Note: Parents who have chosen a variety of schooling options have shared their educational wishes for 2016. This is the final installment in this year's series.

by Jennifer Wilmot

Seven years ago, my daughter was born a beautiful, pink baby girl: six pounds, six ounces, ten fingers, ten toes, and a full head of hair.

Yet, just minutes after being placed in my arms that first time, she was diagnosed with a cleft palate, and hours after that, we would nearly lose her to severe heart defects.

Since then, my entry into the world of special needs parenting has been a persistent whirlwind. My daughter has Digeorge Syndrome, also known as 22q11.2 deletion — the most common genetic syndrome you’ve never heard of, second in incidence only to Down syndrome. In those first few days, I had absolutely no concept of what being the parent of a medically complex, special needs child would be. What would our future look like?

Since my daughter was about two months old, we’ve had two to four therapy sessions a week, every week, for seven years. This special girl has worked so hard for what so many take for granted. I would read blogs about “new mom guilt” but could never relate to the breast-fed-vs-bottle-fed controversy. I only longed for my tube-fed child to gain weight and eat by mouth those first few years. We celebrated every ounce she took in. Like all parents who want the world for their child, my husband and I did everything to provide the best care and intervention we could. (more…)

Note: This week on the blog, parents who have chosen a variety of schooling options will be sharing their educational wishes for 2016.

by Lydia Burton

When I think of the wishes that I have for my child, so many of them revolve around his education. Not just the ability to tailor his education to his individual needs, to provide him with all of the resources that I possibly can, and to help him realize his full potential, but for other people outside of the special needs circle to truly understand why his individualized education plan is important, and to help stand up for it.

I wish I didn't have to justify every choice that we make that falls outside of the traditional school system. Parents who decide that the public school system isn't a good fit for their child typically don't have any major issues with the system as a whole. It simply isn't the right fit for their child. When people take this as an attack on the system, what they don't realize is that, with or without accommodations, if a school isn't what's right for our children, we aren't going to place them there. (more…)

Note: This week on the blog, parents who have chosen a variety of schooling options will be sharing their educational wishes for 2016.

by Marie-Ange Dezil Francis

When my daughter was born, I saw Highlands Christian Academy for the first time.

I told my husband, "Our daughter will come here."

He looked at me and said, "That school is expensive. We can't afford it."

I told him, "I am going to pray about it, and God will make a way."

When our daughter turned four years old, I remembered the school, and went to the school to get some information. They explained the programs they had, like scholarships and financial aid. I said, "How's that work?" They gave me a flyer of Florida PRIDE (a predecessor to what is now Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog). Since then, here we go. (more…)

Note: This week on the blog, parents who have chosen a variety of schooling options will be sharing their educational wishes for 2016.

by Shawn Frost

What would make 2016 a success in my eyes? I view this question as a school board member, as an education policy analyst, and in my most important role: father to two children attending public schools of choice.

When I think about what should happen in the year ahead, the three roles converge. I want education system to move from a “but” mentality to a healthier “and” mentality.

Too often, we engage in “but” thinking and settle for what is called the sucker’s choice between two objectionable outcomes.

For example: We want a public education system that adequately rewards teachers for their efforts, but local dollars are constrained. That might seem like the end of discussion: We must choose between local tax increases or impoverished teachers. Let’s look at that same sentence with “and” thinking. We want a public education system that adequately rewards teachers for their efforts, and local dollars are constrained. This is a sentence that now asks “What next?” (more…)

Note: This week on the blog, parents who have chosen a variety of schooling options will be sharing their educational wishes for 2016.

by Andrew Ladanowski

My wish for schools is that administrators and teachers focus on individual children’s strengths and not their weaknesses.

As an example, let’s look at high school athletes. Say the Department of Education set a minimum requirement that to play any sport, students must be able to swim a hundred yards. For one athlete who already knows how to swim, this would be reasonable. For another, it would simply take a little practice. But for a third student, who may not know how to swim, it could become an obstacle that would discourage the athlete from pursuing any sport.

We have a similar case with our son. He has speech apraxia, a motor speech disorder which makes it difficult for him to speak. Despite this challenge, he is at the top of his science and computer-science classes. He also takes advanced algebra.

Do we want to make it harder for kids to excel because of the challenges they face, or do we want to offer multiple paths so kids can be the best they can be? We immigrated to the United States to be in the land of opportunity, only to find out that for our son, it may be the land of obstacles.

My son acknowledges that his career choices are limited because of his speech challenges.  Even some menial jobs that don’t require education would be a struggle. STEM is his strength. At the same time, many claim there is a shortage of students pursuing Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) careers, in fields where my son excels. (more…)