Question for Moms of Kids Who Are Accelerated

My daughter was accelerated for reading. When she hit the top grade of her school, no accommodations were made. She handled it okay but she was bored.

When I was in elementary school, there was a group of about nine in my grade (5th) that were accelerated in math. My teacher would pull us out of the class room and teach us a separate lesson. When we hit middle school we had a separate class that was taught at the next grade level. Though I was too young to know the specifics behind it, I have a feeling that my fifth grade teacher was entirely responsible for this.

I would ask if there is any way he could be tutored in your school like some kids might be pulled aside for reading if they are struggling. Getting bused to the JR High may also not be good for him socially. Junior high is nto hte same as 4th grade to 5th grade in ES.

I had a friend in HS who drove herself to the community college in the afternoon, but I think that is different. Right now in our school, my daughter gets pulled out for math enrichment with a few other kids a couple of times a week.

Here are my concerns about the scenario where he goes to the junior high school building for math:

1. He's still young (elementary school). He's still growing, and still a kid (presumably he likes to play with his friends). Adding on 90 minutes to an already full day may make him tired, and detracts from a certain amount of free time - time to just be a kid. He'll be the only one of his friends who has to get up in time to get to junior high, and he may be very tired from such a demanding schedule.

2. Being in a class with older students is entirely different than being in a different school. Sure, being a 3rd grader in a 4th grade math class is probably not a big deal. But a junior high school is so different from elementary school. The kids are older, they're pre-teens and young teens, the pace is different, and he might be overwhelmed. He won't be there long enough to make friends (he'll just zip in, go to math class, and get back on the bus) or to figure out how junior high works.

Since he's still in elementary school, unless you plan on accelerating everything, where he'll be one of those kids who loves learning and will graduate from high school at age 15 and already have some college credits accumulated, I'd forego the junior high/bus plan.

Instead, I would request that he be taken to the library or resource room during math class and take an online math class geared for his learning style and math levels. There are many to choose from. Or the math department can provide a tutor for him during that time and give him one-on-one math lessons at his appropriate level.

I think the school needs to accommodate him, not the other way around. Provide a tutor, provide an online learning situation, or adapt somehow.

Our school district has something called an "advanced learning plan" They stay in the same grade, but they have a different book and assignments. The teachers don't always like it because it's extra work - but plenty of kids do this.

My oldest kids have a boy in their class who used to take math at the middle school (in elementary school) and at the high school (in middle school). I think at this point, as a senior, he has been taking most of his classes at a local college but will walk with his class at graduation in June. Anyway...this was all possible because the schools share a giant campus area and are within walking distance to each other.

If there is quite a distance between his school and the next or the time is an issue, perhaps distance learning (on-line) for this subject would be better for this year? I think that would offer the most in terms of flexibility without disrupting his schedule. Could you and the school find an on-line math class for his level (similar to what a home schooler would use) and when the rest of his peers are in math class, he could go to a resource room or other quiet area and be logged on to his class for that time period?

Our school is doing video learning for the fifth graders who are taking sixth grade math. Mine is in fourth so I don't know exactly how it will work (don't know what software they are using). However it has been explained that the accelerated math kids will be in the computer room with the district math coach and will video conference in. They will be able to see and hear the teacher and lesson and the teacher and kids will be able to see them so they can ask questions. The pullout your district is describing sounds absolutely horrendous. I am in Fox Chapel. PM me if you want me to find out more.

My youngest daughter is accelerated several grades in math and reading. Without boring you with the intimate details, our school district's solution has been distance learning through Johns Hopkins. Other schools with similar programs include Northwestern and Stanford EPGY. If you want more information, just PM me. Been there done that...

I would not let my son do this - it would be exhausting!! Does your state have online learning? We have state, public, Florida Virtual School, that can be utilized in situations like these. https://flvs.net/ You can check it out and they say how you can use it P/T. Good luck!

i would ask them to try a computer curriculum at his own school, adding 90 minutes plus another whatever for a bus ride will not be good for him imo... unless during his math class time at the grade school he can do something relaxing and fun since he will already had math, that might be a solution, if he has that hour of math time to do whatever he wants that might make it ok to have a longer day since he will have down time during hte day

Updated

i would ask them to try a computer curriculum at his own school, adding 90 minutes plus another whatever for a bus ride will not be good for him imo... unless during his math class time at the grade school he can do something relaxing and fun since he will already had math, that might be a solution, if he has that hour of math time to do whatever he wants that might make it ok to have a longer day since he will have down time during hte day

I think I would call the state offices and ask them about hours required for a student his age.

