Getting Ready for High School Already

I've had this post half written for a few weeks now. Finally finished it :-)

I am really happy with the schools that Hayden and Christian go to. Last month, Hayden and I went to his school for a very informative meeting. The principles from both the Middle School (Pryor) and the High School (Choctaw) spoke about how they are working together to create a seamless transition from 8th grade to 9th. I was very encouraged that they are working so closely on this endeavor. Speaking from experience, it is not an easy transition for either the parents or the child. New freedoms, new friends, lots more choices, and - oh yeah - EVERYTHING COUNTS NOW! :-) We are still working through some of the kinks and figuring out how all of the "systems" work for Christian. But, because of our lessons learned and meetings like this one, Hayden's transition should be much smoother.

We were excited to find out about some of the programs that are beginning to be offered at Hayden's school. In Okaloosa County, we have a program called CHOICE. CHOICE stands for Community High: Okaloosa Institutes of Career Education. Through this program kids in high school can earn college credit and/or industry certifications. It's really a great pioneer program. Others must think so too, because other school districts in Florida are beginning to copy the model.

Pryor will also be offering Pre AP/IB classes which will help Hayden transition to the same type of advanced classes at Choctaw. AP stands for (Advanced Placement) classes. At the high school level, these are college level classes with an end of the year test. The test is scored from 5 - 1. Students who earn a 5, 4, or 3 are eligible to receive college credit for the course. Christian is taking his second AP class this year. According to him they are definitely a challenge. But, I am so proud of him for making the effort. IB stands for (International Baccalaureate). This is another program Choctaw offers. It is quite a bit more structured than the AP path. It remains to be seen whether Hayden will take this path or not. It has it's pro's and con's. We are still weighing them out.

While we were at the meeting a writer from the School District website spoke to Hayden and I and took our picture.


Here is a link to the full article on the School District Website

Here is the picture and caption from the website.

Hayden Fletcher (shown with his mother)

enjoyed learning about all the AP, IB and

CHOICE classes at Choctaw.