Algebra 1 as Sixth Grader?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:More for those that thought I was lying:

https://www.insidenova.com/lifestyles/10-year-old-linda-pistun-is-going-places-and-mars-might-be-one-of-them/article_b2481e70-9664-11ed-9af4-4f6a9ded786d.html

https://dailyprogress.com/news/local/education/uva-courses-are-no-sweat-for-this-10-year-old-girl/article_923545ee-3c7d-11ee-8d24-ef2dc04d8168.html

https://news.virginia.edu/content/10-year-old-wunderkind-hopes-uva-her-launchpad-space

https://www.fairfaxtimes.com/positive_vibes/tj-student-shoots-for-the-stars/article_d1b45c00-4da8-11ee-a6b1-f3ce67de1831.html

https://www.pwcs.edu/news/2023/09/young_scientist_linda_pistun_is_just_getting_started

You may not be lying, but you’re still an idiot. You’ve insisted in multiple threads that FCPS takes care of its truly gifted kids, and that if other kids were special enough to merit it, FCPS would provide appropriate acceleration. This is false. The girl in question attended Gainesville schools, which are apparently much more willing to meet the needs of profoundly gifted kids. If she had attended FCPS, the best she could have hoped for was one grade skip and a couple years of math skipping, and only if the principal is willing to entertain the idea and central office is willing to sign off.

FCPS did not need to admit her into tj.

They probably did. If her PWC school didn’t meet its 1.5% allotment, and she met the requirements, they would need to take her. Keep in mind that she wasn’t admitted ans an 5th grader. She was an 8th grader who previously skipped three grade levels. Also, the application packet likely doesn’t include age.

This is clearly a PWC story not an FCPS story. Are there similar people who attempted grade skipping in FCPS?

It will be interesting to see if this student can keep up with the other TJ students.

Gainesville is a magnet school, which might add a twist to the 1.5% policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:More for those that thought I was lying:

https://www.insidenova.com/lifestyles/10-year-old-linda-pistun-is-going-places-and-mars-might-be-one-of-them/article_b2481e70-9664-11ed-9af4-4f6a9ded786d.html

https://dailyprogress.com/news/local/education/uva-courses-are-no-sweat-for-this-10-year-old-girl/article_923545ee-3c7d-11ee-8d24-ef2dc04d8168.html

https://news.virginia.edu/content/10-year-old-wunderkind-hopes-uva-her-launchpad-space

https://www.fairfaxtimes.com/positive_vibes/tj-student-shoots-for-the-stars/article_d1b45c00-4da8-11ee-a6b1-f3ce67de1831.html

https://www.pwcs.edu/news/2023/09/young_scientist_linda_pistun_is_just_getting_started

I hope you learned from lesson, to stop making misleading exaggerations of extraordinary events, without providing evidence.

[Anonymous]

That kid is also a "CEO".

https://www.lindaslab.org/about-3

This is a standard "parent-manufactured 'genius'" PR play.

[Anonymous]

Yeah. PP implied that FCPS is so proactive in meeting the needs of gifted kids that they identified a 5th grader, plucked her out of her 5th grade AAP classroom, and personally invited her to TJ. There was the additional implication that if FCPS isn't letting your kid take Algebra in 6th, it's because your kid isn't qualified. After all, look at how well they're supporting this kid who is truly gifted!

The reality is that a completely different school system let the kid skip multiple grades over many years, and she was admitted as an 8th grade applicant using the exact same process as every other admitted 8th grader. FCPS would never allow for multiple years of grade skipping, and they're extremely strict with math skipping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:More for those that thought I was lying:

https://www.insidenova.com/lifestyles/10-year-old-linda-pistun-is-going-places-and-mars-might-be-one-of-them/article_b2481e70-9664-11ed-9af4-4f6a9ded786d.html

https://dailyprogress.com/news/local/education/uva-courses-are-no-sweat-for-this-10-year-old-girl/article_923545ee-3c7d-11ee-8d24-ef2dc04d8168.html

https://news.virginia.edu/content/10-year-old-wunderkind-hopes-uva-her-launchpad-space

https://www.fairfaxtimes.com/positive_vibes/tj-student-shoots-for-the-stars/article_d1b45c00-4da8-11ee-a6b1-f3ce67de1831.html

https://www.pwcs.edu/news/2023/09/young_scientist_linda_pistun_is_just_getting_started

