Dunwoody High School graduation schedule, filled with bold-faced print, exclamation marks, and underlines.

Reading through this missive, I figured out the following:

• There have been some very badly behaved parents and guests attending graduation, who evidently are prone to shouting, blowing air horns, cursing, carrying large televisions and coolers, bearing helium baloons and confetti, smoking, eating, spraying graffiti and vandalizing the premises, having a nip from a flask, selling Amway or magazine subscriptions, taking up way more seats than are issued, and arriving late.

• Students apparently do not understand that graduation is a special occasion, so arrive in flip flops, revealing tops, baggy pants, huge earrings, open toed sandals, and colorful shirts and ties rather than modest colors. 

• Someone does not believe public schools should have a Baccalaureate ceremony. Hence, it is now called the "Pre-Commencement Ceremony." 

In other words, high school graduation has become a rowdy "that's my kid!" celebration for the parent rather than the student.

There is always a segment of parents and guests who can't tell the difference between a sporting event and a formal ceremony.  But you can't legislate behavior ... unless you're actually willing to follow through on promises of corrective measures. In my experience, rules and regulations are just paper tigers. They have no teeth. Too many laws get on the books because someone, somewhere, did something bad, so they made a law just in case anyone else was thinking about doing the same thing. Problem is, writing more laws doesn't result in better behavior. 

There are scores of Dunwoody High School parent and student volunteers, teachers, and administrators who are working hard to make graduation a truly special event. They are unbelievably generous with their time and dedication to the students who will graduate on May 20. Yet, I have no doubt that all the boldfacing and underscoring in the world won't reach the guests who will still do their best to celebrate without regard to those trying to enjoy the ceremony. And students who will make one grand gesture as they cross the stage.

It's all about them.

Our oldest kid is graduating. And we'll get through it with him, just as we've made it through the past thirteen years ... with the support of the unparalleled Dunwoody public school community: students, parents, teachers, administrators, and businesses.

Now, where did I put my air horn?

It's gardening weather.

I had no idea so much time had passed since my last post. Let's see ... finished my tenure at Dunwoody Nature Center, had a birthday, enjoyed the resolution of our long rezoning headache,  demolitioned some sad-looking plants in the yard, re-enlisted at DNC to serve an interim role during the transition from retiring Executive Director Claire Hayes until her successor is named, moved the garden box to the front yard (where there's actually sun most of the day), watched our son compete in his last Mock Trial competition for Dunwoody High School, sent several more checks to North Georgia College & State University for our rising Freshman, enjoyed the Student Showcase at Peachtree Charter Middle School, and wrote lots and lots and LOTS of copy for my wonderful clients.

Love writing. Love gardening. Love this beautiful, warm February week.

And now for a public service message.

Dear neighbors passing our home on the way to and from the path to Dunwoody Village:

PLEASE don't let your darlin' dog PIDDLE on my soon-to-be-planted bed of lettuces, radishes, and early peas. Yes, it's right at the edge of our yard, in tempting leash distance from your sniffing-for-a-good-spot pooch. But it's the only sunny spot in our entire yard. And I have high hopes for spring and summer crops. So please aVOID the temptation to let your dog  ELIMINATE on our vegetable garden.

A Farmers Market bike - what a great birthday gift.

Thank you very much.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Take a walk. Ride bikes. Explore the trails at Dunwoody Nature Center and Brook Run. Get outside and breathe. Just breathe.

Aaaaahhhhh.

Out with the new, in with the old.

Georgia's state school superintendent had a press conference late Thursday where he announced his opinion that school districts should have the option of going back to traditional math.  Now we wait to see if the state board concurs.

Hoo-rah.

The clunky, spiraling, grazing new math program does NOT work. Students barely grasp a new concept before they spiral away to something else. They return to that concept in another year, by which time they've forgotten how, what, and why. We've had to resort to private tutoring for our daughter, who has been a strong math student. But the spiral has caught up to her this year.

For example, her teacher spent a scant two days on intersecting slope equations. Then spent a a few more days on parallel and perpendicular equations.That's it. Time to move on. If students don't understand, it's up to them to "figure it out for yourself."

