When my first grader at a DC charter was struggling with reading (behind grade level) at the beginning of the year, his teacher alerted us, told us what they would do to help and let us know what to work on at home. When he still wasn't progressing as well as they hoped, they linked him with the reading specialist for extra support. She meets with him 3x a week, and he has made huge leaps. We correspond with the classroom teacher and reading specialist regularly to monitor his progress. Couldn't be happier with how they've responded.

I've always had a rougher time with math, and I remember being in HS and my Algebra II teacher spending many lunch periods with me when I got stuck on something. I wouldn't have made it through without her!

The teacher should be providing help.

You may want to step back and ask if this is the right school for your DS. The school should be teaching in a way that he can learn, and if they can't do that you should find a school that can.

This happened earlier this year with my 7th grade DD. She failed a test and her teacher immediately reached out to us by email to set up a meeting with her and the counselor. We went over her test and then my DD joined us so we could talk about ways to help her get back on track, which included staying after school with the teacher to get individualized help. After a couple of weeks she was back on track. We were extremely grateful to her teacher for the extra attention. BTW, the teacher regularly offers extra help 2 days per week after school to any kid who needs it. FCPS school.

You should post this in the private school forum to get some advice on how to deal with that environment.

How do you know the school does nothing to help him? Have you met with his teachers and asked what you can do to help him?

CHarter schools in DC but there are other BASIS schools around the country and I think KIPP is run by a corporation but I could be mistaken. Both are well regarded.

Sorry to be dense. What are Kipp and Basis? Never heard of them!

I think paying private school tuition and then having the default be a tutor is outrageous. When I was in school, public even, it was "why don't you come see my tomorrow before/after school or during recess" I think the teachers have lost their true interest in the child.

My daughter struggled a bit in one subject early this year. Her teacher noticed and emailed us right away to tell us that our daughter did not seem to be herself and was missing some assignments. We addressed it with our daughter. She got the assignments completed and turned in. She talked to her teacher about a plan for a few minutes extra help for a couple weeks and they worked out a schedule whereby her teacher gave her a bit of review and reinforcement during a study hall. Within a few days the assignments were caught up and within a week or two she did not need any extra help. Her teacher emailed us to let us know that she felt our daughter was back on task. Needless to say, we love her.

Some schools are committed to spotting kids that need more help and giving it. Kipp, Basis, maybe others I don't know about.

Tutor.

My son is bright, but is sometimes he struggles with some concepts and needs a bit more help. It appears our school does nothing to help him, though the recognize when this is the case. Do they have your child stay in at recess a couple of times, or before/after school? This is private school, FWIW. My child is 10.