You may not be lying, but you’re still an idiot. You’ve insisted in multiple threads that FCPS takes care of its truly gifted kids, and that if other kids were special enough to merit it, FCPS would provide appropriate acceleration. This is false. The girl in question attended Gainesville schools, which are apparently much more willing to meet the needs of profoundly gifted kids. If she had attended FCPS, the best she could have hoped for was one grade skip and a couple years of math skipping, and only if the principal is willing to entertain the idea and central office is willing to sign off.

FCPS did not need to admit her into tj.

They probably did. If her PWC school didn’t meet its 1.5% allotment, and she met the requirements, they would need to take her. Keep in mind that she wasn’t admitted ans an 5th grader. She was an 8th grader who previously skipped three grade levels. Also, the application packet likely doesn’t include age.

This is clearly a PWC story not an FCPS story. Are there similar people who attempted grade skipping in FCPS?

It will be interesting to see if this student can keep up with the other TJ students.

Gainesville is a magnet school, which might add a twist to the 1.5% policy.

FCPS allows single year grade skips, but those are even quite rare. Of the 14,000 kids per grade level, around 30 are allowed to take Algebra in 6th and maybe 1 or 2 kids in 5th. The kids have to be pretty far off of the charts to be allowed to skip multiple levels in math. The biggest issue, though, is that all of this is contingent on whether the principal of your school allows skips at all. Some kids meet the criteria for 6th grade Algebra, but the principal doesn't want to deal with the logistics and doesn't allow it. Sometimes Gatehouse is the obstacle and they don't want to allow any kids to bypass their rules.

FCPS created a logistical issue for my kid, who was skipped ahead in math. The year he was supposed to take 6th grade AAP math, they couldn't make the schedule work, and he was left without a math class at all. Since he had already taken and crushed the AoPS in person Algebra class, I suggested that my kid be tested and allowed to take online Algebra if he passed the test. Gatehouse refused to even let him take a test or bypass the rule that a kid must have a butt in a seat in an AAP 6th grade math classroom for a year before being allowed to take Algebra.

OP got hit with one of the standard ways FCPS blocks kids from taking classes at the appropriate level. Theirs was the "Let's wait and see" followed a month later by the "whoops. It's now too late." My kid got hit with the "We're not willing to even look at your outside data/tests, and we won't even administer a test." Some other kids get hit with the "It doesn't matter how far ahead your kid is. Your principal won't allow math skips or 6th grade Algebra, so you're out of luck."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah. PP implied that FCPS is so proactive in meeting the needs of gifted kids that they identified a 5th grader, plucked her out of her 5th grade AAP classroom, and personally invited her to TJ. There was the additional implication that if FCPS isn't letting your kid take Algebra in 6th, it's because your kid isn't qualified. After all, look at how well they're supporting this kid who is truly gifted!

The reality is that a completely different school system let the kid skip multiple grades over many years, and she was admitted as an 8th grade applicant using the exact same process as every other admitted 8th grader. FCPS would never allow for multiple years of grade skipping, and they're extremely strict with math skipping.

Yeah, that is because too many parents would try to do it. They have to be strict. We moved to a title 1 public school when my kids entered middle school. The school only offers up to Alg I. One child was able to enter a special gifted math program outside of the school. The other was still too young, but I had him take alg I at the school in 6th simply by asking. All I did was call the counselor and say this is the level his previous teacher advised he take. That was that. They didn't even ask for test scores, grades, or do their own evaluation. The following yr he started the other math program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah. PP implied that FCPS is so proactive in meeting the needs of gifted kids that they identified a 5th grader, plucked her out of her 5th grade AAP classroom, and personally invited her to TJ. There was the additional implication that if FCPS isn't letting your kid take Algebra in 6th, it's because your kid isn't qualified. After all, look at how well they're supporting this kid who is truly gifted!