We have seen a troubling trend of poor retention of basics such as figuring percentages, remembering how to simplify fractions in multiplication and division, complete lack of understanding of negative integers, and others.

Something ain't right.

Please, please, PLEASE DeKalb Schools. Why wait for the state? Other school systems have already figured out how to dump Kathy Cox's pet math project and get back to the basics colleges expect on that almighty high school transcript. Put traditional math back into the curriculum. Read your own scores, trending quickly downward just as they are across the state. Schedule our rising Freshmen for Algebra in 9th grade, not Math 1-2-3-4-Button-My-Shoe-Close-the-Door on mastery. Imagine the challenges facing next year's graduating class, the first in a long line of guinea pigs for this experiment, who will have to explain to out of state colleges what the heck Georgia's math program means. Understand that while you're shuffling students from one facility to another, your business is education in the classroom, a fact that I fear will get lost in that shuffle.

Do it now, while high schools are building schedules for next year, so the staff doesn't have to redo those schedules again over the summer because your timing isn't reasonable.

It's broken. Fix it.

Back to school.

My kids are headed back to school.

I'm glad. And sad.

Glad they can be with their friends again.

Sad to get back into the constant bombardment of school news and needs.

 

Glad we came through the snow uninjured and with a surprisingly clean homestead.

Sad to face the less-than-wonderful school issues that are still waiting in the wings.

Glad that middle school is nearly behind us. Very, very, VERY glad.

Sad to face the ebbs and tides of homework and project deadlines once again.

Glad the Dunwoody High School renovations are on schedule and looking really, really good for my rising freshman.

There. I ended the Glad Game on the positive side.

Rise and shine!

A moral dilemma.

You win. Someone else loses.

It's scholarship time in the Knitternall home, and each application has become a moral dilemma for our graduating senior.

"Why do you deserve this scholarship?" He looks at that question and thinks, "yeah, why do I?" Why is he more worthy than every other graduating senior who needs the money?

Our son does not have a competitive nature. He doesn't try to edge out everyone around him in pursuit of a shared objective. Instead, he worries that someone might want/need something more than he does.

In particular, the Crohn's scholarship has been a difficult one for him. "Everybody who has Crohn's deserves a scholarship," he said. "If I get it, that means someone else doesn't. And they may have worse symptoms, or their parents may not have health insurance, or they could be homeless."

We reminded him that scholarship committees see all of the applicants and their personal situations, then decide who gets how much. "It's a kind of gamesmanship - you're playing to the audience. The selection of the recipients is out of your hands." But that doesn't help. He worries, to the point that he doesn't want to apply at all. So I told him the scholarship is as much for us as him ... scholarship money is much needed in a family where medical expenses are overwhelming.

Our debate led to own moral dilemma. Why should our son be burdened by the financial cost of his disease in addition to the physical and emotional challenges he will take with him to college? Who is the beneficiary of these scholarships - our son or us? Do we ask him to be someone he isn't? And does that mean we're pushing him into ethical gray areas for our own financial benefit?

Well, yes we are.  Scholarships specifically benefit the individual paying for college, whether a self-funding student like I was or the family trying to squeeze tuition out of a carefully mapped budget that unexpectedly has to include medical expenditures.

After an evening of internal debate, I told our son to be true to himself. But that we would appreciate it if he would at least find a way to ask for the scholarship without crossing his moral standards.

Yesterday, our son wrote his personal essay for the Crohn's scholarship, in his own way. He wrote that he doesn't deserve the scholarship any more than any other graduating senior. He said good grades, a full plate of extracurricular and volunteer work, and good character don't differentiate him from most of the other applicants. And he wished all the families paying for Crohn's care could benefit because all of them, including his own parents, needed the help.

He didn't pontificate, exaggerate his accomplishments, brag about his honors, or try to make himself stand out in any way.

His essay likely won't result in winning the scholarship.

But he made me feel very humble ... and proud.

Redistricting inside the lines.

Consultants are everywhere. Before making a difficult (politically risky) decision, governing bodies bring in the objective expert, who researches and opines, then presents well supported recommendations that said governing bodies can then hold like a shield before constituents.