In MY opinion if he is attending another 90 minutes of school, not transportation time...just actual class time which "I" would assume was only an extra hour minus the transportation time, then I would think they have to let him leave an hour early every day he goes to the Jr. High. Transportation time doesn't count into hours in the classroom.

For instance, think about snow days. They are days set aside to make up hours in case the kids miss any school due to bad weather. BUT if they don't "need" to make up the hours they aren't allowed to go those days, TOO MANY hours.

So I think they would have to minimize his day and let him leave early.

What about a special tutor situation, like having the Jr. High teacher come to him on her planning hour, at his current school? To give him assignments and work with him a half hour or so then he works at home the rest of the time? I don't know that I'd like for a little kid to go on a bus to a school that I wasn't familiar with. I think he'd have a target on his chest for bullying and torment.

how troubling that instead of just accommodating him by giving him some higher level instruction they want to bus him to a different school. i completely agree with you that it would make his day way, way too long. it would be like punishing him for his success.
i'd plaster on a big smile and wade in there with your math teacher and principal and try to get some sort of accelerated work for him in his own school. maybe he can do an online or video class while the others are doing their elementary school math. maybe they can find a TA or college student majoring in education to work with him in the library out of a more advanced textbook. there's got to be SOMETHING they can do for him there. it's not like THEIR math expertise screeches to a halt at the 5th grade level, right?
i'd stay on them, pleasantly and pro-actively.
khairete
S.

I was a GATE teacher in our district for a few years. That is exactly what our subject accelerated kids do when they hit 5th grade. They do try to place the student in a first period math class at the middle school (that works best with the bussing schedule). During the time that the rest of the 5th grade students are doing math, the accelerated student has a study hall to do math homework. And 6th grade tends to have quite a bit more homework than 5th grade. Yes, they are in school longer than the other students, but on the flip side, they don't have to go home and spend an hour doing math homework.

I suppose you could ask if he could be placed in a 5th grade classroom that has math during the last period of the day. Then he could leave early. It takes a lot of coordinating and there has to be a 5th grade teacher who is basically willing to build a classroom schedule around one student. And ultimately special area teachers and entire building schedules for art, music, and PE are affected by that as well.

Could they also look into a "flipped" classroom model? In a flipped classroom the lesson is recorded and students watch the lesson at home. Class time is used for completing the assignment with the teacher there to answer questions and help with the assignment. The math teacher would record the lesson and upload it to an online source. Your son would watch the lesson during the 5th grade math time. He would need to be a very self-directed student, but the 5th grade teacher could probably assist him with questions.

Maybe an online course would be a more feasible option.

The suggestion someone had that the middle school math teacher should come to the elementary school on a prep period probably would not be an option. There would be contractual issues with that. Having a tutor might also not be an option. There would have to be a certified teacher doing the instruction. If not, there could be issues with the state Dept. of Education and the credits might not count.

If you aren't comfortable with him going to the middle school, ask them to look into online or videoed classes.

would they be willing to let him go home early? i know some highschoolers that were allowed to go home an hour early because they had the necessary classes done and the last hour was always pe or a studyhall so they were not missing anything.
in my school the accelerated class students got to choose if they wanted to eat, study or take a nap (blankets and cot provided) during study halls.

When my kid was accelerated and the school couldn't/wouldn't accommodate him, I took him and my others out and put them in a charter school that let each kid work at their own level.

But in this case, you know your kid, if he's the kind who could handle 90 extra minutes of school, then do it. One for sure, perhaps two of my kids, could have handled it.

I agree with the response about EPGY and Johns Hopkins. I used to work at EPGY and my son attended Stanford Online High School for a year and then decided to take an exam in order to graduate early. He is now a full time college student at 16. EPGY and Stanford Online high school (which includes middle school) are designed for kids exactly like your son. He will be able to take the courses he needs with the least amount of disruption.