DS5 currently is in traditional kindergarten. Since the Christmas break, DS has been saying that he doesn't want to go to school or making up excuses why he shouldn't have to go to school. He asked if he could just stay home and play since school is boring. I've had multiple conversations with the teacher. She has told me that she is constrained by the school district's curriculum alignment program (i.e. every kindergarten class needs to be working on the same stuff at the same time) and that we need to be sure that DS hasn't skipped any necessary steps in his reading progression (BTW, neither the teacher nor I have seen any issues with his reading). He is reading slightly above grade level (We're talking Frog and Toad, not Harry Potter) but does not seem to be blazing away. DS has been complaining since October that he wants to do reading at school. The teacher says that he is doing reading work at school but he just doesn't recognize it as such. They switched to a "daily five" curriculum so there is less emphasis on traditional reading groups and more emphasis on writing and comprehension. He is able to do second grade math -- his older sister sometimes gets him to do this for "fun" -- but he doesn't seem to have any interest in it when she is not "playing" with him. Earlier in the year, the teacher gave him some different math but that seems to have stopped. The teacher acknowledges that she is not doing a good job with her higher level kids but nothing seems to change. DS also doesn't seem to have any buddies in his class. His two best friends are in another class and he spends recess with them. Bottom line -- DS can't find anything positive to say about school except his time with his buddies at recess.
I have not talked with the principal. The principal is new and, by all accounts, is not willing to do anything even slightly out of the norm. Everything is strictly by the book with her. Multiple people have told me that they have tried to talk to her on a variety of issues but she responds that she is unwilling to tackle anything new in her first year. I get the impression that she is overwhelmed by her new position and afraid to take risks.
DS recently tested into our school's gt program for first grade. All of his Cogat and NNAT scores were in 97th-98th percentile. We have not had individual testing done on him but both of his sisters are in the HG range. I don't want to overanalyze the testing since it seems pretty limited. He performed more consistently than his sisters but both sisters ceilinged a portion of the test and he didn't. When we found out that he tested into the gt program, he initially seemed happy. Since he found out that none of his friends tested into the program, he is saying that he doesn't want to do it. I think that he needs to be in the gt class and plan to accept the slot despite his lack of enthusiasm.
Am I doing the right thing by putting him in the gt class against his will? What should I do for the rest of this year?
