Are you considering Walking to Freedom? (Moving to a red state)

[CamoDeafie]

Other than school, which is fixable, what are the other things that bother you about where you are?

Not sure how much it applies to the guy up in WA; but I have a serious question thats more about my deaf child. How do you fix a broken State Board of "education" ? We have close friends working at Oregon School f/t Deaf and they went out and said in no uncertain terms, "never send your kid there". heck, one of them has already put in notice of termination of her employment because of a toxic work enviroment that isn't conductive to teaching children. By toxic, she describes heavily politicized policies, extreme lack of accountability of staff, refusal to do anything about students sexually harrasing her, being told to stop reporting and to be a "good faculty staff" (as in being obedient and quiet). And she's an autism education specialist.

 

[Member 34319]

Not sure how much it applies to the guy up in WA; but I have a serious question thats more about my deaf child. How do you fix a broken State Board of "education" ? We have close friends working at Oregon School f/t Deaf and they went out and said in no uncertain terms, "never send your kid there". heck, one of them has already put in notice of termination of her employment because of a toxic work enviroment that isn't conductive to teaching children. By toxic, she describes heavily politicized policies, extreme lack of accountability of staff, refusal to do anything about students sexually harrasing her, being told to stop reporting and to be a "good faculty staff" (as in being obedient and quiet). And she's an autism education specialist.

So did they give you the name of a place they would feel good about? Or do they just hate it here and it might be applying a bias to their opinion? Maybe seek more than one source that isn't a close friend?

This might not sit well, but try asking some folks on the opposite side of the political spectrum the same questions.

Knowing how one side of things feels about something is great, knowing both sides can be even better when making a decision on something that can be considered politically biased.

 

[CamoDeafie]

So did they give you the name of a place they would feel good about? Or do they just hate it here and it might be applying a bias to their opinion? Maybe seek more than one source that isn't a close friend?

This might not sit well, but try asking some folks on the opposite side of the political spectrum the same questions.

Knowing how one side of things feels about something is great, knowing both sides can be even better when making a decision on something that can be considered politically biased.

They recommended Rocky Mountain Deaf School, a charter school in Colorado, as well as California Schools for the Deaf (two places). I've asked former employees who are more aligned with us, and they also recommended not OSD. We (wife and I) are alumnus of OSD as well, although the wife have experienced extreme bullying and I have personally seen extreme bullying of new teachers by older staff and also by students.

 

[Member 34319]

They recommended Rocky Mountain Deaf School, a charter school in Colorado, as well as California Schools for the Deaf (two places). I've asked former employees who are more aligned with us, and they also recommended not OSD. We (wife and I) are alumnus of OSD as well, although the wife have experienced extreme bullying and I have personally seen extreme bullying of new teachers by older staff and also by students.

I definitely wish you two the best whichever decision you two make for your kiddo. Kiddos change things, that's for damn sure.

 

[CamoDeafie]

I definitely wish you two the best whichever decision you two make for your kiddo. Kiddos change things, that's for damn sure.

If she were hearing, we'd be making beelines for Idaho or Montana or even North Carolina... but...... the deaf education opportunities in these are nowhere as good as Texas or Colorado and we love our trees and mountains...

 

[Ferryman]

I know what the WA government was spending my tax money on, and planning to spend it on in the future. Leaving wasn't running, but denying revenue to those a-holes. Hit them in the man-purse, it is all they understand.

I work for the State. I see the internal e-mails.

I'm getting out just as fast as I can...

 

[SpudBob]

If she were hearing, we'd be making beelines for Idaho or Montana or even North Carolina... but...... the deaf education opportunities in these are nowhere as good as Texas or Colorado and we love our trees and mountains...

Is homeschooling an option?

 

[L84Cabo]

If you can handle Idaho winters, it MAY be a good choice. The question is...how long will Idaho remain Red? I've heard lots of reports that Boise is turning purple. And there is enormous capacity for Idaho to go the way of Oregon and Washington...a conservative state that turns blue due to it's biggest city turning into a leftist shhh...err...crap hole...like what Portland has done to Oregon and Seattle has done to Washington.

