Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy I need an argument for acceleration

I need an argument for acceleration that the school (in a district that is decidedly anti-gifted anything) will understand.

My 8yo son (officially in 3rd grade) is enrolled in what is known as a parent-partnership program. This is a public school program where we essentially homeschool all subjects and he goes to "enrichment" classes two days per week. Right now he is taking science, Spanish, art, and PE. I posted a few months ago about issues with Spanish. Those issues have not resolved, but it is a one semester class and will be over soon.

My son is fairly advanced academically (2+ years) and is most advanced in science. At home he is currently doing science that is intended for middle schoolers (3+ grade levels ahead). The science class at the school is a combined class, with 2nd and 3rd graders. Many of the 2nd graders in the class (and some of the 3rd graders) are decidedly behind, for whatever reason. Many of the children in the class cannot read or write at all.

My son is very disgruntled about being in this class. He knows all of the concepts being presented backwards and forwards, and they review incessantly. Lately he has been crying after school about it because he is so frustrated. I cannot withdraw him from the class because if I do I will have to withdraw him from the program. The program is extremely important to him for social reasons.

In a conversation with his teacher, I proposed putting him in the next higher level science class, which happens to be filled with 5th graders (there are no 4th graders in the program for some reason). The teacher, who is the same for both classes, was enthusiastic about this idea, with the caveat that my son would have to write more than the bare minimum that he was doing now (not a problem if he is motivated). She was confident that he would be successful in the 5th grade class. We were going to try out the switch in January and revaluate at the end of the month.

Two days after my conversation with this teacher, who is also an administrator in the program, and therefore has clout, I got this email:

"I discussed your proposal about your son switching to the 5th grade class with the staff yesterday at our department meeting. After a lengthy discussion, we came to the conclusion that this is an accommodation that we cannot make. There are several reasons for this denial and we will be happy to discuss all of them with you. The primary reasons are: moving your son two grade levels up is not something we can do within the confines of school district policy; and as much as we know that you have provided an accelerated science curriculum and experiences for your son with the home-based portion of his learning (which is exactly what you should be doing for your son who is a very smart boy) your son has not demonstrated a consistent level of pursuit and/or engagement above and beyond in his present classes to warrant placing him in a class two-grades ahead."

He hasn't demonstrated a "consistent level of pursuit and/or engagement above and beyond in his present classes" because (1) what the heck could he do? and (2) he is bored to death and has shut down.

I believe that it is harmful to force an advanced kid into a class that is doing work 4 grade levels below his (demonstrated) capabilities, especially if he is showing signs of distress. But is this actually true? Is there anything in the literature about this particular issue?

Any advice you can give me about this would be much appreciated. I am simply asking for subject acceleration in a program that supposedly is already acknowledging his home based acceleration.

Thanks!

http://www.ldonline.org/spearswerling/The_Importance_of_Teaching_Handwriting

It's not what I was looking for, but this link offers many benefits of early handwriting. I don't have anything new to add to the acceleration links, all the usuals. A nation deceived and what a child doesn't learn... But what jumped out from me in your post is that they already know he's advanced past the class they're giving him. You said he said they're concerned he's doing less writing in his current class than the next class. Well, maybe so are you. Handwriting should be part of the core cirriculum. He's going to need it for note taking to further his education. You want him to stay well rounded. He needs handwriting practice, which he will get in the other class. Ok. That's not a very convincing arguement. Someone else try. :d)

Well you have to reply to the reasons they've given.
I think you have a good response to the second one, both that there isn't a way for him to demonstrate his desire/interest in the school based class, but also he has surely demonstrated both his passion and his ability in the class at home (that would be where you bring in work samples, if you have not already).
The first is probably the stickiest. The school thinks they can't due to some policy, you need a copy of the policy...and to review it yourself and see if it does or does not allow for the thing you want, or perhaps allows for something similar, better, or close enough...
no 4th grade science? Is that policy? Maybe he can have his own 4th grade class, for example...

good luck!

My child was grade skipped in a school that has NEVER done so. What I recommend doing is thoroughly researching everything you can about the research and benefits of acceleration and how NOT accelerating a child who should be can cause harm also. I recommend using the Iowa Accel. scale manual as a guide and allow a research backed resource guide their decision, not someone's personal bias. The IAS will have a step by step guide that will ask you multiple questions and looks at ALL aspects of your child, academics, birthday, height, maturity, to give you the whole picture. Then is makes a recommendation based on the score your child receives. It is extremely helpful and well researched so having something like this help form a decision would be to your advantage. Go to the Acceleration Institute's website and there should be loads of information you can present to validate your points. I think what you need to do is address their reasons by debunking them with research backed information. Be prepared for the common reasons given BEFORE you go into the meeting so that you can counter them right there and be knowledgable. I can tell you that others have tried to get accelerated at our school in the past but didn't succeed because they weren't prepared and merely based it on academics alone (and being that it was never done, the school was extremely hesitant but when provided with information that allowed them to make an informed decision they were very comfortable with it.) Basically, YOU have to do all the legwork. Don't expect them to know anything, and make sure you provide them with enough to think about. I left them with a portfolio, research, the IAS, etc. (though the presentation on our end was so well put together, we got our answer before we left that day . We did however, encounter a few roadblocks after that, but again, debunked them, and were able to work it out the way we wanted!) Best of luck!

Here is a link to the accel. institute.

http://www.accelerationinstitute.org/

Also, I purchased the IAS through @mazon and had it within 2-3 days. Much cheaper there than through the publisher.

here is the Executive Summary for the National Science Board report on STEM innovation. I would particularly emphasize Keystone Recommendations I and II.

http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/publications/2010/nsb1033_exec_summary.pdf


Here is the link for the PDF of the full report, which has sections you may wish to copy, highlight, and share with the school regarding the appropriate role of acceleration in developing science talent.

http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/publications/2010/nsb1033.pdf

I hope this is helpful.