I am considering my options for schooling my children, and homeschooling is one of the possibilities for my children that I am looking into. I personally feel that my children, who  came into school knowing a great deal if not almost all of the basic material that they have been teaching for the first two years are really paying a heavy price for being well-prepared.  If it was entirely up to me, I would already have my oldest daughter at one of the online charter schools called Oregon Virtual Academy or in private school. I cannot afford private, and ORVA registration ends on Friday, January 30, and my daughter wants to stay with her friends, even though the actual schooling is less than desirable, at best.

I feel that my daughter is bored, ignored ( because she doesn't need extra help), and is really losing her love of school and she is only in first grade. The teacher is creating a behavior problem in many of the children because she ignores them, until they act out to get attention. It is not all her fault, however, she has too many kids in the class to begin with. There is not enough time in the day to teach each child effectively in the amount of time alloted them in each subject. I feel that there needs to be a student or assistant teacher in every classroom, or two team teachers to help each other and the students be more effective.

I feel that the McMinnville School district, in particular, is better suited for children who are not given the time and preparation prior to school, for whatever reason, lack of time, energy, financial resources, etc.

We had a bummer teacher for kindergarten at Columbus, and now we have a teacher who lost her father this year, and is going through some emotional things of her own, and coupled with bullying issues, and a very rowdy class, and it just isn't working out.

I have found that the administration is very much in support of the teachers and staff, but are not as supportive or helpful to parents and students.

I am going to be attending the school board meeting and see if I can get some help with this situation from them.

The education system seems to me, another bureaucratic entity that is failing miserably with our most valuable assets. I would like to see things change, and feel that teachers and staff complain that they need more money when, in fact, I feel that they need to manage their funds more wisely.

At our school, the teachers go to the PTA for whatever they need for the classroom, and the PTA votes on it, however their requests are never denied. We give them whatever they want or need, within reason. The members of the PTA are prominently teachers who are also parents of children in the school, and they are fully vested in the organization for their own personal gains. I feel that many teachers want whats best for their own children and seem to care very little for the other children and their feelings. The teacher and principles'  children are the ones that are chosen first for plays, concert solos, student of the month, special helpers, read announcements, or whatever it is.

I feel that there is a lack of supervision on the playgrounds, hallways, and in the classroom, or there wouldn't be as many incidents with bullying. At Newby, there is only two people on recess duty during morning and afternoon recess, and there is no way that they can see all that is going on with 80+ kids. It is ridiculous.

If you have any questions, insight, or similar experiences. Please share them, so that we know we are not alone in this. Thanks.