I don't know if Idahoans have paid attention to the history of Oregon and Washington. If they're smart, they will implement as many political safety measures as possible while they still maintain the political dominance. For example, passing a law at the state level that a) defines the gun laws for the state and b) prohibits any municipality from enacting local laws that contradict the state laws. Otherwise you may be looking to move again in ten years.

What about Florida? Is that an option? I'd pick Florida over Texas any day...assuming you can withstand the hurricanes.

 

[CamoDeafie]

What about Florida? Is that an option? I'd pick Florida over Texas any day...assuming you can withstand the hurricanes.

I don't want my kid to become gator bait. nor to become Deaf Florida woman

 

[newmanator55]

I don't think I'll ever leave the PNW. Love where we are. We moved from Red (at the time, NV has since turned blue) to here. Had our kid here and are happy to raise him here.

Other than school, which is fixable, what are the other things that bother you about where you are?

My wife and I both work in big tech, so we're bombarded with the wokeness at work. We're encountering "antiracism" in kids edu at our church which we otherwise really love. We've had several friends leave the state with their families for the same reason.

I could deal with it at work, if it was just that. I dont have a problem leaving a blue state for a purple state. We need conservatives to move to purple states to combat the political demographic changes.

Washington has a lot going for it even with the garbage policy decisions of the last 20 years. But it's not gonna turn around. We're still getting an influx from Cali and unless that hellhole changes, WA is probably not redeemable.

 

[Catfishmoon]

As a native of Eastern Washington who has spent years in Seattle, I prefer Eastern Washington or Eastern Oregon (or Montana / Colorado) for finding similar minded people...
I am not as "far-left" as Seattle or Portland politicians and I am not as "far-right" as Idaho State politicians...
Each of us has our own preference's.

Obviously it comes down to the specifics of each school district you are considering, but in general. I think a "blue state" will more likely fund programs for special needs children in the public education system.

 

[mrblond]

Its going to be like rats fleeing a sinking ship int he middle of the ocean soon.. not going to be anywhere to run to

 

[ilikegunspdx]

I'm 34. WA native, married with one kid and one on the way (due this weekend!).

I love Washington, would hate to leave. I like camping, mountaineering, salmon fishing and bow hunting Roosevelts. Our family is all here, but our parents would most likely follow us for same reason.

But I dont know if I can raise my kids here. Our daughter won't be in kindergarten for another four years, but I'm already worried about her schooling in this state. The woke indoctrination we've all observed seems to be rampant.

We've talked about leaving the state, but honestly haven't spent much time on more conservative states. Have some research to do.

I could move to Texas and keep my job. Don't like the idea of that much due to the climate and lack of Douglas fir. I think Idaho is my favorite option.

Have you thought about packing up and leaving the PNW? Mostly looking for thoughts from folks with young kids.

Where would you go?

Anyone in the process, how did you start your search?

I don't know where ravensdale is but here are some random comments re what I have observed in rural eastern wa, rural eastern or, and urban Portland school systems. Feel free to ignore any or all. Just my opinions. I'll try not to make this too long but no promises ha ha cuz it is kinda #1 priority for us so we have spent a lot of time thinking about it.

For perspective, my kiddo is currently in Portland public schools. Her kindergarten teacher had a PhD in education so there are some knowledgeable teachers out there in any school I think. My wife and I value academic rating of school highly and we also value the social side and are acutely aware of the social situation in Portland. We are still kind of finding our way on the social side but so far it has been fine. We do actively steer clear of parents (and thus their kids) that give inappropriate role models or environment as any parent does (I hope). I can give you specific examples via pm if you care about those.

1) I find it helpful to separate academic (ie how good of an education) factor from social factor (ie who the kid hangs out with and messages they recieve from teacher). Then you can weigh them separately and find the best balance or "combo" for you.

2) re social side and messages from teachers... I believe strongly that parents can give kids the tools they need to scrutinize what they hear from whatever source. For me the goal is to help the kid be an independent thinker so they can analyze the info, get more info, and decide for them self. That way they have a life skill. When they are young, I think parents can respond to each message sort of one by one (kind of have to when they are young) but over time they will have the skill to do it themselves.

