> > Could you elaborate more about what's going on in > VA? I'm also from VA and > loathe those stupid criterion tests that are now > being imposed on the children > as well as some of the new state standards. Did you > get a drop in attendance > from schools when those tests started? Are your > programs aligned with the > standards or on your own topics? > > Deb > I started working in Va right around the time the standards were introduced. I was in southwest VA at the time, where the county and city had contacts with the msueum so the indivual schools did not have to pay. We imeditley listed the coresponding SOL's on the flyer which helped. After the imediate drop in programs attandance came back up and evetually increased. As someone mentioned earlier in that case it came down to money-they still came because the classes were already paid for and now with the SOL'c listed teachers could see exactly what the program was meeting.Programs here we deisgned fairley frequently, new ones introduced every year, with teacher imput and alligned with the standards. However, when I went up to Northren Va - where we did not have a contract with the school the situation was different. Our fees were very modert so I railey herd spefic complaints about the cost but rather that they couldn't afford to lose a day away from the classroom. With the pressur of the SOL test looming many seemed leary of being out of the classroom. So I went about fostering stronger realationships with area private schools and home school groups and kept our numbers up that way, while trying to show public school teachers what we could do for them. Most of these programs had been offered for many years -some since I had been a student in the sysetem 15 years before! New porgrams have since been added with teacher feedback form year-long survey process. Jamilyn __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! http://auctions.yahoo.com ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).