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    Joined: Oct 2013
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    Just a couple thoughts...

    1. does the private school offer scholarships, many do:-)
    2. would the gifted program at your school really solve most of your problems? (maybe you are not missing much!)
    3. maybe you can make contact with local homeschooling group/s and figure out how your DS might fit in, maybe that would might help your DH get his head around it.
    4. is online school an option from your school district? (not sure if this is an improvement or not but worth investigating... no stone unturned!)

    Best of luck.

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    Melessa Offline OP
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    Wow- thanks for all the thoughts, ideas, advice. Everyone's experience is different, and it is great to hear it all!

    The private school was recommended by the tester and using a curriculum developed by the CFGE. It's 10 mins away. It does say there are a limited amount of financial aid- it's a new school. Yet, it feels right. One other thought about this school; I thought maybe we could use it as fall back if homeschool wasn't a good fit.



    I could increase my work hours, but my husband travels. This would mean I would have to work all weekend- not great for family time or anytime with my husband. Neither dh or I really want to do this. (But I will if I have to.)

    By socially, I meant making friendships with the other kids. Ds is a very social child, but is really struggling at school. Sure he talks to classmates, but is not "friends" with any of them. (We are working with a counselor to help him.)

    I agree that this "gt" program is probably NOT enough, but I agreed if ds got in; we would try it until the end of the year.

    As far as homeschool, to avoid feeling trapped in this district, I have been research all I can about homeschool in my area. There appears to be a great homeschool group in my town. We live in a metropolitan area, and there seems to be lots of resources. I really like the idea of the flexibility and ability to let ds explore other things once his assignment is completed. I also see him struggle with perfectionist qualities.

    To look into the reintegration back into school and how that works is a good thought. Any thoughts about how to gain information about this without telling the district we want to homeschool?

    MON-I am interested to hear your thoughts. I didn't get a chance to read your post before you deleted it.


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    Here where I live they do it like this...say you homeschool 9th grade with parent taught class and want to enroll tenth...they place the child in tenth grade English if at the end of the first 9 weeks the child is passing with a grade of (not sure if it is c or better or just passing with a d) the the 9th grade English class is placed on transcript. Obviously if you take the state virtual school online class for 9th grade English it just goes straight on your transcript (I assume there are several other online classes that are approved too.)

    This would go for other classes too...Spanish, math, history, etc.


    ...reading is pleasure, not just something teachers make you do in school.~B. Cleary
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    Oh to find this out here you google (name of district) pupil progression plan. Not sure if this term varies state by state but in FL that is the term to use...lengthy document but very interesting to read. Each district has to submit this document to the state.


    ...reading is pleasure, not just something teachers make you do in school.~B. Cleary
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    This is exactly what is wrong with the modern education system (IMO) - since when would it be wrong to persue knowledge for the sake of learning something that interests you?

    It's not education if the goal/outcome is solely test scores surely?

    We need to give our children what they need so that they can thrive and be all they are capable of being. If that means creating a relaxed and happy environment at home and within the community where they can learn to their hearts' content and form meaningful relationships with other people in a variety of contexts then that's what you need to do. It makes sense to me on every level...

    Even if the year doesn't work and your child goes back to school, what have you "lost"? even if your child needs to show mastery of whatever or re-do credits for whatever reason - you and they will have gained so much more than that one year of frustration and credits is worth.

    We (our children) here on this board have the advantage here in that they are capable of catching whatever they missed faster - and even if they weren't, as I always say to parents would it be the end of the world if little junior finished school a year later - worst case scenario being that the etire year is a write off and absolutely nothing is learnt? (of course world-wide studies on homeschool show that this is not the case... but I digress)



    Mom to 3 gorgeous boys: Aiden (8), Nathan (7) and Dylan (4)
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    Since the child is six there are surely less likely to be problems with accepting the home school year. If necessary they could do a trial in the appropriate year. If you accelerate a year or more there is likely to be a problem though and you may have trouble avoiding that.

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    Quote
    Ds is a very social child, but is really struggling at school. Sure he talks to classmates, but is not "friends" with any of them. (We are working with a counselor to help him.)

    What do you think the issue is here?

    I have seen some cases where HSing has not benefited the child's social growth. Mind you, school probably was not benefiting it either, but I don't think it is necessarily a panacea, and I do think it can be a way to sort of avoid the problem. (No one throw things at me. I also know some HSed kids who are completely socially adept, of course.)

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    Originally Posted by Val
    Here's problem with homeschooling for a year, learned the hard way at our house.

    Schools won't accept courses that aren't taught by accredited institutions. I taught algebra 2 to my son last year because we didn't like the online courses we found. When he went to the local high school this year, they wouldn't give him credit for the course or for another course he did with me. So now he's behind on credits. This sounds bad, but he it could have been much worse. His counselor initially told us that they might make him repeat algebra 2! Then there was a bit of a mixup, and in its midst, he just got enrolled in precalculus. We kept our mouths shut. I should add that what I taught was way more rigorous that the local high school's course.

