Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion High School or College Classes for Middle Schooler

My DS11 is bored and capable of SO much more! Background.... He goes to public school and there he is accelerated by one year in science & social studies, and accelerated by two years (starting in a week) in math. Not that I buy into all the testing they are doing, but winter benchmarking had him more than meeting proficiency in the two subjects he's accelerated by one year already. I got tired of the slow pace in math so I started him at home on pre-algrebra and he's almost finished with it. According to him, "its easy". When he was 9, he took his first high school class (at home/no credit with the school system) and loved it.

My problem? I'm running out of things he can do to keep his mind busy. This year at home he's completed 2 computer coding classes, beginning typing, is working on intermediate typing, will complete pre-algebra and move to algebra in about 2 weeks.

My district won't let him take any quality high school classes for credit. Could I just by pass that and have him take some college classes? If so how would I go about that? The boredom is starting to translate into laziness and I don't want him to have that as a work ethic.

You can try MOOC, or your main goal is to have credits?

I've considered a MOOC for him, but it doesn't help his boredom at school. Don't get me wrong, this year is 1000 times better than last year - supportive principal, qualified teachers and DS is socially happy. He's just still being presented material at too slow of a pace in many subjects. If he could take a college level class on the subject he needs next, maybe my district would then let him move forward at a more rapid pace in those subjects.

I'm going to have to look up "The Little Book" series, he might love that! Thanks

So, you want him to take a college level class online while at school, instead of school work? What subject you have in mind?

Maybe he can do this again, or your school district changed their policy?

It's for science. Next year is Earth Science. Well.... they accidentally taught him Earth Science for a month last year, during which time he completed a semesters worth of work, before they realized they were teaching him the wrong subject. Don't ask - that's a whole other story, LOL. They had also given him permission to take Earth Science independently through one of their providers. So we tried it but the provider was so sub-standard we had to drop it after 2 units. Wrong information, wrong answers, didn't have a clue how to do distance learning. So next year, he'll have really already taken most of that subject.

No they haven't changed their policy, but I thought maybe if it was a college level class they would look at it and realize that he could skip another level. I'm just thinking ahead and trying to avoid boredom that will lead to problems.

You might want to check state law. Things are changing fast. Here, it used to be you had to have three HS science classes before being eligible for college courses. Now, due to a change in state law, with an adequate SAT/ACT score, they actually can't prevent someone from taking college courses.

It's tiring to live in flux, but some of this is real improvement for us.

If they know that your DS took Earth Science last year, why do they want him to repeat the same subject next year? May be he can pass the end of the year test in this subject and skip it?
What does your school teaches next?
Frankly, I don't think this will make things better from the academic point of view, your DS will still be bored, because the pace will not change. Is homeschooling an option for you?

My experience is the opposite. In my district the rules are becoming MORE strict than than they used to. It used to only be one or two profoundly gifted students and the district was flexible. But it is becoming very popular for some families to push students pushed ahead who aren't really read for it and the district has clamped down. I've never seen a student skipped a grade in my district, the only case I heard of was a student who went to private school until 3rd grade.

In our district you get no CREDIT towards High School graduation from any class taken prior to the fall enrollment your freshman year, except those the district offers. (very limited summer school offerings) This includes college classes. Community colleges do accept students as young as 12 but that's most commonly home schooled kids. My local community collage requires approval from the student's school for enrollment if they are under 18 and don't have a H.S. diploma.