Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Grade skipped and facing middle school

I think this is a good goal to add to the 504 as well. DD had a planner this year but never wrote anything in it, sigh. I would love to have the teacher check it. I currently look up all the homework due (via the online info from teachers) and turn it into a word doc that I tape to a door in the kitchen. Getting DD to write down her work would be a positive step forward! Question - would every teacher do this at the end of each class? Have middle school parents had success with this idea?

Good to know about trying to get ahead of the game (504). I will be discussing this with the AG teacher.
I can't imagine how the grade skip won't be obvious. DD is the size of a minnow. We went to the school orientation and some teachers looked at her very oddly. I know that when she moved into 5th a few months ago she jumped right into class discussions (learned this in p-t conference). She won't shrink back from being part of the class so hopefully the teachers will see she isn't a "problem" to deal with.

I guess it does sound like I expect special treatment. But, the AG teacher is the one who asked us to come in because she wants to make sure all goes well for DD. She is a wonderful woman who even called me in to discuss DD when we were facing the acceleration into 5th. She was talking then about what the middle school could do to make 6th grade a good fit for DD. This school has a student this year who was accelerated into 6th so the staff is aware of the challenges. The AG teacher has asked if I want my daughters together or separate because she wants DD to feel safe.
Oh, that "preferential seating" bit is a phrase our district uses for issues from hearing disabled children to kids with learning needs. I wonder if I could change it to "near the teacher though" because that is exactly what we want!!

Like an every few months "check in"?

Couple more questions:

How do middle school gym classes play out for kids who are younger because of acceleration? As I have mentioned, DD is tiny.
Do you all, with older kids currently in middle school or beyond, see the teachers do a better job at matching level of work to the student? Or is it more of the same - kids getting tired of the slow pace of school?

Comment: Poor DD came home after hearing about puberty from the science teacher and asked if she should be "changing" now. She said she was just a kid and not ready. She is looking at her fellow 5th graders - some of whom have "blossomed" already. We had a big hug as I assured her that it would happen for her when her body was ready for it!

Yes, I would say a check in near the beginning of the year, after that when there are issues (social or organizational) and then every few months whether there seems to be an issue or not. That sounds ideal to me.

And on your other note, 5th grade is the time when all the kids, but maybe especially girls can be at very different stages regardless of being grade-skipped or not. I noticed a girl who was about 5'8" next to a girl who is about 4"8". About the same age.

I usually just elaborate on the accommodation:

"Preferential seating: away from distractions, proximal to instruction, and convenient for frequent teacher cueing, reminders, and check-ins."

I think preferential seating is used because it may look different in different classrooms and for different disabilities. And even for different activities within the same classroom. What if "near the teacher" is put down and the teacher doesn't have one spot...does the kid move around too.

I see aeh elaborated better than I could.

DD is the youngest kid in 4th grade and her class is a combined 4th/5th grade class with 2/3 of the class being 5th graders. She looks like a tiny little girl compared to most of the other kids (and she's average for her age). Seems like the "blossoming" is happening earlier and earlier. I have the Amercican Girl book about body changes in my closet and am thinking about giving it to her just so she can understand what is going on with her classmates.

Yes, exactly. Well said.

Well said. Parents may wish to keep physical stature separate from issues of age and/or grade skip.

You may wish to consider using phrases like "meeting DD10's educational needs" (or transitional needs, or acceleration needs) rather than "special treatment" which may invoke "special snowflake" syndrome.

While I understand the use of hyperbole, if the need should arise to discuss your daughter's size, you may wish to do so using facts, such as the CDC growthcharts. For example at 10 years old your daughter may be the size of an average (50th percentile) 6 year old and/or the height of an average (50th percentile) 7 year old. (As most children begin school at 5-6 years old, people who do not know her may incorrectly think she is in 1st or 2nd grade, as "most" children that size/height might generally be in one of those grades.)

How gym class is handled may depend upon the school policies and the teacher. Up to the 2012-2013 academic year, many public schools used the Presidential Physical Fitness Test, whose award charts show evaluation of performance by AGE, however some schools still held all students to the benchmarks for the average age of students in the GRADE, thereby shortchanging accelerated (and multiple grade accelerated) students of the physical fitness awards which they had legitimately earned by performance for their AGE. This program has since been replaced with the Presidential Youth Fitness Program, which emphasizes personal progress over performance. This program may be something to discuss if your local phy ed program does not currently seem to be based upon individual progress for each student's physical fitness.

If you did not already, you may wish to share that the age range may be about 8-13 years old (and that at age 13 she will be in 9th grade?) as this may provide some personal context or framework so she can relate this to herself. The American Girl books on The Care and Keeping of You (books 1 & 2, for younger girls and older girls), The Feelings Book, and the books in the "Smart Girls Guide" series are often helpful to middle school girls.

There are many sources of 504 accommodations ideas online. The wrightslaw website and their book From Emotion to Advocacy, Understood.org, ADDitude, are some places to find information which you can sort through to see what may be helpful for meeting your child's educational needs so she can access the learning opportunities offered in school. Here is one list from ADDitude online e-magazine. Interested parents can sign up to receive free e-newsletters with information such as FAQs, tips, and lists. Excellent advice from aeh (as usual) on this recent post: group accommodations and organize into categories to make them easier to recall and execute.

In general, for planning and advocacy, you'd want to have done research in preparation for your meeting. This may include:
- course descriptions and/or end-of-year outcomes for the various levels of LA being offered,
- information about your daughter's strengths in this area, accomplishments/achievements to date,
- information about any potential weaknesses in this area and/or need for IEP/504 in this area.

Wishing you a successful meeting, and a great year ahead for your daughters!