1. Consultants put together the smart-%$$ Dunwoody branding that it appears we'll have to live with until all parties feel they've gotten their money's worth.

2. Consultants have been guiding long-range planning for development of key city areas. Anyone who has been part of the sounding boards or surveys quickly figured out certain preferences by the consultants would make it into the recommendations, no matter what the survey responses might be. For example, residents said "no" to multi-storied multi-family residential development in the Dunwoody Village area. Behold, the mixed use concept advocated by the consultants in the concept stage looks like a done deal in the final recommendations. (My favorite argument: that residences should be part of the "city center." The city center is surrounded by residential neighborhoods.)

3. Consultants have told the DeKalb School Board that redistricting should include carving some neighborhoods within the city limits of Dunwoody and sending those children to schools in Chamblee. While the expected fire storm rages among elementary school parents who care much more about their children's K-5 experience than the high school that is FAR more important, this particular recommendation is just wrong. Hopefully, the Dunwoody Cluster Charter Schools effort will bring those neighborhoods back into the fold.

Strategic planning is an exhausting, somewhat surreal, and often ineffective process. Wading through everyone's opinions, trying to find consensus, putting a human face on statistics, denying facts because they don't fit someone's goals, trying to discern longrange implications of each decision, and often dismissing the resulting plan because a key decision maker decides it isn't the right direction: if you've ever been part of a strategic planning committee, you know how deeply frustrating the work can be. So I have a lot of empathy for the Dunwoody City Council, the DeKalb School Board, the Dunwoody Charter Cluster committee, and all the civic organizations I've served through the years.

There are so many strategic plans in the air right now it's hard to focus on the essentials, but focusing is imperative. Do we want multi-storied buildings looming over residential neighborhoods? Should parts of Dunwoody see their kids traveling to Chamblee for school? Will local schools actually use the freedoms and opportunities of a charter document or bow to the neverending pressure of the county administration to use its preferred curricula, textbooks, class structure, etc.? Can we get rid of Georgia's failing New Math curriculum like Fulton County and other school systems have already done? Which college (or this?) will my son choose and will he finish all of his scholarship applications in time? (Okay, that's a Knitternall family strategic plan.) How effective is a plan if there's no money to make it happen? And on and on and on.

I am grateful for people who tirelessly dig into the strategic planning process because it is an essential step in preparing for change of any kind. And I've worked with consultants who have been highly effective in guiding committees from free-for-all brainstorming to solid, well grounded goals and strategies.

Ten years from now, the political, commercial, residential, educational, and social landscape in Dunwoody will be dramatically different from what it is today.  All this strategic pain will be a memory, and new residents will have no clue how much work went into the quality of life we all enjoy.

At least, that's what I hope.

Team of the Week?

Dunwoody High School is in the running to be Fox 5's Team of the Week. Which means legions of students, parents, and friends in the community are perched on the Fox 5 website, clicking DHS Wildcats and entering the "gotcha" code.

I'm one of them!

When I'm on hold, I'm punching in numbers.

While I wait for the dryer cycle to end, I enter a few more votes.

Just before I head to work ... a few more votes. I had the personal satisfaction of watching the counter click past 19,000 votes this morning. Since each time I vote the counter ratches up a few more notches, I know someone else is doing the same thing.

Come on, Dunwoody ... this is OUR high school. Root, root, root for the home team!

Hello, Dali.

The girls are heading to the High Museum. We'll lunch at Village Burger (our first visit!), grab Marta to the Arts Center Station, and enjoy the Dali exhibit together. This special Saturday comes courtesy of Aha! Connection, which alerted me to the free museum tickets available through the Smithsonian. I love a deal, I enjoy the High ... voila!

I admit that surrealism is not my artistic cup of tea. And Dali's self-indulgent and highly expressive mustache is distracting.  Perhaps the High's instructive dialogue accompanying the exhibit will illuminate the art and help me appreciate it beyond the visual chaos.

Bookending our day is a stop by a Girl Scout garage sale fundraiser and my daughter's highly anticipated opportunity to play with the Dunwoody High School marching band at tonight's football game. (She had to recruit her brother to take a babysitting assignment she'd already committed to before the band gig came along. He's quite a good sport - he said he'd cover for her. The parents said yes, and all's well in her world.)

