We offered to transport him to and from MS so that he could attend a higher level math class. The administration flatly said no because it would be inappropriate for him to be around middle school students.
Sometimes a school's objections to acceleration are revealed in layers; It is possible that this statement reveals the true objection (social/emotional and interpersonal skills) while previous responses (denying level of academic skills) may have been the wrapping intended to dissuade you from further exploration of the topic prior to you reaching the point of understanding the true objection. Many salespeople practice drawing out objections so they can begin the art of overcoming objections.
As this advocacy effort may have reached the point of understanding objections, the following may be helpful:
1) Each teacher/administrator/school/district may be at a different point in their experience/expertise in understanding and serving the needs of gifted students. For each teacher/administrator/school/district, some kiddo is their first experience. If this inaugural experience goes well, it may open the doors for others. If you wish to proceed, with your child possibly being the first and therefore a trail blazer, you may wish to gather information to overcome the school's stated objections.
2) Because the objection shared in the most recent post has to do with social/emotional and interpersonal skills, ("inappropriate for him to be around middle school students"), your task may be to show that it is
overwhelmingly very appropriate for him to be around middle school students. How might a parent do this convincingly?
Gathering anecdotal evidence may help:
- Does your child have friends who are older?
- Mix/mingle with older children in the neighborhood?
- Participate on sports teams, or in summer camps with older children?
- Socialize well with older cousins, older siblings of friends, etc?
- Does your child display emotional maturity and resilience?
Gathering research and resources such as the following may be of help:
-
A Nation Deceived,
-
Institute for Research and Policy on Acceleration,
- the Iowa Acceleration Scale (
IAS). While the IAS is for whole grade skipping, some schools may use the IAS to prepare a complete record of a student's scores and "thoroughly discuss the case and to consider other curricular options and recommendations for the student." (quote from IAS Manual, page 34) Other curricular options may include single-subject acceleration such as you are seeking for your child.
Just saw your earlier thread, and added a post there for the benefit of possible future readers of that thread. 3) Do you plan to document your meeting by writing a summary? While remaining positive and factual, and not guessing at motivations, it may be possible to document your understanding of their stated objection, agree with their concern in theory (as a point of tact and diplomacy), and also work to overcome their objection in your meeting summary, asking for a follow-up meeting perhaps to discuss the anecdotal evidence and research that you have presented.
