I am just curious what the school sees as an issue re siblings being in the same grade? I don't have any research to share, but fwiw when I'm advocating (for whatever) I find that one of the most effective tools is simply to think through all the reasons the school would say "you can't do x" and then think through logical answers to why it will be a-ok to do "x" and why "x" is the best choice etc, then have those arguments penned down so they can be automatically, and non-emotionally, tossed back at the school staff when they raise the issue.
FWIW, I actually would be cautious of doing the skip (please don't think I'm anti-skip - I'm not!)… but in this situation, I'm one parent who would think twice about it, so maybe some of the things I'm thinking are similar to what your school is thinking (?)… anyway, if they are, if I put them out there, you'll have a chance to think through them
What I notice in what you've posted here is that you're focusing on your dd's academics, which can clearly benefit from a grade skip. You're also thinking about skipping her at an age where being put into the same grade as her older sibling might not be a hugely big deal (for either your daughters or yourself). But as a mom, I'd look down the road to high school - by skipping into the same grade, you're going to have two daughters starting to date at the same time (perhaps), two daughters learning to drive at the same time (most likely), two daughters graduating high school at the same time, and two daughters going to college for the first year at the same time. All of that might not seem like much now, and for some families it might not seem like a big deal ever. Granted, if you were raising twins that would be what it is. BUT you aren't raising twins, and as a mom of slightly older kids, I am starting to really see that end-of-high-school thing on the horizon, and I've seen a lot of my friends go experience that senior year of high school as a bit of a special time in their lives as well as their children's lives. So I'm kinda glad (just for me) that I'm *not* going to have more than one child going through it at once. I'm also glad I haven't skipped any of my kids because selfishly I want them home as long as I can. I didn't necessarily feel that way when they were younger, but the older they get and the closer they get to their college years, the more I realize I want to stretch out their childhood at home just a wee bit longer.
So that's just me, and I'm likely in the minority here
But I wanted to point it out because you might have people that are on your school staff who are looking at things the same way… so it's something to think through.
polarbear
