How does your DCPS help advanced students?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
I am a little disappointed that Basis decided not to open a elementary school. I was planning on enrolling my child. She is very advanced. She has gotten to the point where she doesn't get excited to go to school, because "things are too easy". I tell her there is always something to learn. I spoke to her teacher who suggested she gets on more apps that can personalize her learning during class. Just interested in seeing how your school handles really advanced students.
|
Anonymous
|
What grade is she?
Montessori is my suggestion. |
Anonymous
| At Brent, 3rd, 4th and 5th graders can loop up one, or even two grades for math instruction. The excellent science teacher teaches 6th and 7th grade math pullouts for 4th and 5th graders. This year, a couple of 5th graders were taught 7th grade math (pre-algebra). Not bad at all. |
Anonymous
| At West, there are students who are pulled out for certain subjects a grade or two higher. Small group instruction is also a used a lot, and there are plans to ramp it up further. |
Anonymous
Same at Murch for math. Also lots of open ended projects in all other subjects where kids pick the topic (relevant to the unit), choose the resources (with guidance), and choose the means to demonstrate what they know (powerpoint, research paper, write a play, tri-board, write a song, etc.). With guidance, the student basically chooses the level of challenge. They also have a period every day for either enrichment or support, depending on the child's needs. Lots of small group, leveled work and instruction in every core class. And they have SEM, and lately they have returned to the days of entering academic competitions (Math 8, Odyssey of the Mind, STEM challenge, Spelling Bee, Young Scientist Challenge). Science is hands on, field trips are frequent and excellent, and they do a ton of writing and speaking. |
Anonymous
+1. My second grader is working at fifth grade level at her Montessori and it's just routine, not anything special, within the class and without using electronics. It's fantastic that there are no artificial limits to how far she can go. |
Anonymous
SEM can also be tailored for more advanced projects. |
Anonymous
| My DC completed ST Math for child's grade. Has anyone had that experience and what have they been able to do? |
Anonymous
You never know though. My first grader still can't read after 3 years in Montessori . . . |
Anonymous
we are looking for another school. |
Anonymous
| JO Wilson started offering 6th grade math to selected 5th graders this year. They have a schoolwide enrichment model (SEM) teacher who does other pull-outs, and there are books at a variety of levels. The principal seems committed to kids of all levels being challenged. The school doesn't have as high a percentage of advanced kids as other schools do, but it is trying. |
Anonymous
|
We've found our middle of the road highly divers DCPS to be very responsive to advanced learners (not Brent but probably somewhat similar in to its upper grades). Sure, there is the constant attention to those who're far behind and struggling but that same attention has yielded extra opportunities for our advanced learner as well. "Apps" isn't the answer, not all of it for sure, I agree. It either comes from a teacher/school who doesn't know better or a school who is homogeneous and hasn't had to figure out ways to differentiate its learning. You can advocate for more project-based, small group, and otherwise differentiated learning opportunities, directly with the teacher as well as with your school's LSAT. I'm not sure there is one single model to this and rather than tell you here "ask for SEM" or as for "expeditionary" or ask for whatever, I think it's better for you to get a sense of what your school is already doing in that department and then ask and advocate for ways to extend those opportunities to advanced learners.
Paradoxically, it may also help you speak with the special ed teachers at your school to get a sense of that and figure out whether or not the school is set up to push those teachers into the classroom in ways that help differentiate rather than simply pulling out those that need help. Lastly, think well about how you approach your question with the teacher, namely in terms of the problem (here is what I'm hearing/seeing) rather than the solution (this is what I want you to do). Unless you're an educator, I'm not convinced that teachers are receptive to your layperson suggestions, nor should they be really. But if you go and say here is what I'm seeing with my child (and be sure to figure out exactly what she is saying in what context and with regard to what subjects), what could we as a team - teacher and parents - do to challenge her more, then that will resonate more. And let me give you an example of why that works from our own experience with a child who started saying "I'm bored/it's so easy": When we went through this process, like you assuming that nothing was there for him to challenge himself further, we found incidentally that there indeed were higher order activities for him to choose from but that he thought it more convenient to spend his time "winning" every "count by" contest held at the same time. No wonder he was bored. Why don't you move on and take your teacher up on the extra challenge, boy?! Here is to how well Montessori would work for him... So in working with the teacher in that particular context, we found that by us knowing about those extra opportunities and the teacher knowing about his "boredom", both of us were able to get him to challenge himself within the context that was already available to him but that he just wasn't intrinsically drawn toward. |
Anonymous
The entire school had 15 total students testing advanced in math last year. |
Anonymous
| The lack of a formal program in DC for advanced students is very discouraging. OP should be able to go to the DCPS web site and tap right into information about a G&T/aap/etc. program. Instead, we trade bits of info anonymously like it's an underground black market for pre-algebra (or whatever). |
Anonymous
Our teachers gave us a list of apps that are great. DD (1st grade) took to Tynker for coding. |