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Will they agree to subject acceleration in the subjects she did pass?

She had a 98 in math, 98 in LA, and 93 in science. The principal says the district policy forbids subject acceleration, which I think is unreasonable. I do not see how they can differentiate all of this for her. However, I have heard rumors of other students working above grade level in other schools, so I am guessing that they are bending the rules for them.

The state requires them to accelerate if the student passes ALL 4 tests with a 90%. My understanding is that the district will NOT consider any other criteria, which seems like the lazy way out. It's just easier to do nothing...

My gut feeling is that I will have to go above the principal to achieve any kind of acceleration. I think she will just offer me differentiation.

That's ludicrous, Lily.

I don't have any real advice (our fight to get our HG++ ds6 accelerated last year went no where, and we pulled him out for private gifted), but I did want to offer commiseration. Will they test her again later in the year if you request? You might want to "hothouse" her in social studies to get those last few points if they'll reconsider later.



So if I'm reading this right -- the state requires them to do it if they pass all 4 tests ... but do they leave it to the discretion of each district if a child has 3 of 4 tests? If that's the case, I'd definitely go above the principal. To not accelerate based on two points in *social studies* is ridiculous. If it were math or LA, maybe then ok. But social studies? In second grade? Give me a break.

Yes, Lily, my strong advice is to find out the district policies. Try to get any written policy concerning this. Our board publishes everything online.

Some teachers/principals think skipping/acceleration is harmful for children. If you are dealing with someone like that it's possible that the info they give you isn't quite right. I find that it's good intentioned, however misguided.

We are in a similar situation and have decided to take our daughter out of school each day for math. This wasn't offered to us by the school, but I called the state representative whose aide gave me all the information I needed about the State Board of Education. Once I found out I had the State Board of Education policy on my side, I didn't ask the school, I politely informed them of what decision we had made and asked their help to make it a smooth transistion for her.

So basically, the school has to cooperate with me whether they want to or not. Luckily they are cooperating beautifully with us(at least as good as you can get, anyway!)

I've found when you have policy on your side, and you make a decision like this, they will hopefully cooperate with you. I'm pretty sure everyone realizes the child is adversely affected if they don't and no one wants that.

Start researching, knowledge is power. Don't think you don't have any influence in how things ultimately will work out.

And just to throw this out there...do you have any other options for school for your child? I mean, is there a GT school or a private school in your area, or could you consider homeschooling?

Even if you ultimately decide not to avail yourself of these options, just knowing that you HAVE other options can really help you to feel like you're on solid ground and not at the mercy of the school. And when you feel less helpless, you tend to make better, stronger decisions. It empowers you to stand up for your child with more conviction and less fear.

Awareness of other educational options is another form of knowledge, and knowledge IS power, as 'Neato rightly noted!