International education

Simply, one of the main reasons we are here. I have been asked countless times, "Why leave America?  Why Dubai?"
Why Dubai, UAE?  That is an easy answer, UAE offered the most valuable opportunity at the time.  Luck is,  opportunity meets preparedness.  We were prepared for the opportunity, what we weren't exactly prepared for we have managed to put in order and now consider our position lucky on many levels.  Here is one...

Why leave America?  Well, we are not "leaving", we are living outside of our Country.  We will always be American, we are Citizens and that will never change.

We all live in a fast-pace Global World.  It is everyone's desire to keep up, make ends meet and at the end of the day, try diligently to get ahead.  There are a billion definitions and variations of what this means.   To our Family, it means being diverse and open to knowledge.  Our children will learn and experience that the world is round.  That you can not drive from one side to other.  That the United States of America is not the entire World, logistically speaking.  We will submerse our children in the actual cultures that truly make up the USA and in doing so, they will learn the true Freedom that is, America.

The kids are both registered and ready to begin school at The Regent International School Dubai, starting April 25.  This will be the Third trimester in the 2010/2011 school year.  This was the only school that would allow our children to start in the third term and it is very necessary they get the next three months education.  I have been to the campus, met teachers and staff.  I have met happy parents of happy students.  I feel good about this decision for now.  We will have the next three months to decide if this placement is a fit for the 2011/2012 School year.  In this region, once you begin a School year, you must finish with that school.  You can not change schools mid-year.

They issue placement testing to ensure proper grade-level placement.

Myles was a perfect fit for his age group.  Age 4, FS-1.  This is the first of two years of Kindergarten. Exactly what I had anticipated.

Sienna, born on the last day of the age cut-off for classroom placement by age, could have gone either way.  That is the same for her in the States as well.  She would either be the very youngest one year or one of the older ones in another.  I did start her in Kindergarten in the US because she was ready.  She did excellent in her classroom in Nevada.  She has always done excellent, back from preschool at Discovery Learning Center to her Kindergarten prep program with Ms. Hucke (classroom size six students to one teacher)
I wasn't quite sure what to expect of this testing.  This is a whole new ball game here.  Education is very different.  It is obvious by simply walking the halls in her classroom age group.  The walls are covered in Paintings by the children replicating Monet.  There are International days, where each child comes to school to teach of their Culture and Country.  There are Global maps outside the classroom doors with a flag for each child representing their home Country.  The US Flag is on some of them.  There are paragraphs written by 5 year olds, collectively telling storybook tales and then illustrated.

Let me just say, I started feeling nervous.
Sienna's academic testing left a lot to be desired by their standards.  However, based on "potential" and the Assessment Official's observation, they feel she is best suited to finish out Y1 and start Y2 in September.   To this I say, Wow.

We will embrace our children's education and plant the seed where the Officials see fit.  We will nurture the seed and hope for the positive and healthy growth of our little flowers ... for now.