The house is clean, the laundry's put away, the guys have their own stuff todo today, and it's time to head out.

Hello, Dali!

Maybe Dunwoody High School Needs a Staging Agent

In my last post, I lamented the hold of decorating shows and magazines that have homogenized interior styles. You can be as individual as you like while you're living in your home, but the moment it goes on the market, out comes the sage green, black, white, granite, and warm wood furnishings.

Dunwoody High School is undergoing a massive, and quite welcome, renovation ... while school goes on for students and teachers. Anyone who has lived through a home renovation knows the process is messy, deadlines are a moving target, and lots of things change midstream as hidden problems see the light of day. That's most definitely the case at DHS. The contractor has worked furiously all summer, but those gremlins have caused some delays in getting full access to the building's interior. Hence lots of trailers, a ridiculous parking plan that funnels students, faculty, and parents into a single entrance right at the intersection of Womack and Vermack, the football team roughing it in a single trailer (yuck), no access to the building until yesterday, and round-the-clock moving in this weekend. (My son and I are heading there shortly to pitch in with the move-in.)

We're trying to get things as settled as possible for tomorrow's Freshman Bridge, which will be the first time many 9th graders and their parents will step foot inside a high school. As well as for Monday, when everyone else heads to school.

Maybe what we need is a staging specialist. Someone who arrives with a 100+ crew to "makeover" the school by artfully arranging the cafeteria and classrooms and talks a kazillion companies to "brand" our school with new furniture, appliances, and high-tech storage solutions for all the gear and textooks that have been stuck in storage limbo all summer.

Wouldn't that be cool?

Well, we don't have a fancy staging agent, so parents and student volunteers will surge all over the school today and tomorrow to get things ready. I expect to be tired and sore this evening ... and really, really glad to see school start on Monday.

If we can only get to the school on Monday. Now that's a whole 'nother story.

Dunwoody bits and pieces.

Dunwoody High School has a new principal. The circumstances of the change in leadership are not wonderful, but I feel optimistic about Mr. Swanson and the very positive impact he can have on the high school. By all accounts (friends with children at DeKalb School of the Arts), he is warm, savvy, flexible, creative in problem solving, firm, and a good communicator. 

I spent seven days in Tennessee working with the Mountain T.O.P. project and my gardens pouted. I lost a Cherokee Black tomato plant, two shrubs, all of my basil, and a hosta. This turn of events ruined the work I've been doing for the past year to "get" that I'm NOT indispensible to my family, job, and volunteer committees. I tend to over-extend myself because I worry that no one else will do or volunteer or care about something. Isn't that just a bit self-important? So I left work and family for a week of mission work, only to return to a very neglected garden. Maybe I'm indispensible after all, at least when it comes to watering and weeding.

Dunwoody Nature Center's executive director, Claire Hayes, will retire mid-2011. She will complete 11 years at the helm; a search for her successor will commence this fall. Her tenure has been so long that her personality is ingrained in every facet of the center's programs. At the same time (just about), the City of Dunwoody just took ownership of the parks from DeKalb County. As a Dunwoody resident and a member of the staff, I'm delighted by the change in park management.  It'll be interesting to see how the Nature Center evolves over the next few years.

Our neighborhood's ongoing battle with the rezoning of the property behind us has been idling while the court system slowly processes the case; recently, it has kicked back into high gear as the court date looms and the original Goddard franchise petitioners try to figure out yet another way to get the property. I do wonder . . . what is so magical about this specific location that the Goddard franchisees are willing to wait 2+ years and invest so much in the legal morass just to operate their day care behind our houses?  There are other properties in the Perimeter area that would be far more accepting of and conducive to day care operations. (We're certainly not the first neighborhood to protest this kind of rezoning . . . )

Our son is beginning his senior year in high school and just completed an intensive three-week college class that required a one-hour commute and lots of homework. He's showing some very welcome signs of independence, initiative, and pleasure in school - quite refreshing.

Dan Weber is exiting his State Senate office; Fran Millar is running for the seat. The two men share a passion for education and tireless work ethic.  I know that Dan still has many, many contributions to make on behalf of Dunwoody. I'm delighted that Fran wants to continue serving this community. He has my vote.

