Falling Into Place--Part II

As soon as we knew that moving to New Orleans was even a remote possibility we began researching school options for Olivia. New Orleans has notoriously bad schools. We are fortunate to know so many educators in the area and they were very helpful in steering us in the right decision. We cannot thank you enough Wendy L, Erica G, Crystal L, Katie G, Catherine B, and Nicole A!

After much deliberation and prayer we decided that the best place for Olivia is The Chartwell Center (I almost hesitate to link to their website because it's not very informative and it's outdated). It is a private school for children with autism and related disorders. The student to teacher/aide ratio is very low. Olivia will be the 5th child in her class and there is 1 teacher and 2 aides. The school day is very structured, there are loads of other special education intervention strategies in place (sensory diet, PECS-picture exchange communication schedules). Occupational, Speech, and Physical therapy are incorporated into each child's schedule several times a week. They have weekly swimming and horseback riding. It's an amazing school and we think that Olivia will thrive there. Sending Olivia to the Chartwell Center wouldn't be possible without help from my parents and we are more grateful for their help than I would ever be able to express.

As we were completing the enrollment paperwork for The Chartwell Center we discovered that the Director was Mike's principal when he was in 2nd grade. She remembers Mike and his brothers and parents very fondly and is so excited to teach another generation of Leiva. I took this as a sign that we'd made the right decision! We recently received a copy of a letter that was sent out by Olivia's teacher to the other parents. We were so touched that they are actually preparing a place for Olivia before we're even there yet!



Peter will also begin attending preschool. We've narrowed it down to a couple of possibilities. There is a wonderful child development center with a preschool program on the Tulane University campus. It's in the same area of campus where Mike's office would be and it's just a few blocks from where I'd be working. Our other choice is St. George's Episcopal Day School. It happens to be right across the street from The Chartwell Center and the two schools partner occasionally to provide opportunities for integration. It is also a great school and they have an early 3 year old program that would be perfect for Peter. Both schools are tentatively holding a slots for Peter. We'll tour both and then Peter can have his pre-admission play dates at each school and we'll see which is a better fit. I've decided that Peter's school situation falling into place is another sign that the timing is right for me to return to work.