Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Elementary School Possible Grade Skip to Kinder? - LONG!

I stumbled upon a little parochial school that said they would meet with me about the possibility of placing dd(4 in July) in Kinder. They admited occassionally admitting kids with Sept 2 or Sept 3 bdays; state cut-off is Sept 1st, so this would be a big stretch for them, but at least they're willing to talk about it. (The funny thing is I'm feeling a little underwhelmed by this, b/c I think dd'd be quite happy in 1st grade with pullouts, but that's not going to happen around here and it's a half-day K program, which I think will work out quite nicely.)

One concern they specifically mentioned a few times is that schools around here don't accomodate (note to JJsMOM: this is the second time I've heard this from a school official around here: maybe my county is stricter than yours?), and kids would have to end up repeating Kinder. To which I have several responses:
1 -- We're probably leaving in a year (we're in a military town, so they're used to that), and who knows where we'll end up next. They might accomodate, or there might be a foreign language immersion school, or, or... So, best not worry about what we can't foresee.
2 -- She'll be eligible for K12, which allows acceleration, right?
3 -- We can always homeschool.

I don't have any standardized assessments, and I don't have a particular desire to get dd tested at this point in time. The school didn't mention that they needed any, but I know it can't hurt. Would it make sense to give her a kindergarten entrance and/or exit exam? Would pulling something off the web carry any weight?

I've found a lot of articles about acceleration, but haven't seen any specifically regarding the younger crowd. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Of course, I'll include work samples. I was also thinking of including some anecdotes of snippets of conversations we have or examples of her pretend play. Do you think that would be helpful? I'm just thinking about how worksheets can easily be written off as you being "one of those parents," but the stuff she does spontaneously can't be forced out of a kid. Also, I think I need to make the case that not only would placement in kindergarten be appropriate, but placement in preschool would be *in*appropriate.

Finally, I was thinking of bringing them the packet BEFORE our meeting, so they can have time to review and digest it. Does that make sense? Or is it better to meet, and then ask for a follow-up after they've reviewed everything?

What am I missing?

Thanks! (Ugh... I'm feeling frustrated about all the strategy/planning/work behind what really should be a no-brainer. BUT I'm thankful for the opportunity.)

What are you missing??? To remember to breathe!!!

And they all say that they don't accomodate, but there are ways around it, I'm sure. What county are you in (I can't remember if you mentioned that ever)?

Oh, and you are right... you need to prove the case that pre-K would be inappropriate just as much as you need to prove that K is appropriate. That was my biggest fight b/c DS is a boy, which automatically gave him the immature stigma.

In a logical world, it would make more sense to 'drop of the packet first' - but in this particular world we live in, I'd guess you'll get farther with the 'meeting-thinking-follow up' model. I think that is because once they've met you and have the idea that you are a caring lovely person, they will have more energy to look at the materials with some thought and imagination, but before they meet you, the packet will just look like some yuckky chore.

I've done both, and even when I've been super organized and dropped of the materials in advance, they haven't been read. Or course you could meet that one logical, organized, imaginative, efficient person in your local world. But those people specifically request that you drop the materials off in advance so that they can 'be prepared' - LOL!

Love and More Love,
Grinity

I would read the Iowa Acceleration Scale Manual: A Guide for Whole-Grade Acceleration

Here's a review of the book -
http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10053.aspx

I believe they are in their 3rd edition, but I saw Amazon had it in the 2nd.

There is a chapter on early admission.

Best Wishes,
Grinity

JJsMOM - Sent you a PM. BTW, I know you mentioned it, but I can't remember, and I can't find it -- what's your ds's situation?

