Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Moving overseas - school honor grade acceleration?

If anyone here has moved overseas, and their children attended international schools, how has that worked for you? Did the schools honor the grade accelerations? Obviously individual schools will be different, but I would like to hear how you all handled the conversations with the schools.

I haven not moved overseas, but I would have expected that unless the school had a very particular philosophy that they would simply enroll the child in the grade you say they are up to, and which their school reports reflect they are doing.

Getting a school to create an acceleration is always far more complex than simply maintaining the status quo.

That will depend entirely on the international school. You'll need to look closely at how the curriculum aligns with the curriculum at your current school.

The international school I'm familiar with is very reluctant to allow accelerations, and indeed many people compare the curriculum to their home curriculum and decide to move the child down a year.

FWIW, this international school is exceptional for gifted children, as the small class sizes and general high level of curriculum allow for significantly better in-class differentiation than average. My K'er gets second grade math in class with the top table and his reading books in class are third grade level with one other top student in the year. This is standard; we needed no advocacy to get this setup.

Contact your school. Compare curriculums and see what they say. It's about getting a good fit, and that's advantageous for both you and the school.

I know a kid whose grade skip was reversed moving across town. I think the parents agreed though.

My kids are both middle schoolers - if they were moved down a grade it would be horrific! I don't think that will happen though based on the school conversations, and the fact that they have viewed the girls' report cards.

The school does follow the US model and advertises itself as a college prep school. Reviews state if one's child is "average", he or she might struggle. It is also a very small school. I have my fingers crossed that it will be like the school you discuss - able to differentiate. The school does a language and math assessment before school begins to determine the correct level for each child (many kids are not native English speakers so the school has to figure out how to work with them). I am hoping the teachers can accommodate younger DD who is dying on the vine in science and social studies - these are her favorite classes yet the ones the current school does not offer differentiation. She has been whole grade accelerated one year and 2 more years in math.

By the way - how does one show a teacher that a student needs "more" in science and social studies? DD's ITBS which showed she was years ahead in science is now 2 years old, and the SAT doesn't address those topics. Most teachers seem not to understand IQ scores. I might do another post about this.

Oh boy, I am excited about the move yet absolutely terrified. We tell the kids this week. That alone fills me with fear. Lots of tears ahead.

Possibly a small gift could serve as a conversation opener? For example, there are mugs and other items which are printed with a map having different locations marked by a heart and connected by dashed lines... or if they have a favorite 18" doll, possibly a doll outfit or accessory which represents the culture, tradition, or history of the area in which your family's new home will be... or a book about the area... or a scrapbook for collecting photos and well-wishes from their friends...

There are many ways to spark enthusiasm and emphasize embracing the positive... while remaining realistic and acknowledging that there is good and bad in everything.

Was thinking that given the variation in cut offs over the US let alone the world they will probably go off the grade given in her records unless there is a clear reason not to.

Middle school is a very different matter for sure! My oldest is in K, so yeah, no idea of the upper levels. It would surprise me if a US school would undo a US grade skip. It'd be different if you were switching from US to UK, for example.

Our school also has a significant portion of non-native speakers, but it's not at all the same as a local school with non-native speakers. The top girl in D's grade who he reads with is not a native speaker. She's better than all the US/UK/Ozzie kids.

It doesn't have to be tears! Moving abroad has been the best experience for my family. My kids are extremely happy, though it's all they know.

Tell them about the new adventures you'll have. Look up your new location on the map and show them pictures of what things are like there. Emphasize what you're going to, instead of what you're leaving from.

Good luck!

Well, had the big conversation. Ugh.I had created a Power Point full of pictures and info of the new school and city hoping that might help a bit. After we told them we were moving overseas DD13 cried and hid under a blanket. DD12 said "absolutely not" and left the room. They have visited the country several times and are friends with many who grew up there so they know quite a bit about the area. We knew this would happen, but we still feel guilty for pulling them out of the only world they have known.

DD13 basically cried herself to sleep. She did ask for a puppy if we moved.
DD12 said one of us needed to stay in the US with her, and the other parent could go overseas. Other options she gave us - she plans to stay put or make us turn down the job. She said there we nothing we could offer her that would make it a bit easier to go there. Crazy thing is she really is not happy where she is as mentioned on this forum. This could be really good for her.

So sorry that it was a rough night. The kids are at ages that are harder to sell changes to.

Living abroad gives you lots of reasons to feel guilty: less stability, friends who come and go, distance from family, discomfort while adjusting to a new culture, missing out on favorite things.

But it's an incredibly enriching experience for kids and adults. My husband went abroad at age 7 and now speaks 7 languages or so. He is comfortable in the international world and leads teams with people from all over the world with ease.

It'll be a stressful time leading up the move and settling in, but nearly everyone I know loves the international life -- and our location is far from an ideal place and comes with an extra monetary bonus to compensate for hardships.