The reality is that a completely different school system let the kid skip multiple grades over many years, and she was admitted as an 8th grade applicant using the exact same process as every other admitted 8th grader. FCPS would never allow for multiple years of grade skipping, and they're extremely strict with math skipping.

Yeah, that is because too many parents would try to do it. They have to be strict. We moved to a title 1 public school when my kids entered middle school. The school only offers up to Alg I. One child was able to enter a special gifted math program outside of the school. The other was still too young, but I had him take alg I at the school in 6th simply by asking. All I did was call the counselor and say this is the level his previous teacher advised he take. That was that. They didn't even ask for test scores, grades, or do their own evaluation. The following yr he started the other math program.

Was this in FCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah. PP implied that FCPS is so proactive in meeting the needs of gifted kids that they identified a 5th grader, plucked her out of her 5th grade AAP classroom, and personally invited her to TJ. There was the additional implication that if FCPS isn't letting your kid take Algebra in 6th, it's because your kid isn't qualified. After all, look at how well they're supporting this kid who is truly gifted!

The reality is that a completely different school system let the kid skip multiple grades over many years, and she was admitted as an 8th grade applicant using the exact same process as every other admitted 8th grader. FCPS would never allow for multiple years of grade skipping, and they're extremely strict with math skipping.

Yeah, that is because too many parents would try to do it. They have to be strict. We moved to a title 1 public school when my kids entered middle school. The school only offers up to Alg I. One child was able to enter a special gifted math program outside of the school. The other was still too young, but I had him take alg I at the school in 6th simply by asking. All I did was call the counselor and say this is the level his previous teacher advised he take. That was that. They didn't even ask for test scores, grades, or do their own evaluation. The following yr he started the other math program.

Was this in FCPS?

No...FCPS limits you. You are better off elsewhere

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah. PP implied that FCPS is so proactive in meeting the needs of gifted kids that they identified a 5th grader, plucked her out of her 5th grade AAP classroom, and personally invited her to TJ. There was the additional implication that if FCPS isn't letting your kid take Algebra in 6th, it's because your kid isn't qualified. After all, look at how well they're supporting this kid who is truly gifted!

The reality is that a completely different school system let the kid skip multiple grades over many years, and she was admitted as an 8th grade applicant using the exact same process as every other admitted 8th grader. FCPS would never allow for multiple years of grade skipping, and they're extremely strict with math skipping.

Yeah, that is because too many parents would try to do it. They have to be strict. We moved to a title 1 public school when my kids entered middle school. The school only offers up to Alg I. One child was able to enter a special gifted math program outside of the school. The other was still too young, but I had him take alg I at the school in 6th simply by asking. All I did was call the counselor and say this is the level his previous teacher advised he take. That was that. They didn't even ask for test scores, grades, or do their own evaluation. The following yr he started the other math program.

Was this in FCPS?

No...FCPS limits you. You are better off elsewhere

Like Mississippi or Alabama

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That kid is also a "CEO".

https://www.lindaslab.org/about-3

This is a standard "parent-manufactured 'genius'" PR play.

I have no doubts that this kid is extraordinary. I also have no doubts that in each grade level, FCPS has a kid or two who are just as extraordinary, but are not allowed to accelerate like this girl. I also have no doubts that her parents have heavily supported her beyond the level that most 150+ IQ kids are supported. It’s laughable that someone is using her as an example of FCPS supporting highly gifted kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That kid is also a "CEO".

https://www.lindaslab.org/about-3

This is a standard "parent-manufactured 'genius'" PR play.

I agree it’s partly manufactured which is indeed off putting.

However the kid is three grades advanced and 6 grades ahead in math, putting her in Algebra 2 in 5th grade. She can more than keep up at this level, and that is impressive on its own. The CEO, mealworms, kids book writing seems more like theater but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the kid is an outlier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That kid is also a "CEO".

https://www.lindaslab.org/about-3

This is a standard "parent-manufactured 'genius'" PR play.

I agree it’s partly manufactured which is indeed off putting.