Fe I ask our kiddo about what she learned and then tell her the other side of the story (if that was missing from the teacher's messages). Then I tell her to question what you hear, look for the other side of the story, then decide what is likely the truth based on all the info. Don't just take everything to be 100% true, be skeptical. Teachers have their individual background, life experiences, training and often it is not an intentional brainwashing type situation, they are simply teaching what they know. I wish all teachers were knowledgeable enough and unbiased enough to say "some people think this way about this topic, other people hunk this way, you decide what is the right way for you" or something like that. But that is really rare outside of college imo.

3) Re social side messages from canned videos that are produced let's say nationally... From what I have seen these often have a specific agenda related to a specific social topic. The same parent input applies here as in #2 above. Sometimes you can watch the video yourself as these canned videos are often available on YouTube or school sites. Then explain to kiddo other side of the story if that is missing.

4) I'm jumping all over the place topic wise but keep in mind that certain districts will have different demographics (as catfish moon said above). For example lake Oswego which is a Portland suburb, has more wealthy people, better schools, and probably more conservative parents (from what I understand from poeple who lived there, I don't live there). At the same time I hear ppl say those who live there are stuck up pr!cks. I don't know about that but everyone I know who lived there (not many) were fine and they all moved away. So the kiddo will be hanging out with ppl from that demographic.

In rural eastern you may also find more conservative parents.

Also private school you may find more conservative parents.

So all those are in the state of OR but quite different than urban Portland for example.

I'll try to write more on this later when I have time... Thx!

 

[Member 34319]

My wife and I both work in big tech, so we're bombarded with the wokeness at work. We're encountering "antiracism" in kids edu at our church which we otherwise really love. We've had several friends leave the state with their families for the same reason.

I could deal with it at work, if it was just that. I dont have a problem leaving a blue state for a purple state. We need conservatives to move to purple states to combat the political demographic changes.

Washington has a lot going for it even with the garbage policy decisions of the last 20 years. But it's not gonna turn around. We're still getting an influx from Cali and unless that hellhole changes, WA is probably not redeemable.

I'm uncertain to why anti-racism is a bad thing? It's not like going to Texas you can all of a sudden be a racist there?!?! Equity is everywhere. Every state. If you don't agree, fine, it's not going anywhere.

Wokeism is everywhere. Especially in the work place, I don't think you can escape that in any state.

Something is bothering you, it's not just this. It's something bigger, what is it?

 

[SpudBob]

If you can handle Idaho winters, it MAY be a good choice. The question is...how long will Idaho remain Red? I've heard lots of reports that Boise is turning purple. And there is enormous capacity for Idaho to go the way of Oregon and Washington...a conservative state that turns blue due to it's biggest city turning into a leftist shhh...err...crap hole...like what Portland has done to Oregon and Seattle has done to Washington.

I don't know if Idahoans have paid attention to the history of Oregon and Washington. If they're smart, they will implement as many political safety measures as possible while they still maintain the political dominance. For example, passing a law at the state level that a) defines the gun laws for the state and b) prohibits any municipality from enacting local laws that contradict the state laws. Otherwise you may be looking to move again in ten years.

What about Florida? Is that an option? I'd pick Florida over Texas any day...assuming you can withstand the hurricanes.

Winter in SW Idaho is not that bad. Its colder in E. WA and E. OR IMO. Ive been in Idaho for 15 years and Boise has been purple since Ive been here -Ada Co. at least. Most all the city /county government there is quite liberal. State government not so much. Boise mostly the "North End", Moscow and Halley. Those are your Blue bastions in Idaho!!! We have had a big upsurge in the last five years of folks comming from all over. Ive seen plates from ALL over but mostly from CA. Many from WA., OR., TX,, CO., and others as well too. Upside is my property has more than quadrupled from when I bought it 15 year ago. Downside is my taxes, though not at that rate, are on the move. I live in a rural county so my rates are still quite low. The rates in Boise are getting out of control though. My fiend who lives there, and whos property is worth a few hundred K less than mine pays about triple what I pay!!! So thats something to ponder too!