Grinity - That makes perfect sense, thanks!

we are also trying for a grade skip into k. it is like beating my head against a brick wall sometimes....but we are pushing forward. i think anything you can gather before a meeting is great- any testing, any work samples, books she has read, etc. i did NOT bring in worksheets for the same reason you said...i did not want it to appear like i was hothousing him (which i am not) and so i brought things he had done on his own- stories he had written, summaries of books he had read, several books he had just finished, i video taped him reading one of them, and a copy of his educational and intelligence testing. the things i brought in WOW'd the principal. she said she was not a proponent of grade skipping and was set to tell us that, until we showed her what he was doing....then she wanted to put him in first grade! lol. socially he really can't go above k, so that is what she is fighting with us for. ((i would personally just bring the samples with me on the day of the meeting and be prepared to leave them there. that way if they have any questions about what you brought you will be there to address them, instead of them making assumptions. i have a feeling if i would have dropped of my son's work samples off first they would have assumed he had help...but since i was in the room when they saw them for the first time, i was able to talk about when he wrote it and answer questions about things he could do on his own. our principal asked to follow up with us after our initial meeting....i liked that.....bc then she had our work samples and our arguments AND then went away to ask advice and ponder our evidence.))

i did not find a ton about little kid acceleration but i did read a nation deceived and the iowa acceleration scale. there where things that applied to my child in both books. basically what i picked up was that k was a good time for a jump for the right kid and that acceleration can be a positive experience for a child. there are also a few articles i was able to find online by googling things like early admission to kindergarten.

i understand what you say about first....academically my son would do better there as well....but i am willing to send him just one year ahead to k IF they make accommodations in the class. they will do this if i can manage to get him an iep...which i am working on(it is a battle). if for some reason they would allow him to skip to k, but with no accommodations...so he would then spend the entire day relearning the alphabet (and he just now walked past me with a 2nd grade chapter book in his hands he devoured in about an hour)...i would not do it. i'd homeschool him. here if you homeschool for k, you have to homeschool for first. if you try to put them in school after homeschooling k, they make the child repeat k. so it is a 2 year commitment on my part. i am a teacher by trade...so it would not be completely out of my element...but i am not trained to teach gifted children and really am unsure of how to meet his needs.

i agree that the process is frustrating.....but like you i am also thankful for the opportunity. i kind of feel like it is my duty to fight for him. i know in my heart that the thing i can NOT do is just wait a year until he meets the k cut off, and then send him to school like a typical kid. that would be a great disservice to him. he is far from typical. i have a feeling this will end with me in the superintendent's office. lol....but i have promised myself that if i am homeschooling him next year....it will be because i ran out of people to appeal to.

good luck!

Long story short... he has a December birthday. We pushed for early entrance for pre-k/K at the public and private level without success (since he was 3). We suffered through pre-K during the 08-09 school year, after just giving up. He made it a week in K this year before his teacher realized he needed to be in 1st (she called me about it). They tested him. He placed well into 2nd (3-4th grade reading level) and was moved into 1st before the first 9 weeks was over. They wanted him to start Target (ALP) right away, but it would've put him with second graders, and I felt we needed just one step at a time. So he began that in January. It's been amazing for us. He's MG/HG, I would say. We had some boredom issues, and he could've been pulled out for some 2nd grade subjects, but his teachers were good about recognizing his boredom and keeping him challenged.

This year he will begin 2nd at a new school (we moved within the county). I just hope the school is as receptive to him as the former school was.

In reference to the possibly moving at the end of the year and probably to another state (I'm assuming) your plan to accelerate her and worry about it all next year might benefit you. Lots of states have rules set up for acceleration through the private schools from the same state and not accepting this unless they have finished 1st grade in the private sector. But the loophole is finishing kindergarten in the private sector in another state. For some reason they allow them to enter in 1st grade and not repeat kindergarten regardless if they were in public or private. So if you do move to one of these states your DD will be allowed into 1st grade with no problem.

Crossing my fingers for you. It does sound promising that the school will at least consider it, especially since your daughter will just turn 4 this month. Most schools wouldn't even give you the opportunity to prove anything.

K'sMom -- Great point -- that is a plus. And, I do feel thankful for the meeting. You should have heard me squeak "July" when they asked when DD's birthday is...

M2M -- Thanks for sharing your experiences. I hope everything works out with your ds. I doubt they can do much accomodation for DD -- this li'l school ends at K. But hopefully that's balanced out by the fact that it's just a half-day program, so she will have lots of time to go beyond the school curriculum if she feels like it, and hopefully not TOO much time to endure repetition. And she can definitely use the writing practice!

I feel like I have a plan now: get my hands on the Iowa Scale, found the Georgia Kindergarten exit assessment (not called that), will hold off giving the package til I meet them (makes SOO much sense now that I think about it).

Thanks for everyone's help!