We are trying for a grade skip for my DD7 this next year from 1st to 3rd. In our school district the principal decides. We have a meeting set up with the committee (principal, gifted coordinator and her current teacher for both 1st and 2nd, she splits a day) for Wednesday. We heard the principal is extremely anti-skip and wants DD7 to be accomodated in just the 2nd grade classroom next year so we asked to meet with her alone. We will be meeting with her tomorrow and then the group the following day. Please send good vibes our way. Any advice that you feel will help us "seal the deal" would be welcome.

I am sure the reason he wants her to "accommodate in second" is because third is just practice the test. I'd stay in second and skip third. Second is easier to work around. Third is the roughest grade in school (in most schools) and it can be really boring. She could actually get ahead and miss all that "test dribble" by skipping third.

Kids in our school - especially the bright ones - were so stressed out in third that they were having nightmares and stomach problems. I was so glad when she completed that grade.

If a full skip is out of the question you could try for a partial skip, it sounds like you may already be doing that. Are your DD's teachers on your side?
If your P still insist on in class accomodations, make sure he gives you a spefic detailed plan. Don't settle for vague answers!Insist on a detailed plan of action! Always write down your questions before the meeting and take notes while you are there. Good luck and lots of good vibes coming your way!

Sending good vibes your way.

Good luck! I hope you get what you want. I suppose for the meeting with the principal, you could find out her reasons against a skip, and then respond to them when you hear them. In general, it seems that a skip would be easier for a school, especially if one skip would be enough to challenge a child (no extra work for the teachers then).

If your principal is making the decision, how objective will this be? What criteria does he use? How has he used this in the past? I would strongly question them if they do not use the Iowa Accleration worksheets to assess acceleration. What you don't want is one man's personal opinion setting policy.

The principal has not ever done a grade skip before so there is no set precedence. DD had testing done in the school and privately and she tests HG. She has also taken end of year 2nd grade testing recently, I haven't been given the results yet. Our school also does the SAT10 testing in 1st and DD scored a 97%. I mentioned the IAS manual to principal and staff, but no one had heard of it. DD would meet the criteria for acceleration. Unfortunately, in our district, one of the top ten largest in the country, there is no written criteria, just the decision being made by the principal. I am just hoping that we can "squeak" enough and get what we feel is best for our daugher. I think the principal feels like she did not make a good decision letting DD split a 1/2 day in 1st and 2nd because it led to us wanting more so now she doesn't even want to do that. I'm just praying for a change of heart tomorrow and permission to skip 2nd which would allow her to continue on with her 2nd grade peers she made this year. Thanks for all the good vibes.

Decide by actually meeting and knowing the teachers. I have seen a trend of the best teachers opting for second grade. Once they go through basic training (third grade), they go to the second grade where they can actually teach. For a giftie, the teacher counts the most. If you get a strict, by the book teacher three grade levels higher, it is worse than a teacher who allows your child to accelerate at a lower grade level.

I have had to move my daughter based on philosophy. Gifties are so sensitive to rigid teaching.

And no - principals usually don't get it. Their goal is passing the tests.

I agree 100%

Well I will need to wait longer to hear the outcome. Someone we had our wires crossed and the meetings were not this Tuesday and Wednesday, but rather next week. It sure puts us very close to the end of school for a plan so must admit am very nervous about that.

Ellipses - the funny thing about this whole thing is we really like her 2nd grade teacher now, who would be her 2nd grade teacher next year. Unfortunately, the teacher has told us that she is not able/willing to differentiate much for her so the year would just be a repeat of what she already did in her class this year. The 3rd grade teacher we don't know much about, but her personality looks like it leaves to be desired. Maybe we just got a bad read on her. The reality though is this 3rd grade teacher will be her teacher when she takes 3rd no matter when it is if she attends the same school and we keep her in the gifted program because she is all there is. I hope next week to have some answers finally.

So True!
Even though the 2nd teacher is 'nice' if she isn't going to do any more for your DD, then why should you accept that?
Are there anyother teachers availible? Nearby districts you can look at? One year of private school or homeschooling?

So many decisions!

I'd try to find the 'school motto' then what ever objections he raises, you say, 'Yes, but accorting to '-insert school motto here-' what's best for the child is....'

You are all on the same team, the 'what's best for the child team!'

Love and Good Luck,
Grinity

WOW! I have not heard this stated as a universal reality. Interesting!

Grinity - I like the motto idea.

The difficult part is that the gifted kids are really sensitive to the pressure and worry the most. The kids who should worry - don't.

This is really tough on gifties. They are sensitive anyway and are more likely to grasp the big picture and the anxiety around them. My daughter ended up making a perfect score, but I really disliked the pressure put on them from Principals (mostly).

My husband and I met with the principal today. She really didn't seem so scary after all. I must say, she really seemed on board and very open to the idea of a grade skip. I left her with a few printouts from different websites and the Iowa Accelerated Scale Manual to look at. We are meeting again tomorrow after school with the gifted specialist and my daughter's current teachers from both 1st and 2nd grade to make a decision. I am beginning to think we may get the greenlight for a grade skip.

Pleased to hear that the first meeting went well and keep us updated

Great news DorothyS! Good luck!

I'm so excited. We got the go ahead from the committee today for my DD7's skip to 3rd. She will be in a 3rd grade gifted/high achiever mix with a gifted teacher all day. This is the first time our school has ever done a grade skip so I feel a huge sense of relief as I was very worried about what our plan would be if they did not agree to the grade skip. Now that that worry is over, I'll start with worrying how the grade skip will go.

A lot of this stress is presumably created by the schools. My DS9 is taking standardized tests for the first (hopefully last!) time this week/next week. The message from the school was "We'll be doing these tests on these dates. Make sure your child gets enough sleep and has a good breakfast. No absences if possible please."

My son's perspective is that they're pretty easy. I don't get any pressure-related vibes at all.

Val

Yay! What a result I know the feeling, one worry is always quickly replaced with another - but take some time out to enjoy the success. When will the skip take place? We will all be here to support you and I know that a lot of people here have been through grade skips and will have plenty of advice.