New to MCPS need help getting 9th grader moved into more challenging classes
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Anonymous
| Our DS just moved to MCPS from France and is attending 9th grade in the DCC. His counselor opted to put him in the most basic classes, just to see how he does. It's been two weeks and he's seriously bored. I should note that he has already been through 9th grade in France, but we thought to have him repeat it in the US to help him acclimate. Also, his birthdate is past the cutoff for 10th grade this year, so, he's with his age cohort. Finally, they did move him to Honors French 3, supposedly the highest level of French offered to freshmen at his school, so that's good. But he's fully bilingual, fluent in French and he recently passed the French middle school exit exam with honors. So, I feel like 11th or 12th grade AP French would be the place for him. The counselors are nice but seem overwhelmed and meanwhile the weeks are ticking by... |
Anonymous
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Why have him take French at all? I would love him to another level until he can do AP or IB French.
OP, have you spoken with the counselor? If not, I’d request a meeting to get him moved. If the counselor won’t address your concerns, then I would get in touch with the principal and assistant principal to request a meeting. |
Anonymous
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What school? If it has APs and honors, get appt. with counselor and have him moved.
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Anonymous
+1. What school and people may have some advice. If you can't get a counselor to respond, just cc APs and Principals. You can also just show up. I agree with you that time is ticking away. |
Anonymous
| Just be really nice but really persistent. Yes the counselors are overwhelmed and it sucks for them but this is your kid's future. |
Anonymous
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OP here: For the French, he's not a native speaker and getting to fluency was a challenge, so we'd prefer to keep him in a rigorous French class so he can at least maintain proficiency (no French going on at home). We thought the international admissions folks would evaluate him and place him accordingly, but they too seem overwhelmed and understaffed, and it just didn't happen.
On the counselors, Dad has spoken to them twice, but they haven't actually placed him in the more advanced classes yet. It sounds like the reason is that DS' counselor is on leave and someone else is taking up the slack and is overwhelmed so nothing is happening. So, if no changes this week, perhaps we will call the vice principal or principal next. Would it help to have a letter of recommendation in English sent from the English section at his French school? He's not even getting homework, which he must find delightfully novel, but still. |
Anonymous
It's Northwood. |
Anonymous
I wouldn't wait that late to involve them. Perhaps not call at this point but definitely cc on emails, including emails that summarize phone calls or emails that describe attempts that have been made to get the kid in different classes. I do think the letter of recommendation would help! But I wouldn't wait on it. |
Anonymous
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Just timing in that the explanation about Honors French 3 doesn't make any sense. Many kids begin taking foreign language in the 6th grade, which means they hit French 3 in 8th grade. Grade. Those kids don't repeat French 3 their freshman year, they move forward. I would go back and ask again.
Ask for the other classes, folks are right that you just need to be persistent. Explain the coursework that your child has already completed in math or science or whatever, and ask to be moved to the honors version of those classes this year. |
Anonymous
My DC who has zero exposure/experience with French, started taking French in MS - French 1 and 2, and is now in French 3 in 9th grade. DC is not great with French, but French 3 for someone who had pretty broad exposure would be too easy. Different schools do it differently. Some HS absolutely do allow Freshmans to take higher than FL 3. IMO, you should've put your kid in French 4 and pushed for it. I suspect that they also saw your kid as an international student and may have issues with English, maybe? So they put him in "On track" classes. Two weeks is long enough to change courses. My other HSer DC wanted to change a class first week of school. Counselor stated two weeks. Keep bugging the school. Call the Principal if necessary. MCPS is a large school district, and it requires you to be your kid's best advocate. |
Anonymous
| Call or email the AP today. |
Anonymous
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I am confused. Are you guys American? Is your kid a Native English speaker? What math classes did he take in France and what is he in now>
I would focus on making sure he gets put in the right math track, stat. That's the one that is harder to get fixed later on. If he doesn't get to take AP Gov this year, that's not as big a deal. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
| Call vs. email and if they don't respond go in person. |
Anonymous
OP again, we're American, but DS has grown up in the French system. He is native English and has worked very hard to learn French while not "living" in French, as we remain an Anglophone household for the most part. Math in France is typically a year ahead of math taught in a place like MCPS, but what's really different is that the work must be explained in writing using a very specific lexicon to describe the operations. I'm sorry they couldn't give him a placement exam for math. He's probably better than he thinks. I think AP Gov would be a stretch, he's had a lot of civics and history but it's from the French perspective, so he doesn't know much about American government outside of the Lincoln and FDR administrations. |