Homeschool your child and logistically you can avoid all the pros and cons.

Anonymous wrote:My child is a rising 3rd grader, and I would like to have her considered for skipping a grade. Not looking for feedback about this choice, just looking for logistical information on how to start this process. Does the school principal need to sign off on it? I know they do NOT encourage this process, so I certainly don't see anything about it on the DCPS website. Is there a test?

Would she be at the 99th percentile rank academically for 4th grade (you are talking about skipping third grade, correct?) So knows all the times tables, multi-digit multiplication, division? No problem keeping up with physically writing more than her peers in the current grade? Is her birthday closer or farther from the cut-off, so will she be the youngest by a couple of months or several months?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Awesome to have kids teach each other in small groups! Um, no... Not really. That's why we have teachers, not for them to outsource to the little ones.

What in the world are you talking about???

I'm not PP but I believe that PP has a narrow understanding of what "ability-grouping" or differentiation involves these days, and what best practices are. I totally agree, if that just means putting the advanced learners at the back of the room to fend for themselves all day, and 'teach each other' as PP suggests, that's not a good model. Well handled, ably executed, and appropriately staffed it is.

Anonymous wrote:My child is a rising 3rd grader, and I would like to have her considered for skipping a grade. Not looking for feedback about this choice, just looking for logistical information on how to start this process. Does the school principal need to sign off on it? I know they do NOT encourage this process, so I certainly don't see anything about it on the DCPS website. Is there a test?

I have not seen this happen once in our very pushy parent upper NW ES. But what we did do was take our oldest to BASIS (starts in fifth) and because she had contact with the teachers thru an after school program once accepted, AND because she tested well, she is in Algebra i and well on her way to their G&T track which will allow her to leave a year early.....

I do think skipping a grade in the same school is very tricky for the kids

You can really supplement and open their horizons at home and in museums here... That is what we did, we are also preparing our other kids to handle the math

Anonymous wrote:Awesome to have kids teach each other in small groups! Um, no... Not really. That's why we have teachers, not for them to outsource to the little ones.

What in the world are you talking about???

Awesome to have kids teach each other in small groups! Um, no... Not really. That's why we have teachers, not for them to outsource to the little ones.

There seems to be a lot of confusion on this thread (and forum) regarding differentiated instruction, guided reading, small groups, etc. Differentiated instruction for an above level reader does not mean just giving the student "harder work and less teacher time." It means, in some instances, meeting with the teacher in a small group or alone to work with a more complex text than the rest of the class. It means having a different writing assignment or centers work. This is what it looks like in most schools, but I realize that of course all teachers don't do what is appropriate for the needs of the students. I like to think most do!

I'm a DCPS teacher and also someone who skipped a grade in elementary school. I'm not kidding when I say it took me until high school to catch up socially. Part of that is due to my personality, of course, but there is a much bigger social difference between kids even a year apart than you realize. If your school can't or won't meet your child's needs in her current grade, I'd look for a new school.

Logistically speaking, skipping can happen in DCPS, but it will take basically nonstop pressure from you, and even then it's iffy.

Anonymous wrote:DCPS teacher here, this is rarely a wise choice so make sure you consult several educational folks first. Differentiation takes place within the classroom in elementary school so that all academic levels are having their needs met.

This may happen in your school, but it barely happens in ours. Giving the advanced group harder work and less teacher time is not differentiated instruction in my book.

Anonymous wrote:DCPS teacher here, this is rarely a wise choice so make sure you consult several educational folks first. Differentiation takes place within the classroom in elementary school so that all academic levels are having their needs met.

"Ability-grouping" is what our ES calls this and it does happen there, effectively so and in a way that does not at all times "teach to the middle". But my understanding is that not all elementary schools practice this very well yet and not all like to overtly advertize it. Also, it can be a challenge for a teacher who is not trained at this or who is afraid or really does lose command of the classroom if ability grouping is applied. Still, it's worth considering to get involved in the school in such a way that more of this is happening so you don't need to resort to second-best solutions. The other thing you can try to get your school to consider is to align schedules between grade-levels, which would allow advanced students to attend another class during, say, math all year or just for portions of it.

Anonymous wrote:DCPS teacher here, this is rarely a wise choice so make sure you consult several educational folks first. Differentiation takes place within the classroom in elementary school so that all academic levels are having their needs met.

What a joke. No formal gifted programs in DCPS, or routine screening for giftedness, means the brightest kids can easily be bored not just to distraction but to discipline problems. Don't consult educational folks in DCPS - they don't believe in GT. They believe in diversity (read having your kid's needs met via interaction with rowdy kids lacking basic skills).

We skipped a grade in DCPS when we hit the wall academically (differentiation with 28 kids and no aide meant teaching to the middle of course, hardly the poor teacher's fault) then repeated the grade at a private due to social issues and a strict age cut off. Wished we'd left before repeating.

Principals can let you skip. Just claim that your kid is as advanced socially as academically and look for a house in MoCo or Fairfax to buy time.

DCPS teacher here, this is rarely a wise choice so make sure you consult several educational folks first. Differentiation takes place within the classroom in elementary school so that all academic levels are having their needs met.

Anonymous wrote:My child is a rising 3rd grader, and I would like to have her considered for skipping a grade. Not looking for feedback about this choice, just looking for logistical information on how to start this process. Does the school principal need to sign off on it? I know they do NOT encourage this process, so I certainly don't see anything about it on the DCPS website. Is there a test?

There is no right to skipping grades - especially since studies show it can be bad for social-emotional development. It is possible that this won't be allowed at all.

Anonymous wrote:My child is a rising 3rd grader, and I would like to have her considered for skipping a grade. Not looking for feedback about this choice, just looking for logistical information on how to start this process. Does the school principal need to sign off on it? I know they do NOT encourage this process, so I certainly don't see anything about it on the DCPS website. Is there a test?

Sometimes they do encourage the process to placate noisy high-SES parents with bored children. Talk to the principal. No test. We know two families who skipped 3rd at Watkins after the ACE program was dropped.

My child is a rising 3rd grader, and I would like to have her considered for skipping a grade. Not looking for feedback about this choice, just looking for logistical information on how to start this process. Does the school principal need to sign off on it? I know they do NOT encourage this process, so I certainly don't see anything about it on the DCPS website. Is there a test?