Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion I need resources/financial help!

My son's teacher told me today that while he's happy to accelerate my son, that other teachers in our district will not do it because they refuse to do it with other gifted kids.

There is a gifted school about 25 minutes away (Menlo Park Academy - it's tuition free!), where my ds's psychologist thinks he will thrive.

The problem? I'm a single mom/full time student. My van is almost 6 years old. I can't afford the gas/lunch every day to get him there and home, and what happens when my vehicle breaks down? I feel like I'm failing my son, but I don't have any other options that I can see right now.

Are there grants or something available that I could tap into to deal with these transportation related expenses?

I have an application in to DYS, it should be reviewed starting November 1st, so I won't know until the end of November.

Any help or guidance?

Thanks!

Hi Gypsy,

How old is your son? Where are you located?

Looking on their website, I see they have a FAQ question about transportation.

But, thinking off the top of my head:

Starting when I was 12, I used public transport to get around which greatly helped my mom. A monthly pass for students is still very reasonable in most locales.

A number of privates around here have vanpools and the parents share on doing a carpool with the kids. I've also heard of kids carpooling with groups they found on carpoling websites - they do have to walk to a place of work or are picked/dropped at the school..

You can get him a cheap cell phone plan for him for your piece of mind, too...

This is MINOR obstacle, really.

I'd get him into MP then ask them for suggestions on what to do as well as use your ingenuity.

Good luck!!!

Call the school and talk to the admission's coordinator openly about your pyschologist's opinion that Menlo Park would be helpful to your son and about the challenges you are facing, see what ideas they have.

On the lunches, it sounds like the current school has a free or reduced lunch option but that is not available at the new one? The new school is public too, they must have experienced the need for lunch assistance before.

You may have a local food bank, they will often provide free bread/peanut butter, milk you can pack in a thermos, etc, or just general food supplies that will lower your other food costs enabling you to balance out the cost of lunches. Or you may qualify for food stamps or other food assistance, in most states you can call 2-1-1 to see what you are eligible for.

Polly

Thanks!

My son will be 7 in February, much too young to be unsupervised.

We are not in one of the districts that buses to MP. I just did a bus route search through Google maps just out of curiosity but it would have him walking in bad neighborhoods to make transfers. Not something I'm comfortable even with a teenager doing.

We are going on a tour of MP November 8th. I'll talk to them about my concerns then. I didn't think there could be other families in the area. That would be very helpful!

I do already receive food stamps, but not much. My kids get free lunches at the school they currently attend, and they have multiple allergies so a lot of stuff we get from the food banks they can't eat - just me. MP does not offer lunches on site, everyone has to bring a lunch. In just gas/food it's about $200/month for me to send him to MP. That's only if my van doesn't break down, and if it does he'd have to go back to our local public school - unless I can find families to carpool with.

You are doing a great job here. As you've arranged, take a look at the school and decide if it "feels" right. (although with Silvia Rimm as part of the guidance dept, I'm fairly certain that it will be fabulous). First things first.

You'll hear from DYS soon enough.

I think Ohio will give you "transportation reimbursement" if they won't bus your child to the school he/she attends. It isn't much $$ at all (maybe $100-$200 a year) but it's a start. You don't want to forgo a few hundred for the cost of a stamp. The check comes at the END of the year. Call your local school transportation department for details.

"As routing and scheduling for each school year is done, it may be determined that some students are impractical to transport. They could be because there are not enough students to justify a whole bus route, it is not cost effective to adjust a route for a single student or the route does not meet state time allowances. Ohio law allows a Board of Education to declare transportation impractical under these conditions.

When this happens, parents/guardians are eligible to receive money to help cover the cost of transporting their children to school. This is a state program that provides reimbursement only when both of these criteria are met: 1) the student is eligible for transportation but is deemed impractical to transport by CPS, and 2) the student lives one mile or more from the school.

The amount of this payment is set annually by the Ohio Department of Education, near the end of the school year (usually in May). The payment rate for 2010-2011 was $199.34 per student."

Ugh. This reasoning makes me crazy. I know you would prefer to switch schools, but you may need to work on two fronts at once. Have you asked your school if they have the IOWA acceleration scale? It has been a helpful tool for a lot of posters and their schools when they are discussing grade skipping. I understand it is a "points system" type questionnaire. I think it makes the process more rational and "normal".


I also wanted to ask about the 25 min commute to Menlo Park. That's a haul. Do you have the time? Would your other child commute as well? Could you eventually move closer to the school so you are the one commuting (alone) and the kids don't have to be in the car for so long?

FInally, Just a thought, I currently literally pay someone to take my child to school. It's kind of like a carpool, but I don't ever drive. The other family is driving in that direction anyway, so they are happy to defray their costs and I'm thrilled with my extra time. I'm not sure how that would play out in your situation, but just so you know another variation on the theme.

Excellent advice from the others. Why don't you additionally think about getting a part-time job?