One Family’s Normal Park School Experience
Our neighborhood school, Normal Park Upper, is such an asset for our community. When Nathan and I bought our house in 2021, we bought it as a childless couple. Our realtor mentioned it was a sought-after school, which would help keep property values up. We both value education and were excited to be in an area that gives so much support to the local school. Fast forward to 2023, and we began talking about potentially adopting my sister’s kid. When weighing everything that would go into this dramatic change of becoming instant parents to an 11-year-old, one of the easiest checkmarks on our long list was that Normal Park was going to be his school. Learning about Hamilton County high schools sent me on a spiral, though, and we are immensely grateful for our school board member, Ben Connor, and others’ efforts to potentially bring a 9-12 school to our zone.
Previously, our son was struggling in school. When we registered him at Normal Park, we were able to meet with several people to voice our concerns. Well, wouldn’t you know it, the welcoming and understanding nature of everyone working at Normal Park made this transition incredibly easy for us. Funny what happens when you have teachers, principals, and support staff that truly care about each child, even one with ADHD and Autism. During a parent/teacher conference, his math teacher (the subject he struggled in the most as his previous school) was shocked when I asked about his behavior. She could not believe that he was previously failing and was constantly being sent to the principal’s office by his old math teacher. She said he was a sweet kid who was even performing above expectations for his grade level. When talking to our son, he mentions how everyone knows who he is, and he reported that on the day of his official adoption, when he arrived at school late, that the office ladies were incredibly excited for him.
Day to day, our son loves the cool classes he takes and says he actually enjoys all of his teachers, even the ones he hasn’t officially had for classes. In the mornings, there is one teacher who always engages him in conversation when I am dropping him off. One day I asked who the teacher was, and our son shrugged his shoulders saying he didn’t know, but he was cool.
All in all, being in the Normal Park zone is such a privilege and one I do not take for granted. It is such a weight off our shoulders. We are so thrilled that our son ended this quarter at school on the A/B honor roll! From the edge of failing at his previous school to this achievement is remarkable. Clearly Normal Park is the right school for him. Normal Park is one of those rare schools where they exceed their reputation.
by Kala Wright
