Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion I need to stop borrowing trouble but I can't seem

to get the thought/worry out of my head now that it has occurred to me. Okay, I am in a top school within a high-performing school district within a highly ranked state. I have succcessfully secured subject acceleration for DS9 twice already so this year he is in a GT Pre-Algebra program created for a very selected group of 5th graders (less than 0.2% of 5th graders)in our school district. It's not quite at his readiness level but it was DS' choice and the best option considering all the issues. So far so good.

The problem is that he is a 4th grader. This means that he will be a pioneer next year and the only kid in his position. All the other kids in the program will be in middle school as 6th graders next year and therefore able to take GT Algebra I in a regular classroom setting with 7th graders. Assuming that there is funding next year, DS will have the same set-up (once a week one-on-one math teacher and independent work the other four days so already not ideal) as this year except he will be the only kid in the system doing GT Algebra I this way.

Okay, I am freaking a little because it has now been brought to my attention that funding is not a given and they have not had to do this before for GT Algebra I.

I am also finding it a bit depressing that after my decision to hold DS back (he already completed ALEKS Pre-Algebra over a few weeks this past summer) partly so that he would have company still landed him in the same lonely place. I just can't believe that there are no other 4th graders in his position in such a huge school district. The funny thing is that by the time he gets to 9th grade, there should be a few other 9th graders taking calculus since there are a few of them doing that now. Apparently, a few kids manage to accelerate a year between middle school and high school, probably through summer programs like CTY. DS is not anywhere near a prodigy and he is really more of a verbal kid anyway so math is not his strongest area. Where are the other kids?!!

I guess I want the normal classroom experience for DS. I am mourning the realization that there will be maybe one normal year in middle school and maybe two normal years in high school as far as math is concerned. I am worry that perhaps he would be better off in one of the top private prep schools in our area that span K-12, which would make subject accleration easier.

It is just depressing that the best that you can do is still not that great. I am remembering all the minor difficulties that accompany DS' subject accelerations like missing parts of recess and getting in trouble because he wasn't there to pick up homework. Okay, I am just whining but everything looks gloomy today.

It doesn't sound like you are on the verge of making the jump to the K-12 private prep school, but I would advise some caution before you do so. You would think that would be a good environment for acceleration, but in our case it has actually been terrible. What seems like such a good idea and simple to execute has been blocked at every turn by the administration in our case. I have had to be a complete Tiger Mom to get the tiniest accomodations... Of course, your private option may be totally different. But don't just take the admissions people's word for it if you look into a change -- talk to parents of kids who have been allowed to accelerate. If they can't produce 'em to talk to, then they don't have the goods. So... the grass seems greener in the K-12 private world, but it may not be.

I know what you mean about the best not being good enough. We've got a little of that going on here, even though DS10's school just accelerated him at the quarter break and he's now in middle school reading, writing and social studies (6th grade) as well as his 7th grade math class, while staying with his 5th grade class for specials and science, just to keep an anchor at the elementary school for a while longer. I still feel like he should be higher in math, because we basically lost last year. It's hard to know if you're getting what you should, when you have to spend time appreciating what you do get.

Can they bus him to the middle school for math? They do this all the time in our district. Math is scheduled as the first course of the day, and since the elementary, middle and high school start times are staggered, he would attend the middle school math class and return to elementary just as the school day is starting. Same type of arrangement once he reaches high school math (then college math if he runs out of high school math - our HS has three 4 year colleges within a mile, but might not work if there aren't nearby colleges).

You are absolutely right, of course. At the moment, I am somewhat swayed by colleagues telling me that DS needs to be at one of these $20k - $25k a year private schools. The other problem is that if I send him, then I feel like I need to send his twin and I have another child with special needs. Anyhow, I would not consider sending him until middle school as that is the most common time for kids to transition to these schools. The kids who start in these pricey private schools in K or early elementary don't tend to be as bright as the ones who transition in for middle school

Yeah, and I actually do appreaciate what he has gotten. I don't really know whether we made the right decision in not pursuing math at DS' readiness level, but I felt the decision should be DS' and he felt that he could benefit by going deeper and have a more solid foundation for all the other claseses that follow.

The middle schools are in a sense the weak links in our school system. Except for the special mdidle schools, I actually would not be comfortable sending DS into that environment. The school system does not appear to have busing in place as an acceleration option. Interstingly, at one point, I thought about the possibility of sending him to the nearby high school for Algebra I, but that would not have worked as well because there is a substantial difference between regualr Algebra I and GT Algebra I and GT Algebra isn't available in high school since you would be in the slow tract if you didn't take Algebra I until 9th grade.

If school start times are staggered, getting him bused to the middle school should be easy - he just gets on the middle school bus instead of the elementary school bus. I don't know your school district, so I don't know if there would be issues getting him from the middle school to elementary after the class is finished. If you or someone else could drive him, that might be an option. If there is a lack of funding for the math, taking the morning bus to the MS, then sending a district van/car to transport him may be cheaper than the one-on-one teacher option.

As for the environment, if you had considered sending him to a high school, that would be more of a worry to me than sending him into a middle school GT class. By and large, middle school GT kids are good kids interested in academic pursuits.

As for private school, there are lots of them around here. About 30 to 40 percent of kids in our district and the neighboring districts attend private school. It is interesting to note that these three districts are always among the best in the state - that is, good private schools seem to exist in the very districts where kids don't really need that option to get a good education. I just checked the math offerings of the school I attended (private, all girls). They offer the same course sequence as the public school - goes through Linear Algebra and they both offer statistics (though public offers AP Stats, private is a one semester course). Most of the private schools around here are great, but this one has the highest average SAT scores, and they don't offer anything above and beyond what the public school offers. Not worth the expense for just the math offerings. You could even hire a private driver to transport him from MS to elementary, and that would be a lot cheaper.

My first thought is lack of parental advocacy combined with teacher awareness.

Maybe there are G kids who are bored and under achieving so they are not being recognized as enrichment-ready. On the other hand, maybe there are the high achieving kids whose parents think "oh, everything is ok - she's getting all As" so they don't advocate for enrichment.

Who knows. You mentioned that the pre-algebra program was your DS's choice, so I think it's a good place for now. If he wants to be there he's more likely to get the most out of it.

He sounds like my DD9/Gr5 She's not a prodigy either and has very strong language skills (early reader, etc), but she loves math too.

I wouldn't worry as much about the normal classroom experience (although it is important and a good thing to have) because I think if there's a curriculum mismatch it can stressful for the student regardless of the classroom experience.

Fyi, my DD9 was a pioneer as well - she was in a pilot program in grade 3/age 7 for a junior math enrichment program. She loved it. Unfortunately the program was cut the following year due to funding, so she had to wait for grade 5 when the regular version of the program began.

I don't know how big your district is, but for sake of comparison, I don't think there would be any 4th graders at all in my district (which serves probably 150,000) doing this. Also, I did not know of any 9th graders taking calculus in my extremely high-rated high school (this was, of course, many years ago and these days kids may advance more at young ages). So, I don't know, but your measuring stick could be off?