    Local middle schools (public/private) have said the same thing about me teaching algebra to my daughter, and I'm only trying to persuade them to let her skip pre-algebra and just do their algebra course. In their minds, there is a procedure, and it must be followed. Anything off the path doesn't count.
    I already posted a cynical explanation of why they do this. But suppose they are acting in good faith and are reluctant to give credit because they want ensure that students properly learn the material. Is there documentation they will accept, for example a student notebook with completed assignments, supplemented by a proctored exam?

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    Originally Posted by Bostonian
    I already posted a cynical explanation of why they do this. But suppose they are acting in good faith and are reluctant to give credit because they want ensure that students properly learn the material. Is there documentation they will accept, for example a student notebook with completed assignments, supplemented by a proctored exam?

    Nope. I tried that, both with his public school and DD's private school. They refuse to even consider anything that doesn't have an accredited stamp on it.

    I ran I into a similar mindset problem when DS13 had skipped third grade. He wanted to do fifth grade science, and it wasn't allowed because the person running the school had decided that you couldn't possibly understand fifth grade science unless you had done everything in fourth grade science. The books all basically told the same story, but each grade level gave more detail and used more technical words. He just wanted to learn more details, but it was too bad.

    Unfortunately, our education system in general just don't get it on many levels.

    Last edited by Val; 02/04/14 08:58 AM.
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    Melessa, this is a tough spot to be in. Facing adversity in a child's education can bring families together or tear them apart. You and your DH may want to sit down and map out each of the possible strategies you see before you, and brainstorm on pros, cons, and possible outcomes. You may already be doing this... but I will elaborate a bit because many families read these forums who do not post and therefore these ideas may be of benefit to others.

    For example, one conversation starter may be diagramming options/outcomes such as:
    1. Appeal & stay in public: pros/cons......... what might this lead to... best case scenario... worst case scenario.
    2. Don't Appeal & stay in public: pros/cons.. what... best... worst.
    3. Homeschool: pros/cons...................... what... best... worst.
    4. Private gifted school: pros/cons............ what... best... worst.

    Gather all the information you can, and plan to speak frequently about difficult choices and their ongoing impacts. Your family may find that you need to be a source of strength for each other, as each person may have different risk-tolerance and sensitivities in facing ongoing educational dilemmas/roadblocks.

    As a family you may wish to discuss the options you are most comfortable with (those which help you feel most resilient versus stressed to the max and unable to handle the next curve ball life may toss at you). Determine which options will stay on the table for further discussion and consideration. Have you utilized the Davidson Guidebook resource: Advocating for Exceptionally Gifted Young People?

    I second the suggestion made by another poster to contact a local homeschool group in your area and talk to those parents. See what their experiences have been if/when homeschooled children entered the local public school system at some point. Also, do local homeschool children participate in intramurals, community park and rec sports, or other events which might include kids from the public schools?

    If you homeschooled for a bit and the local public school did not want to acknowledge your child's studies, might you have the opportunity at that point to enroll your child in the private gifted school? Would the private gifted school acknowledge home school learning? Would they administer placement tests or evaluate a portfolio? You may wish to tour the school, see if your son is interested in shadowing for a day, and apply for admissions, in order to learn more about the "fit" and how easy the school is to work with.

    Here's hoping that facing this adversity together strengthens your family.

    Originally Posted by Bostonian
    Originally Posted by Val
    Here's problem with homeschooling for a year, learned the hard way at our house.

    Schools won't accept courses that aren't taught by accredited institutions... In their minds, there is a procedure, and it must be followed. Anything off the path doesn't count.
    I already posted a cynical explanation of why they do this. But suppose they are acting in good faith and are reluctant to give credit because they want ensure that students properly learn the material. Is there documentation they will accept, for example a student notebook with completed assignments, supplemented by a proctored exam?
    Val, this is especially chilling because, if I understand correctly from other posts on the forum, you may be more qualified to teach math than many/most licensed math teachers at accredited institutions?

    Bostonian, I agree. Demonstrating knowledge by proficiency testing or essentially submitting a portfolio are respected and time-honored approaches. Given that Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) tests and other computer-adaptive tests are broadly in use by schools, some may say there is no legitimate reason or excuse for a receiving school to not provide an incoming student with some means of assessment, and place a student accordingly, regardless of prior learning environment. As an alternative to evaluating a portfolio or administering MAP tests or other computer-adaptive tests to determine placement, a school's end-of-term test for each subject could also be used for placement.

    Refusing to accept a students' accumulated body of knowledge simply because the student's learning environment was not accredited may be a case where practices may work against educating minds for intellectual independence. Censorship, one-size-fits-all-education, and in some cases accreditation and credentialing may tend to discredit fabulous paths of self-education while acknowledging a potentially narrow or limited path of prescribed learning dictated by those in power and control.

    There may be an emerging trend of schools wrestling power and control from parents. The larger the proportion of disengaged parents who are not supporting their child's education, the wider the door is opened for government schools to oversee and monitor parenting. Many districts offer parenting seminars, schools may record educational, demographic, and personal items into longitudinal data collection student information systems, and schools have the ability to monitor inside the home via school laptop video cam and microphone.

    It is my understanding that to maintain any semblance of parental authority into the future, parents may need to keep an eye on legislation, and be willing to contact their State and Federal representatives. Ensuring and expanding parental rights, including the right to home school, is key.

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