Hi. I've gotten a lot of info from here but never felt I had anything to contribute. Now I would like some help.
My DD9 is in our district's gifted pull-out program; my DD7 won't test for it until January, but I will be very surprised if she doesn't score quite a bit higher than her sister did. DD7 is having a rough time with school. She was excited the first 2 days (Th/F), then the following Monday everything went downhill when they changed the end-day routine. She has always had problems with the end of the day; nothing negative has happenend, but she is afraid something will (like, I will leave without her if she takes too long to come out the door). Reassurances do little good, especially when there is no consistency in school.
The beginnings of K and 1st grades were better, but in K she would cry when asked to write (although she was above level in writing), and in 1st she would cry when something changed from the routine. We didn't find any of this out until P/T conferences; she showed no signs of distress outside of school. This year is starting out rougher and affecting her at home. There has been crying in the morning, outside the school, on the way out the door, and in bed at night. Last night she cried for 2 hours saying how much she hated school. She has a homeschooling plan worked out, and would rather be sick than go to school. She is reserved, introverted, and highly sensitive. (She was almost potty-trained at 18 months, then got so frightened by the noise from a public restroom toilet that she didn't actually get potty-trained until after 3 years.) She is very upset by some of the discipline in school; she tries to do everything right, but when the whole group is punished, so is she. She does not like anyone talking when they shouldn't; she doesn't offer answers to questions because she's afraid. She hates being the center of attention, even with extended family. She is a "textbook" introvert struggling in our extroverted public school system. Not one thing listed above (plus others not listed) on its own is a big deal, but compounded they are ruining her days. I told her that her teacher says she is doing "very, very well." DD7 said "that's because everything is so easy."
Something needs to change, but I don't know what or how. Our district puts a lot of $ into spec. ed., a lot of time into average students, but just cut out 1 of 3 gifted teachers serving the entire district (over 800 students just in second grade this year). I don't know how to make the school pay attention to my straight-A/well-behaved child. I know her performance in school is fine, so they may think it's not their problem. But she is bringing too much stress home with her.
I know this is a rambling mess, but any help will be appreciated.
