Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Timeline of subject acceleration?

There is no gifted program at all in our district. So, the class moves fairly slowly. DS needs something radically different. (Mostly, I'm probably saying what others have said on this thread or elsewhere, but I'll continue.) There just is no grade where DS fits.

In a system, such as our district, which likes to subject accelerate kids into higher grade level classes that are working at an average pace, DS's pace of learning means that he will always be bored. It seems like we spend time advocating so that the school sees that he needs something harder, then they evaluate him, come up with a program, and by the time it is implemented he has moved to a new place. So, something more fluid and responsive would certainly be wonderful.

To elaborate we knew DS had mastered the academic goals of K before he began, but the district would not consider a skip and we felt it would still be "fun" for him. Turns out they just really had no idea where DS was at. The most instruction he got that year was the second semester when there was a student teacher. His teacher gave him 5 min a day, presenting grade 3 and 4 material. They both loved it. He could master it, make inferences, apply it to new situations and then she would figure out where they could go the next day. She was also fantastic at letting him run when he wanted to run. ( i.e. If he wanted to change a class assignment to make it more interesting/difficult, she was all for it.)

Lots of planning and a skip for this past year, which then placed him in a grade where he was still an academic outlier. He could have gone up another grade or two up for harder work in math, which would have been presented at a typical pace, or work by himself in his class. We chose the latter, but it was neither adequate nor ideal.

Having volunteered in the classroom both years, it was easy to see the vast range of ability within DS's classes and I was struck by the amount of time many kids need to learn concepts DS never had to learn, but just intuited from reading, conversations, etc..

As we plan for next year, there are no ready solutions, but we are choosing a school with smaller classes where they have had a EG or PG student recently and seem to be more familiar with potential needs/ideas for accommodations.

Best wishes on your project!