Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Would you test further?

We always hand-picked every teacher DS has had. Luckily, there was always at least one good option. Not every one is going to be that lucky!

How was it that you were able to handpick the teachers, acs? Were the school adminstrators supportive or resistant? What obstacles did you have to overcome the first time you wanted to pick your child's teacher?

I'd love to know your secrets in case I need to pick a teacher in the future!

Thanks!

Our district accepts teacher requests. There is a form in the office to fill out and it just needs to be turned in by a certain date. So it is no big deal. Most parents don't request (maybe 5 out of the 100 kids request) so those of us who do request get who we want. I am sure that in many more affluent districts most parents would request and it might be very hard to meet everyone's desires, but that is not our demographic.

I would often observe teachers and then ask DS's current teacher who she recommends as a good fit for DS.

I'm not sure if this helps. I guess we've been lucky to have an accomodating district.

Hmm, yes. In our district, there's no form. It's a special request to the principal.

Bummer. I was hoping you had some secret mojo I could borrow!

In our school the students' current teachers place the kids into the next year's classes. The teachers have an hour long meeting where it is decided. So I think that in our case, the other route is to make sure that your child's current teacher knows what you want. They can then make sure it happens.

I'm amazed at how transparent the process is for you. I'm guessing there's some sort of meeting--or they just draw kids names out of a hat!--but I went to the PTA meetings, and I still have no real sense of what the process entails.

Grumble, grumble...

Ah, I volunteered in DS's classroom and typed up the lists of which kid was going where the day after the teacher meeting. I got to see exactly where each kid was going and why. That took the mystery out of the process.

It truly helps to be in a poor district where parent volunteers are few and far between. I was there one morning a week for 6 years and they got pretty used to me and treated me like one of the teachers.

When I volunteered in DS6's class, I put dimes in film containers and made photocopies of workbook pages in the office. Nothing at all useful to me, though hopefully it did actually help the class run better.

Grumble, grumble some more...

Hi Jamie --

Ok, here're my thoughts on your situation.

First, don't rule out school just because of a grade skip! I was grade skipped one year and I turned out fine. In fact, I always kind of liked the fact I was grade skipped. Both my older sister and I were grade-skipped one year (we both went from first to third) with no major issues.

Of course, homeschooling might be *exactly* what your dds would thrive on, if you have the time/ability/inclination to do it. But if you don't, don't fret -- a grade skip or two really isn't the end of the world. :-)

Now, on the two dds in the same grade ... I'd hesitate to do it. If I were you, I'd be more worried of the older one being in the younger one's shadow -- she may wonder (now or later) why she wasn't skipped too, given that she's clearly above grade level and very, very bright. On the other hand, they might love it and enjoy being in one another's company.

I'd suggest dropping in a few hints here and there and trying to ferret out their opinions without actually proposing the idea. Does that make sense? Just to see where they sit. One such hint to ds and he was chomping at the bit to be a third-grader -- how optimistic! I was surprised at not bothered he was by the thought.

As for the school that does not skip ... well, the road of advocacy is long and twisted. I've detailed more on this board about my accommodation woes than on the other board, but suffice it to say that I've been working with the school since November and they're *finally* starting to "get" it. They said they couldn't work individual with ds at his level, and I responded that this is why we're looking at a full grade skip -- less work for the school. It's a good point that may not go unnoticed.

Stick around! So glad you decided to come check this board out.

ACS - You've gotten to hand pick every teacher? That in itself is HUGE! Our school has a very strict no requesting a teacher policy. And our school has really heavy parent involvement. I'm sure at least half the parents would request if they allowed that. If we could actually pick our teachers every year, life may be much different for us!

I've noticed that in 2nd grade for instance, right now there is a really stellar teacher and a really terrible teacher. If your child is at all high energy or has any sort of problem, they get the great teacher. All the "go with the flow" kids get the terrible teacher. DS is really not a behavoiral problem at all (but it's tempting to ask him to be one). And they don't cluster the GT kids.