School Days.......

We are just getting the blog set up so I thought I would include a few pictures taken earlier this year. This is Kaitlyn on her very first day of school at Liza Jackson Preparatory School in Mary Esther, Florida. Kaitlyn is attending full day Pre-K and I teach 7th grade Language Arts at the same school. LJPS is a charter school which means it is funded by state money and is free to students but operates separately from the school district. LJPS has been in operation for 6 years now and a charter to continue the school for 15 more years and add the 9th grade was recently approved. Our board of directors is comprised of retired educators who went to the community and asked "what would the perfect school be?" They took the info they received from families and their own experiences as educators to create a school that would meet the individual needs of students in a small community setting. I have really enjoyed my first semester here. Our students wear uniforms and so do we, the teachers! Kaitlyn wears khaki or navy skorts, skirts, shorts or pants with navy or white polos and the LJPS logo. On dress uniform days she wears an adorable plaid jumper. I love the uniforms! :) Our middle schoolers wear a slightly different uniform but with the same strict standards, including only 1 set of earrings, no unnatural hair colors, no more than one necklace, no bright makeup colors, etc. Teachers wear white blouses and khaki bottoms and navy blazers. We have Pre-K through the 8th grade in one building and I have really enjoyed being just down the hall from Kaiti and getting to see little ones every day. I love that good manners and every day courtesy are strongly enforced at this school. Students always reply to questions with a "Yes Ma'am" or "Yes Sir" - the southern influence is strong! We actually eat with our students and even the Pre-K kiddos are expected to learn and practice good table manners. As a mom and an educator, I am loving our experience at LJPS so far. More school pics to follow.......