Re: Grade Acceleration K-1-2
spaghetti
01/26/25 01:14 PM
My dd (22 now) had similar experience. Prior to enrollment in K, the teachers who knew her from when she tagged along with older brother, recommended advancement. Principal said no worries, skipping never needs to happen. However, on enrollment, they had her visit the classroom and all thought it a great fit. We reluctantly agreed after negotiation.
And..... it was the right decision. As she grew, we would look at her age grade peers and realize it would have been a poor fit socially and academically. Never regretted it. (til drinking age, but that's another story)
What I'd recommend is to have him visit the first grade for one or two classes over the period of 2 weeks. Let them all give it a try to see if it's a good fit and what issues there might be. Now is the time that you have the most leverage for a successful placement. Is there a neighbor who is not a good fit? You might be able to keep them in different circles. Some math concepts he doesn't quite get? You might be able to see the curriculum and pre-teach for success in 1st grade. Now is the time to ask. Regarding the testing for GT, I'd negotiate that no matter how he does on that testing, he will be admitted to the GT programming.
My little one started to tank again in 3rd grade emotionally from boredom. So needed to skip to 5th (preplanned to be temporary) when the real GT testing happens. First timed test. Was really enjoying the test and no clue about needing to perform. Failed it miserably, but they put her in GT anyway (til we undid the skip and the middle school tried to take her out but that's another story). It's all in the negotiations.
