I need to hold my child back in 1st grade (Fairfax County) - please help with next steps!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If she is truly dyslexic- she will never learn to read if you are relying on FCPS.Repeating first grade will just repeat the lack of a reading program, no focus on phonics and guessing what a word is.

-Parent of fifth grader who can't read and currently spending 30K on remediation.

The whole reading program is being overhauled this year.

[Anonymous]

Get a Wilson or Orton Gillinghand reading specialist in to work with her twice a week. It is pricey but worth every penny and will help her reading and her confidence. Then work FCPS at the same time. D

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If she is truly dyslexic- she will never learn to read if you are relying on FCPS.Repeating first grade will just repeat the lack of a reading program, no focus on phonics and guessing what a word is.

-Parent of fifth grader who can't read and currently spending 30K on remediation.

The whole reading program is being overhauled this year.

That is cute that you think it is just going to get magically fixed starting in August.

[Anonymous]

I don’t have enough details about your child to make any real recommendations , OP. I will say that for some kids, that extra year is life changing. If they are going to repeat a year, now is the time - kindergarten or first grade. Lots of factors to consider especially social and emotional impact.

Wishing you the best. No scenario will have perfect results. Pros and cons to each scenario. Remember : You know your kid better than anyone.

[Anonymous]

We were in this boat OP. Put DS in private 1st grade and he is excelling and so confident. I know what research shows but I also believe that most often moms know that their kid needs.

[Anonymous]

All
Of you who think redshirting is bad, pay attention. This child should have been redshirted, but now the school is going to push her through. You need to hire tutors and an advocate Op. don’t count on the school. Take matters into your own hands n

[Anonymous]

Op here: we applied for several privates and when asked about placing in first they wanted justification from current principal...on bottom of waitlist at the privates so that's not going to work...

Thanks for all the responses. We will continue the 2x weekly OG tutoring and hope she continues to make progress developmentally in addition to reading..we know someone has to be the youngest.

Interesting to hear how hard they make it to repeat....PA and FL (dept of education) both passed laws that any student can repeat a grade after the last year pandemic with no questions asked....one would hope it would be a little easier this year. Tough situation.

[Anonymous]

The good news is that if you were able to afford private, you have the resources to provide her a lot of OG supplement this year. You can use both the school's OG through her IEP, and private tutoring to shore up the time/tutoring needed, to help her catch up. Crossing fingers that with the extra in-depth training she'll receive and the techniques she'll learn, she will catch up quickly.

The good news is that there will be quite a few kids behind this coming school year due to spending 1st grade virtually, so she won't be the only one by a long stretch. This whole upcoming school year will be spent trying to catch up the kids that were greatly affected by the pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here: we applied for several privates and when asked about placing in first they wanted justification from current principal...on bottom of waitlist at the privates so that's not going to work...

Thanks for all the responses. We will continue the 2x weekly OG tutoring and hope she continues to make progress developmentally in addition to reading..we know someone has to be the youngest.

Interesting to hear how hard they make it to repeat....PA and FL (dept of education) both passed laws that any student can repeat a grade after the last year pandemic with no questions asked....one would hope it would be a little easier this year. Tough situation.

I know tutoring is expensive OP, but more frequent work is better. Does the tutor give you homework to do with her in between sessions? Or have you thought about just doing it yourself? All About Reading is a great program that parents can implement themselves. https://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/all-about-reading/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The good news is that if you were able to afford private, you have the resources to provide her a lot of OG supplement this year. You can use both the school's OG through her IEP, and private tutoring to shore up the time/tutoring needed, to help her catch up. Crossing fingers that with the extra in-depth training she'll receive and the techniques she'll learn, she will catch up quickly.

The good news is that there will be quite a few kids behind this coming school year due to spending 1st grade virtually, so she won't be the only one by a long stretch. This whole upcoming school year will be spent trying to catch up the kids that were greatly affected by the pandemic.

The research is very clear: retention doesn’t make a difference. You might see some nominal gains in the first year, but by the third year, they’re gone. What’s more important is putting the interventions in place. Retention is not an effective intervention. It feels good in the moment, but it’s impact doesn’t last.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The good news is that if you were able to afford private, you have the resources to provide her a lot of OG supplement this year. You can use both the school's OG through her IEP, and private tutoring to shore up the time/tutoring needed, to help her catch up. Crossing fingers that with the extra in-depth training she'll receive and the techniques she'll learn, she will catch up quickly.

The good news is that there will be quite a few kids behind this coming school year due to spending 1st grade virtually, so she won't be the only one by a long stretch. This whole upcoming school year will be spent trying to catch up the kids that were greatly affected by the pandemic.

The research is very clear: retention doesn’t make a difference. You might see some nominal gains in the first year, but by the third year, they’re gone. What’s more important is putting the interventions in place. Retention is not an effective intervention. It feels good in the moment, but it’s impact doesn’t last.

What research - links please? Parents and educators need to consider the individual child’s needs regardless of research. There are many factors that could make retention successful or a failure - or somewhere in between ( assigned teachers, make up of peers in the classroom, school environment, self esteem and identity of student, psychological factors such as anxiety and depression, sibling ages and grade levels, etc.). Are these studies looking at social and emotional impact or simply academic success? The former are equally important areas of development to consider (if not more important).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here: Yes she has an IEP and we plan to stay in FCPS. She is youngest in her class and is developmentally immature compared to other rising 2nd graders AND only reading at DRA level B. Worried about her readiness for 2nd grade even w/ the IEP and extra tutoring that we have in place. The IEP was put in place towards end of 1st so she is only now starting to get some extra help and is SO far behind her classmates.

I do have one child who had an IEP. He wasn't reading in K by mid-year, but by the end of the year it clicked and he was reading on 1st grade, end of the year level. I have another child who wasn't reading independently by the end of 1st grade. I asked does he need a remedial program and should I be concerned. FCPS said no and that he's fine. They said that they generally don't worry about a kid not reading until 3rd grade. By mid-year in 2nd grade, he was reading. All this to say, sometimes you just have to keep encouraging the child, working on reading, keep adding the appropriate supports, and waiting until it clicks. Holding a child back isn't always the right answer and can sometimes make it worse.

[Anonymous]

And sometimes “ waiting for it to click ” as above poster states, just put kids ( specifically those with dyslexia) even more behind. It doesn’t just “ click” for them in 2nd grade or 3rd grade or whenever. They need specialized instructions tarting as early as possible. So retention won’t help them learn to read since public schools don’t provide the type of instruction that dyslexic children need. However, keeping them in 1st for another year at least doesn’t make the gap any larger with plummeting self esteem as the majority around them do learn to read.

[Anonymous]

In this particular year, I'd be shocked if they would not agree to hold her back. You need to go above her principal. Write to your school board member and Asst Superintendent. You are a parent - you should have the ability to say my child needs to repeat 1st grade because she learned nada while online. Refuse to send her until they agree.

[Anonymous]

Check out decoding dyslexia. It’s a network of parents.
http://www.decodingdyslexia.net/