Well, my daughter has now officially withdrawn from her local high school. The withdrawal process involved meeting with her guidance counselor and then taking a withdrawal form around to each of her teachers. Nicole had to return her textbook to each teacher, and each instructor was required to sign off her her form indicating that she had returned her school-issued materials and that there was no reason to block her withdrawal. I didn't go with her to do this, but I did ask her about it afterward. She told me that all of her teachers were surprised at first, but when she explained her new academic course, they understood and wished her well.

Her guidance counselor was absolutely great in helping us get everything sorted out regarding her progress and aided us tremendously in finding what we believe to be the right direction for her now. This would have been a much more difficult process without her help. She was truly a wealth of aid and information.

I'm also very impressed with the start of her enrollment in the Penn Foster High School diploma program. Everyone at Penn Foster has been incredibly helpful, and we have already received about four e-mails from the school giving us a great deal of information about what lies ahead for her in undertaking their program, encouragement to begin her studies online as soon as she's ready, and an array of contact names and numbers for school offices and her own personal advisor.

I guess when I consider everything that went into this decision and ultimately the new direction that her academic life is about to take, I'd have to mark this date down as a turning point for my daughter's educational future. One thing is for sure: I'm truly grateful that we live in a time that offers students options outside of the traditional brick and mortar classroom.