Repeating 1rst Grade - SN Child

[Anonymous]

Our child is currently in a self-contained classroom in Montgomery County in first grade. He could benefit (I think) from repeating first grade. However, I wonder if it would be better to have an extra year in the school system when he his older and transitioning out of school, rather than repeat first grade. Has anyone been through this or have any thoughts?

[Anonymous]

I haven't exactly been through this (we kept our SN DS back a year) but I do think you have to address the problem you have now and not worry about what might happen down the road. Giving your child the best foundation you can will pay off later. Plus you really don't know what the situation will be when he finishes school and what gap year programs will be available, if needed.

[Anonymous]

You may find that MCPS is not very flexible on the issue. There is a big financial dissincentive to the county in holding a child back. They seem to claim that they will acomodate the childs needs in whatever grade they are in. I have a neighbor whose child has multiple delays and was consistantly several years below grade. Retention was never an option. He is in a private school now.

I would check in with your school before pondering it too much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You may find that MCPS is not very flexible on the issue. There is a big financial dissincentive to the county in holding a child back. They seem to claim that they will acomodate the childs needs in whatever grade they are in. I have a neighbor whose child has multiple delays and was consistantly several years below grade. Retention was never an option. He is in a private school now.

I would check in with your school before pondering it too much.

Yes, in my experience, they don't hold back children with IEPs.

[Anonymous]

I may be in the same boat ad you next year. From what I have gathered if your child will not be on a standard diploma Track, it may be best to send them on so your child can get more real
Life skills/ job training from the academies offered up to 22. If your child is on a diploma track, you may want to repeat an sol year if you do not think your child will pass it. I personally have heard older parents say it is good to hold onto the year and consider repeating 3rd.


It is a really tough decision and I
Would argue that it really depends on the intellectual ability and potential of your child.

[Anonymous]

It's a very complicated issue. I agree with one of the PPs who noted that schools rarely hold back kids with IEPs. We're in VA and DS is in a regular classroom (3rd grade), with some pull-outs. The IEP is due to ADHD and he got the IEP in first grade. With supports, he does okay. Sometimes outstanding, sometimes the complete opposite (individual grades on tests have ranged from A+ to F this year), and most of the time C-level work (which is the grade they give for meeting grade-level expectations). He is below grade level in reading/writing, but he has progressed quite well.

We had the option to hold him back in K, before we had an IEP, but opted not to - instead, we insisted that the school conduct a student study. On the whole, we are glad that we did not hold him back, although we sometimes do wonder if it would have been better. Still, he talks about various kids in his class who were held back a grade -- those kids are noticeably bigger than most of the other kids, and so kids do notice the kids who were retained. He struggles with aspects of school (big weakness is working independently -- one of several executive function issues) but likes school, is seemingly liked by classmates (but not "popular"), and if nothing else, is resilient.

Good luck, OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I may be in the same boat ad you next year. From what I have gathered if your child will not be on a standard diploma Track, it may be best to send them on so your child can get more real
Life skills/ job training from the academies offered up to 22. If your child is on a diploma track, you may want to repeat an sol year if you do not think your child will pass it. I personally have heard older parents say it is good to hold onto the year and consider repeating 3rd.


It is a really tough decision and I
Would argue that it really depends on the intellectual ability and potential of your child.

OP here. Thanks everyone for the thoughtful comments. I think he will not be diploma track, although I'm not sure at this point. And I suspect the PPs are correct the MCPS will not be supportive of holding him back. But I could still try if it would better for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You may find that MCPS is not very flexible on the issue. There is a big financial dissincentive to the county in holding a child back. They seem to claim that they will acomodate the childs needs in whatever grade they are in. I have a neighbor whose child has multiple delays and was consistantly several years below grade. Retention was never an option. He is in a private school now.

I would check in with your school before pondering it too much.

Yes, in my experience, they don't hold back children with IEPs.

We also were unable to hold my son back in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

10:22 here: OP- it may be worthwhile to consult with an advocate. I have done a consultation with them about a similar issue and it was about $150. At this point, is your child meeting the academic benchmarks for 1st? If he/she is not, that is a justification for retaining.

You definitely need to agree to the placement decision. So if you are adamant about it, refuse to sign.

If you are not so adamant, you truly may want to retain those extra years. An advocate told me that those years at the end are the more crucial if the child is on an alternative track. I strongly believe in the strong early foundation, etc but quite frankly (and I say this being in a similar position) if you are questioning whether your child is on a diploma track now, you may want to repeat at a different point in time where the academics become a lot harder or you may want to hold on to those years.

[Anonymous]

OP, I wonder if an educational consultant or even a lawyer would help you at this point.

(We didn't even bother ended up going the private school route.) GL

[Anonymous]

Thanks. Any suggestions for an advocate who would know about kids on an alternative track in MCPS?

[Anonymous]

I don't know her personally but Lyda Astrove posts on Mcneeds frequently and seems knowledgeable about these issues. I can't vouch for her though. I believe there is also a list of recommended advocates on mcneeds.org.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks. Any suggestions for an advocate who would know about kids on an alternative track in MCPS?

I'd search this forum as well for names.

[Anonymous]

Thanks. It can be really hard to think about the future when your kid is struggling with first grade.

[Anonymous]

Op- hugs to you.