As you join us for One Completer’s Journey, one question is bound to come up…When will MY student complete? To help take some of the mystery and confusion out of this, continue reading.

A few years after Zack started at Lutz, Dan and I attended one of the Lutz & Beyond Seminars. When we entered the school, we found a table where we were to sign in. Among the information requested was a line asking for Zack’s Year of Completion. We just looked at each other. Okay, so we knew it would be when he turned 26, but hadn’t really thought about putting that into years. Plus, because he had a December birthday, would that make a difference? Was the year determined based on the year he turned 26 which was 2020 or was it based on when he was actually 26, which was 2019? Then of course I knew when enrolling a child in school for the first time that September 1st was some sort of cut-off, but couldn’t really remember and wasn’t sure if that was still in effect or if the dates had changed.

Yeah, all these questions and in reality I didn’t even want to think about Zack leaving Lutz — not then, not now, not ever!

For several moments we just stood there staring and contemplating, then we tried doing the math which only seemed to confuse us more. Well, seeing our frustration, John Nader happened to be walking by and asked us if there was a problem. At the time we didn’t know John, but seeing as he was offering to help, we figured we’d take him up on his offer. We told him that we were not sure the year Zack would complete. He simply asked us when Zack was born. We told him, December 3, 1993. Without hesitation he said — 2020 and then turned to greet another parent who walked through the door.

Okay, so that made us feel stupid. How is it he could figure that out so quickly? And without hesitation? Okay, so this was his forte’ and all, but still, really? Not even a moment’s hesitation?

Well, it’s taken me more than four years since that evening, but I now have the inside track on how to figure out when a student is going to Complete! Of course, Zack is now in his completion year…maybe this isn’t something I should be openly admitting.  Anyway, I thought that perhaps some of you might be interested in how this is figured and at the same time might be able to help the Parent Group out.

Eventually your student will complete and if you are on our mailing list, your email address will need to be moved from the Parent Group Mailing List to the Alumni Mailing List. In order to do this, it would be helpful to know when your student completes, so if you could fill out the form below and click SUBMIT, we would greatly appreciate it.

So here’s the method to the madness of figuring out a student’s completion year:

If your student was born between September 1, 1993 and August 31, 1994, they will complete in 2020.

See, the cut-off dates are September 1 to August 31. I’ve included a chart below to help make this even easier, as I would probably be counting on my fingers and toes if Zack weren’t completing this year.

And for our Alumni visitors, here is a chart for you:

I hope this didn’t confuse you more…but just in case it didn’t, let’s try this —

Take your student’s birth year, add 26. If your student’s birthday is on or before August 31, that is the year they will complete. If your student’s birthday is on or after September 1, they will complete the following year. So for example, Zack was born in 1993. Add 26 to that and we get 2019. Being that his birthday is December 3 (on or after September 1, 2019) he would complete in 2020.

Was that easier or harder? I don’t know, but this is kind of fun. How many ways can I come up with now to figure out Zack’s completion year? Well I’ve either got too much time on my hands or my morning caffeine is kicking in. At any rate, knowing the year is important, but truly makes it harder.

Having that year looming in the background makes everything scarier, sadder, even desperate. Time is so fleeting and knowing that in just ten short months Zack will be bidding farewell to his home for the past eight years is…words cannot convey.

We had Zack’s last IEP yesterday and the emphasis was on everything that would be worked on throughout the year — not him leaving. Definitely a good thing, trying to keep it all positive. Yet, we all knew. We all knew the elephant was in the room, but no one wanted to say it. Of course in the end it had to come out, but even then hope, positivity, and possibilities were the emphasis. Was it for Zack’s benefit? Dan’s and my benefit? Patti’s and John’s? Probably for all of the above. This is not an easy transition for any of us. Zack will obviously be the most affected, but our whole family faces a huge transition. And the teachers and staff at Lutz? Well…every year they have to say goodbye to so many students, some that they may never see again. After so many years, it’s an undeniable fact — we are family.

So as we continue on this One Completer’s Journey, know you are not alone in this ~ at Lutz you are family and we’ll navigate this next stepping stone together.

Zack’s Mom (Lisa D)