I got a very nice email from Ian's teacher this morning asking if I got a call from the principal and saying how "saddened" she was about this whole thing and with Ian not being in school today. Apparently she had a discussion with the principal the morning she got the letter, and she's been upset ever since. I replied to her email and told her that I hadn't heard yet, and again told her that I was in no way angry, but rather concerned about the message we're sending our children.

Then I got a call saying Ian had an "unexcused absence" from school. That just made me laugh!

About 30 minutes ago the phone rang and it was the principal. I can honestly say that, after talking to her for about 15 minutes, I am blown away by the response I got. She let me say my piece, then told me how the award used to be called something else and it was actually a "county-wide" change to Citizenship Award a few years ago. She admitted they had never considered how the verbiage may be viewed, and said she totally understood my point. She understood my concern that the younger kids may have a hard time with such an abstract concept, and she also told me that Ian's teacher spent a good deal of time yesterday speaking to him and assuring him that he is a "good citizen" in every sense of the word. She started to say how Ian's situation was so individual that she wasn't really sure how to address it, but I cut her off to tell her that I did not write the letter for Ian, but rather for ALL the young kids who may be confused by the message they received.

In the end, she told me she's going to bring the issue up at the school's planning meeting on Friday and they are actually going to vote on changing the name of the award. She will let me know next week on their finding.

I am SO happy. Even if they don't change the name, at least I know that fought for what I believe in! I hope Ian learns a good lesson from this, even if it takes a while for him to understand it fully.