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School service hours

Rhinodad's picture

So, I've touched on this before, but we have SD8 enrolled in a charter school. One aspect of being a part of this school is that families are required to do 20 "service hours" for the school. If these are not done, the child cannot return the following year. In order to meet these hours you have to do activities at the school - car line, lunch duty, special events, etc. You can also donate materials (but not money) towards these hours.

Last year it was decided that we (DW and I) would do 10 of these hours, and BioDad would do the other 10. I donated some old musical instruments of mine, and that got us to approximately 11 hours. So, DW and I did not have to do volunteer hours. BioDad waited until the last possible minute after constant check-ins from DW about his hours. (DW's check-ins likely would not have happened, but I was constantly asking DW if they had been done). They got done, thankfully.

I should note, now, that a large part of the reason we enrolled SD8 in this school is it is K-8, and the middle school here (6-8) is terrible. Plus, because legacies automatically get in, BS4 would automatically get in without having to go into the lottery. This would put them both in the same school for several years.

Fast forward to this year. I have no more things to donate, so we have to actually do some hours. I choose to do car line the first week of school and get 5.5 hours done. (DW and I agreed to split our hours). DW and BioDad do nothing, and I've decided this year I'm not going to ask DW about it. Finally, on her own volition, she signs up for some weekend hours for a special event, from 12-5. That would complete our family's hours and BioDad would be left to do his. DW goes to the event and they have way too many volunteers and not enough stuff to do. She is told just to help out where she can, but instead decides to leave after 45 minutes because it was boring and she wasn't doing anything.

This actually really pissed me off because it would be the perfect way to get the hours - without having to actually DO anything up sit there for a few hours. I would have taken that over car line! So, now we have like 6.5 hours done ourselves, and BioDad hasn't done anything. There are two months left of school.

BioDad came to our house to pick up SD8 and I overheard him talking with DW that "we need to decide what we are going to do" and that he lost the login/pw to the hours website. We have no provided this to him no less than 10 times over the past 1.5 years, it has never changed, and it both UN/PW are specific to HIS DAUGHTER! Anyway, I checked today and neither of them has signed up for hours.

Now, DW and I have briefly talked about taking SD8 out of the school because there have been some issues (they removed her teacher midway through the school year, a music teacher threw a shoe at a student, etc). I think DW is leaning towards taking SD out of the school, but SD does not want to go. So... I do not need a crystal ball to see what is going to happen here. DW and BioDad are not going to do their hours, so they aren't going to let SD back into the school... so they can blame it on the school.

What infuriates me is that I took time out of my schedule to do these hours for SD8 and because I anticipated BS4 going there eventually, and DW and BioDad can't be assed to do their part. If it comes down to it I want SD8 to know exactly why she isn't going back to that school. Or at least to know that I am the only one who actually did the service hours. Maybe I'm being selfish, but I get so much shit from SD8 I feel like she needs to know that out of her four parents, I'm the only one who did the service hours for her.

Comments

Rhinodad's picture

He can go there, but he isn't guaranteed to get in. It's a lottery for all incoming kindergartners who don't have a sibling already at the school.

Drac0's picture

> if it's super important for BS4 to go to this school (and I think it sounds like you would like him to), then I would do the hours NOW, so that SD stays in the school ONLY so that BS can get in and not have to be at the mercy of the lottery system<

I was thinking this too.

And I would time it when DW needs you the most... }:)

"Oh honey, I would LOVE to go camping with you and the in-laws, but gosh darn it, I gotta make grilled cheeses in the school cafeteria all week this week...."

Rhinodad's picture

Yes, the hours go up. If/when BS started there, we'd have to do 30 hours. (Each additional child is 10 more hours).

It's not super important for BS to go to this school. It really isn't any better than the local public elementary... but the middle school component is better than the public middle school. There are always other options.

I'm just super frustrated that it seems like I'm the only one who cares about SD's schooling. Especially when I hear from SD that I don't care about here, I never do anything for her, etc.