However the kid is three grades advanced and 6 grades ahead in math, putting her in Algebra 2 in 5th grade. She can more than keep up at this level, and that is impressive on its own. The CEO, mealworms, kids book writing seems more like theater but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the kid is an outlier.

Yep. This kid will not struggle with the academics at TJ, and she is undoubtedly highly gifted. It is interesting to me, though, that none of these parent manufactured math geniuses seem to have any real math credentials other than being hyperaccelerated. Every year, FCPS seems to have 1 or 2 middle schoolers qualify for JMO, and another 15-20 qualify for AIME. Most of these kids could have handled significantly more math acceleration if FCPS allowed it and the parents were interested.

The most interesting part of this story is just how different the Gainesville schools are with supporting highly gifted kids compared to FCPS. FCPS is largely disinterested in letting any kids get ahead or providing any support for the highly gifted. A lot of the top FCPS kids are learning almost nothing at school and could easily handle the materials for higher grade levels. Apparently, OP would have been better off with placing her kid into Gainesville schools if she wanted 6th grade Algebra.

At the risk of being pedantic, people need to stop repeating that she was taking Algebra 2 in 5th grade or got admitted to TJ from 5th grade. From the article, she skipped 1st, 3rd, and 5th grade. She may have been a 10 year old 8th grader, but she was still fully exposed to 6th, 7th, and 8th grade materials in her classes, and she was admitted to TJ as an 8th grader taking Algebra 2.

[Anonymous]

Yes, she’s a 11 year old 9th grader, at an age when most kids are in 5th grade.

I don’t necessarily agree that you need to do competition math to prove one’s worth. A lot of these kids seem to be very social, thrive with the spotlight on them and generally have more than one area of interest. Competition math is opposite, a concentrated focus in one narrow area.

College coursework credit is a real math credential for most. Maybe her interest and strength is not in going super deep in math on route to math Olympiad, which in my view is also an artificial goal and to a degree a waste of time.

These are different paths and you can endlessly argue the advantages of one over the other. Being socially savvy and knowing how to sell yourself is a good skill to have even if it seems somewhat cringy at this age.

She definite has a lot of support, I’m really curious how these kids do later in life on their own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, she’s a 11 year old 9th grader, at an age when most kids are in 5th grade.

I don’t necessarily agree that you need to do competition math to prove one’s worth. A lot of these kids seem to be very social, thrive with the spotlight on them and generally have more than one area of interest. Competition math is opposite, a concentrated focus in one narrow area.

College coursework credit is a real math credential for most. Maybe her interest and strength is not in going super deep in math on route to math Olympiad, which in my view is also an artificial goal and to a degree a waste of time.

These are different paths and you can endlessly argue the advantages of one over the other. Being socially savvy and knowing how to sell yourself is a good skill to have even if it seems somewhat cringy at this age.

She definite has a lot of support, I’m really curious how these kids do later in life on their own.

Watch The Curious Case of Natalia Grace. The brother was like this. https://www.autismparentingmagazine.com/autistic-child-prodigy-jacob-barnett/

He is now is a 25-year-old theoretical physicist at Perimeter Institute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, she’s a 11 year old 9th grader, at an age when most kids are in 5th grade.

I don’t necessarily agree that you need to do competition math to prove one’s worth. A lot of these kids seem to be very social, thrive with the spotlight on them and generally have more than one area of interest. Competition math is opposite, a concentrated focus in one narrow area.

College coursework credit is a real math credential for most. Maybe her interest and strength is not in going super deep in math on route to math Olympiad, which in my view is also an artificial goal and to a degree a waste of time.

These are different paths and you can endlessly argue the advantages of one over the other. Being socially savvy and knowing how to sell yourself is a good skill to have even if it seems somewhat cringy at this age.

She definite has a lot of support, I’m really curious how these kids do later in life on their own.

Watch The Curious Case of Natalia Grace. The brother was like this. https://www.autismparentingmagazine.com/autistic-child-prodigy-jacob-barnett/

He is now is a 25-year-old theoretical physicist at Perimeter Institute.