Hello all. I am new here and in need of support. Background: young, married mom of 11 yr. old son w/ADHD...we reside in Detroit,MI...son has been through 4 schools in 7 yrs....3 in the last 4 yrs. This past yr. he attended Bates Academy,which is one of the best K-8 schools in MI if not the whole country. His grade point average was below a 3.0 the whole school yr and so they sent me a letter saying that they were dismissing him from the school. I knew that this would happen because they have a strict policy about it. Anyway, the problem is that I went to the school and spoke with someone and she basically told me there was nothing else I could do besides making a complaint. I am debating whether or not I should fight the decision or just give up and send him to a neighborhood school. The problem with that is: i love my son very much. Because i love him so, i want the best for him. I feel like he would not get the BEST education at any neighborhood school. He deserves the best and i know that he is capable of doing the work, even though they teach at a higher grade level(ie. if the students are 5th grade they learn 6th grade material). I do not wanna give up on my child, but i'm SOOOO tired. Is it even worth trying if he is so against it. I just picked him up from summer school and he is talking about some other kids are so dumb and the work is so easy(see what i mean). And he likes it that way. I am so afraid that if he does not stay at Bates that everything will go down hill from here. Meaning if he goes back to a neighborhood school he will be getting good grades but the work will not be challenging, and what's the point if it does not work your brain. He will still be getting into trouble, because he finishes the work so quickly and they do not have other things for him to do. He will be hanging with all the "knuckleheads" who eventually turn into statistics, in jail or dead. This is not the future i envisioned for my child. That is what i FEAR the most. I feel like this anxiety that i have has a hold on me. Please tell me if i am worrying to much and trying to put too much pressure on my son. Or if wanting the best education possible for my child trumps everything else.

Sincerely, Tired, Anxious, and Fearful

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