I'm visiting the "twin towers" in Atlanta for the first time this week as I attend the State school charter meeting. I'm keeping fingers and toes and eyes crossed that Peachtree's charter will be approved. Now more than ever, we need the flexibility (and accountability) the charter affords to serve Dunwoody's middle school students and to continue to increase the quality of the education our children deserve. Coming changes for PCMS are very exciting and reflect the principal's understanding of and compassion for the middle school student.

I finished Nora's Sweater! It's lovely and I confess, with no small bit of pride, that it was a challenging project start to finish. I still need to block it, and will do so this week. Then I'll wait for cooler weather after October to enjoy it.

Life's funny that way.

Musings . . .

1. At some point, I decided that I was going to be very selective about the new things I learn. Every time we get a new cell phone or audio/video component or computer, the learning curve changes. Not that it's necessarily harder - it's just new. I'm tired of having to reconfigure, input, troubleshoot, explore options, set my preferences, download, rewire, and customize technology to make it as simple and straightforward as possible. It's like a recipe: if it has more than six ingredients and more than one isn't already in my pantry, I'm just not interested. I'm capable - I'm just not willing to invest the time in every single cool new thing that comes along.

2. In this age of online mapping, websites loaded with instructions and information, and the handy dandy phone, why do people get in their cars and head someplace THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO GET TO?  My favorite telephone calls begin with "can you tell me how to get there?" when they're EN ROUTE. Well, where are you now? Do you have access to a computer? Do you have a road map in the vehicle? Can you pull to the side of the road so you can safely write down the directions? Oh, you don't have something to write with - or on? So you're calling me at every intersection to make sure you're going the right way?

This happens all the time.

3. One of my favorite people has the most marvelous attitude about challenges: you can fight, flight, or flow. She chooses flow every time. So as tensions mount and confusion reigns, she's an oasis of calm and can-do. She reminds me of that tortoise in Aesop's fable: slow and steady win the race.

4. Nature has its own rhythm that is contrary to the Disney-esque expectations of our somewhat cloistered daily lives. Weather isn't always picture perfect, animals and insects don't perform on cue, baby birds and squirrels fall out of nests and become prey for hawks, mosquitoes like the early evening as much as we do, poison ivy and poison oak lurk everywhere, and rabbits like the same vegetables we do. Rather than try to control nature, it's best to go along with it.

5. I've learned a new dress standard: "Dunwoody Casual." A friend asked me about appropriate attire for an evening garden party. "I assume Dunwoody Casual is fine."  I'll have to look that one up, but I wonder if it includes a tennis skirt?  

6. A Dunwoody High School student named Danny Kanso organized a brigade of volunteers from the DHS rank and file to help before and during the Butterfly Festival. He showed up early, kept a list of the ones who showed up, tracked their hours, made a copy so I could log them into Dunwoody Nature Center's database, and checked on everyone to make sure they were on task. I highly recommend him to every future college and employer.

7. Camp trunks leave home perfectly packed. They come home looking like my kids' bedrooms.

Pasgetty, please.

Great things are happening this week.

1. The Odyssey of the Mind team is serving up a spaghetti dinner Saturday night from 5:30 - 7:30 at Mill Glen Clubhouse. Adults $5, kids $3. Join us for dinner and help us get the kids to World Finals at Michigan State University! We're selling tickets so we get a head count for the masses of tasty sauce we're simmering for the fundraiser. Post here if you'd like to support the team and eat hearty at the same time.  Darlin' daughter will have presold tickets at Will Call, but walk-ins are certainly welcome as long as the sauce lasts! (Thanks to Mill Glen for letting us use the clubhouse for free.)

3. The City of Dunwoody is taking ownership of our Parks. Hurray! Nothing like a little local control to improve things all around.

