Rumor confirmed:

The rumor that has been swirling around the district for weeks now has been confirmed: my middle school is being closed at the end of the school year, another victim of the budget crisis and education's poor money management. It's in the poorest neighborhood of the city, and the challenge of how some of these kids are going to get to the next nearest middle school - because transportation is also on the chopping block - is a problem no one seems to be acknowledging. It is truly nothing short of unbelievable what is happening in our school systems: the system is broken and sinking fast. I don't see it getting better without radical change, and with the obstacles to any sort of change being so absurd, I don't understand how that will ever happen.

In happier news, I was semi-able to attend the "Creepy Critters" assembly at my elementary school. Semi-able because I was called out for a child that bit a staff member and broke skin, and a head wound I'd already attempted to bandage that wouldn't stop bleeding. (Head bleeder's mom happened to be chaperoning the assembly. Nothing like having a mom watch your handiwork to make you sweat.) Such is the life of the school nurse.

Also, you may have seen the latest "trend" on using in school: hand sanitizer to get drunk. As this story points out, you should really be concerned with the normal liquid form being ingested, because that's probably where it starts. I highly doubt a teenager who has never had alcohol before will start with Purrell. Still, it's not a bad idea to be aware of the trends, may they be gummy bears or tampons soaked in alcohol (seriously, it's a thing), or hand sanitizer.