I’ve run out of kids – and Back-to-School nights

By nancy townsley

The Times, Oct 8, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

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A recent Wednesday evening represented the end of an era for me.

It was my final back-to-school night, ever. My son, Tim, is a senior at Sunset High, having risen through the K-5 ranks at Rock Creek Elementary School and completing grades 6 through 8 at Stoller Middle School in Beaverton.

As he draws closer to commencement on June 10, 2010 – and I have every reason to believe he’ll reach that milestone with flying colors – I’m beginning to grow nostalgic about my children’s collective journey through the burgeoning, 37,500-student school district.

Tim’s two sisters went before him, which means I started attending back-to-school nights at Cooper Mountain Elementary School in 1991, when Lindsey was in kindergarten.

Some were tedious, three-hour-long affairs that, like the last couple Harry Potter movies, could have benefited from some serious editing. Others were informative but uninspired, with sleep-deprived teachers lurching through six or eight consecutive mini-speeches barely heard by stressed-out working parents who’d missed dinner to get there.

A few turned out to be engaging and stimulating enough to motivate me to thank a teacher, hug a coach or compliment an administrator.

I’m proud to say that in 18 years, I can’t remember missing one BTS night. After attending no fewer than 39 of them – at Cooper Mountain and Rock Creek elementaries, Five Oaks and Stoller middle schools, Westview High and now Sunset – I actually found myself looking forward to the final event on that Wednesday evening.

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