Admissions 2014
Monday, April 21, 2014
It's admissions week over here, the time of year when I'm tempted to adopt at least 5 more kids, build another classroom onto the school, another bedroom onto the house, and think about where I can squeeze just one more bunk bed. It's hard no matter how you slice it, even with all the procedures and board meetings, and even though we do this every single year and should know what to expect by now.
I took the boys out shopping in downtown Surkhet last week so they could each get a new t-shirt and pair of shorts because these boys of mine like to wear the same t-shirt every day until it's worn to shreds and they were all starting to look pretty shredded. I was in a shop with 11 of them trying to try on clothes and the shop keeper smiled and made a joke about how we have a big family.
Naveen was standing next to me.
"Mom?" he said.
"Yah?" I asked
"Two words."
"Family. planning."
We both laughed so hard. Me and my family planning.
Admissions goes like this...
We divide our admissions committee into 4 teams. Each team is comprised of a fellow, an administrator, a board member and a teacher who interview, assess, and review the documents of the applicants and then as a team have to collectively rank the child based on need. The interviews last about 10-15 minutes per child. We take notes and try to gather as much info as we can before phase 2 which is a placement exam and a home visit. I was really proud of our pre-screening this year.
So far I've made it through day 2 without having any additional kids move in and today we finalized our short list. Roma Bhandari, the head of Women and Children's welfare here in Surkhet came over tonight on her way home from the office. We sat in my room and drank lemon tea and vented. It felt good to talk to someone who understands. We've done everything we could to make this year go as smoothly as possible and I know we'll get this list down in the next few days to 30 kids whose lives will be changed forever.
Until then it's alot of deep breaths, meeting after meeting, paperwork, procedures, files and documents galore. Ganga, the teachers, our board, Kelly and the volunteers have all been amazing! Team work is the word. Team work and family planning.