Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Dr. Suzy Carroll GT Advocate

dalwil, are you applying for the Davidson Young Scholars program? They provide an educational consultant for families of children who qualify.

Yes, Cathy A. I filled out an application for the Young Scholar Program and mailed it yesterday. I don't know exactly how they can help me. I'm just doing every thing possible to help my child. I also applied for him at the gifted program at C.W. Post, but it's just 3 hours every Saturday starting Sept. But, what's my child going to learn the rest of the week? My worst fear is to see him failing and losing interest in education altogether if I send him to the malfunctioning local school.

We decided to try whole grade acceleration to see if that would help our son. It's not perfect, but I think he is happier and more engaged with school now. Have you considered that option?

I asked the local school district if my son can skip first grade since he already studied 2nd grade curriculum in his previous Gifted School. The answer was No. They don't recommend acceleration for its negative impact on the child social development. They jumbed to this conclusion without even seeing my son, screening him or evaluating his individual needs.

Thank you for suggestion, though. At least you're giving me the chance to talk to somebody who actually "gets it" as shari put it in her comments earlier. It has been very frustrating lately trying communicate with those who call themselves "educators"

You might also consider homeschooling. It's not necessary for every child, but if your DS really does start to shut down and if the school refuses to serve his needs, it can be a good solution.

Just so you know that I'm not one to push people on this, we are "emergency homeschoolers," as are a number of people on the forum. He had a bad 1st grade experience, and homeschooling turned out to be a lot better for him. But DS5 is starting public school kindergarten in the fall. I'm hoping it will work for DS5 even though it didn't work for his older brother, since he's a different kid and has different needs.

To me, deciding to take the leap was about considering my strengths (teaching) and weaknesses (advocacy) and weighing those against the fight I was going to have on my hands with a school system highly resistant to grade skips and even subject acceleration. Then when I factored in DS8's personality and desperate frustration--even anger--while he was in a bad school situation, homeschooling was the clear right answer for us. <shrug>

If nothing else, knowing that you can homeschool (even if you choose not to) can make you feel less desperate, less at the mercy of the people who just aren't getting it. FWIW, I'd recommend looking into all options--the more you know, the better prepared you are to find a path that works for your child, whatever that path might be.

If you have questions about homeschooling, feel free to ask. A lot of people have misconceptions about it and this is a safe place to consider alternatives. But if you're not interested, I won't bug you about it further.

Wishing you good luck on this journey!

Is moving to the neighboring school district with the gifted program an option?

Thank you Kriston for the idea. Unfortunately, I have to go to work to make ends meet. My husband works two jobs. Therefore, homeschooling can't be one of our options.

Dalwil,

Do you have a letter from his previous school recommending a skip? My son got one of these and it helped ease the way. In areas like this, educators listen to other educators better than to pretty much anyone else, from what I've seen.

If he had mastered the first grade curriculum, would they write a letter saying so? If they send an official thing saying that he's finished first grade, the public school might have no choice but to let him go to 2nd grade. This might be your best bet.

Failing that, have you tried use the Iowa Acceleration Scale Manual? You can get the 2002 edition on half.com for less than $40. The new 2009 version costs more. A local library might have it or be able to get it from another library for you.

Val

Good idea, Val.


Maybe they don't recommend it, but maybe they can be persuaded that it's appropriate for your son.

Thanks alot Val. Despite all the research I've done the past two months, this is the first time I hear about Iowa Acceleration Scale Manual. I'm grateful for these bright ideas. I'll definately look into it. I just have two questions for you, or any body in the forum:

1- Re the manual, is it for me as a parent to use with my child at home or for me to give to the school. I'm willing to do any thing. I just want to know who's this manual for.

2- Re skipping, do you think it's still worth it to fight with local school even though the results, the reputation and the school population are not encouraging at all? To give you an idea of how frustrating I'm, let me give you just one example of what happened during my vist to what-so-called the "best" elementary school in our local school district.

I went to the appointment to meet with the Assistant Superintendent and the principal of the elementary school. I pushed the door, it opened wide. I went in, walked throughout the school. Some of the teachers and local employees saw me, no body asked me who I was, or who I wanted to meet. When I saw this attitude, I said I'm not going to ask any body where's the main office, let me just wait and see how long it'd take them to realize that there's a stranger in the school. Unfortunately, no body did! I continued touring the school by myself until finally I found myself in front of the main office. I went in and found the principal chatting with the assistant superintedent and the secretaries. We shook hands as they were expecting me. I mentioned to them briefly how I've been touring the school for the last 10 minutes. "Really?! where did you park your car?........" I was chocked that they didn't even show any concern, and they quickly changed the subject!

Any thoughts about what should I do next? Do I complain to the local board of education? Do I raise my concerns to the State board of education? And, what would they do? I'm really at a loss of words and ideas. I'd appreciate hearing from you. Thanks.