4. Peachtree Charter Middle School's Blue Shadow Jazz Band was stood up by DeKalb County Schools transportation department. Despite months of practice, getting dressed in their tuxedo-shirt best, packing up their instruments, and showing up at school on time for the bus . . . they weren't able to compete in the annual Georgia Music Educators Association Jazz Band Competition on Saturday morning.  Because the bus never showed up. Oh, the transportation rep said sorry, but that didn't get the kids to the competition. Huge disappointment for the kids. And I bet we don't see a reimbursement for all the fees the school and parents had to pony up for the competition. And for the 8th grade students, there's no give-back for a lost opportunity to shine.

Nonetheless, they did a stellar job as part of Peachtree's Spring Band Concert, an outdoor event held this past Saturday night. Loved the solos, the crazy clothes (the theme was That's Crazy!), the great percussion bit with trash cans, and the huge turn out by friends and family.  Dunwoody High School's band was a special performing guest, giving the middle school band students a taste of the excellence ahead. Thanks to band teachers Mr. Shores, Mr. Hickman (PCMS), and Mr. Henderson (DHS) for leading the students so capably and enthusiastically.

5. Congratulations to Seth Inman, Valedictorian, and Graham Goldberg, Salutatorian for Dunwoody High School. Side note: both are members of DHS' Mock Trial Team, an amazing group of students who put lots of time and effort into this intensive competition each year.  Yeah, they did lots of other stuff, like take a kazillion AP classes, participate in sports and student government and service organizations, and get major scholarships to impressive schools. And get really, really good grades while juggling all of the above.

6.  School's out on Friday. Summer break begins.  I'm relieved that the stresses of school will go on hiatus. But rather than head back to school on August 9, in the heat of a Southern summer with the highest power bills of the year when we're in dire straits economically, I'd love for us to have year-round school with three-week breaks between sessions. Imagine getting that nothing-planned feeling four times a year! There's a reason Europeans take a break in August from school and work. It's HOT.

7. I'm nearly finished with the neverending Nora's Sweater from Interweave Knits. Can't wait to wear it next fall. But what am I going to knit on the plane and in Michigan during the Odyssey of the Mind festivities?

That wraps up Monday's thoughts. Busy, busy, busy week ahead.

Southern gothic.

I've had a Steel Magnolias kind of week.

On Tuesday, I thanked the fabulous parent and teacher volunteers at Peachtree Charter Middle School during a "transition" party at Dunwoody North Driving Club AND sent the school's charter petition to the staff for distribution to the County and State for approval.  I ended the evening with a deep sense of relief that this responsibility is now OVER.

On Thursday, I fell on a slippery slope covered in pine straw and busted my ankle. Thought it was broken. My friend Lisa took me to St. Joe's, xrays proved it was "just badly sprained," and kind Wayne brought me home. (T was in Baltimore.)

On Friday, I came down with a really bad cold.

On Saturday, Big A went to the prom. I barely focused long enough to see him looking amazing in his very ultra cool tuxedo. And I missed seeing his date in her gorgeous green dress and the parent gathering after the prom-goers departed in their stretch limo. (He had a very good time, the girls looked beautiful, and the threatening tornado watch stayed north of the city. Relief.)

On Sunday, my shingles came back with a vengeance. Little A's Odyssey of the Mind team had their first fundraiser, a carwash at Burger King. They raised $600+ for their Big Trip to World Finals. Big A had a work day for his Eagle Project here at the house - Scouts tested the handheld game systems to see if they worked and determine what accessories they needed.

Isn't it all fairly ridiculous? This trifecta of plagues, all visiting at the same time?

When I'm not completely exasperated with the pain and feeling out of sorts, I have to laugh. Because this is just like me. I can't just take a little break when things are too busy and stressful. Nope - I have to get completely incapacitated.

I've slept around the clock, kept my ankle elevated and on ice, taken my meds on schedule, eaten lightly when my stomach wasn't protesting, and stayed thoroughly hydrated. I've also watched a plethora of old movies, knitted a few gifts, and caught up on a tall stack of magazines. Four days of bedrest and I'm hobbling pretty well, the shingles have resided, and my cold is mellowing to the sniffle stage.

Okay, I get it. Just because "I'm The Mom" doesn't mean I'm really indispensable to the kids, the school, my job, my church, my parents, and the host of other people and institutions I like to believe count on me.  For the four days I've been out of synch, things have proceeded just fine without me.

It's humbling.

And freeing.