My son is in the 'gifted' program at his school 3rd grade. I'm not even sure if this is a real gifted class. It seems too big to be one. I also am very upset that the school was once an A school and is now a C-. I only want whats best for him. Every quarter my son is tested through a county testing system and a state testing system. Each time he's tested he's tested at a high level 4th grade and 96% to 98% of the state. His scores are very high. He's a brilliant student and he's definitely not being challenged enough academically. He's constanty getting into trouble in the classroom. He's a high honors student straight A's but a C in conduct. I have found two schools in the area I want him placed in. One of the schools is nearby and comes highly recommended by a county official and parents of friends of mine and as a high rating for their gifted program. The other school has the program that I am trying to fight to get him into. It's the STEM (Science technology engineering mathematics) program. His strongest areas are Math and Science and engineering. The first school I mentioned will have the STEM program starting in 6th grade next school year. If I can't place my son in either schools I fear that he will consistently keep getting into trouble because he's so bored from finishing is work early.
This is my first time since he's the oldest and the only one in school to have to fight my way in. But I have no idea how to do it. How can I get my son into a better school and better program when the schools are not allowing transfers. I know there's a way around it and I'm asking for some advice and guidance from the moms on here to help me. I would really appreciate it. Thank you.
I was bored in school so I read books. My teachers liked to take them away. No worries, I had a library card, teacher ran out of stamina long before I ran out of books.
Why not just tell him he is not allowed to act out for any reason.
I can't give you advice on switching schools, but in the mean time how is the teacher dealing with him? In our school (regular public school) the kids are never left with nothing to do. If they finish their work early they can work on writer's workshop, read or do math activities. There's always something to do. I would check with the teacher and see what is actually happening. He may be getting into trouble for other reasons, like maybe he just doesn't like the choices being offered. If that's the case it won't matter WHAT school he's going to. That's a different problem.
If you have resources there are many things you can do, but first check to see what is actually being done with him in school. When my gifted child was getting bored I supplemented her curriculum at home and stretched what she was given to read. When she had down time at school I asked for - and got - the right for her to free read and go on some educational web sites if she had finished her work and behaved. By thrid grade I asked for the chance for her to have a free period when the other kids were doing language arts for her to go to the library. The librarian took her under his wing and developed a free study long term project with her. By the January of that year we had convinced the principle to have a small gifted group in this program. By time we were in 5th grade the program was established and I hired (at my own expense) a college kid who went to the school to tutor her in her free period on the subject she chose (physics). The school initially balked but then agreed. Sometimes, if they don't have what you want you need to make it.
But, like Gracie said, when I was a kid they didn't do much for me other than bump me up a grade (sucked socially) and give me lots of time in the library and in the end I turned out OK. It is teaching your gifted kid how to use his energy and intelligence wisely that is the big challenge - and that does not always mean the school needs to do it. Bribery works, it is just a matter of tuning in to what he really wants.
In my opinion, it's better to find ways to supplement learning.
I'm with Gracie. A library card is an excellent thing. I was checking out my limit of books every week, and reading every single one of them. It kept me in my seat, and gave me something to do while I was waiting. As an adult, I still love reading and am usually reading 3-5 books at any given time (depending on my mood).
Regarding attitude: Being kind and polite to teachers is helpful for the bored student. Asking if he can read his own books after he's finished will get him much further than just doing whatever he wants. Smart and smart a$$ed don't belong together (which is why you don't tell your kid how smart they are all the time...it turns them into narcissistic jerks).
Being a intelligent kid is about more than just understanding academics. If they're not socially and emotionally intelligent (and "gifted" kids are often notoriously emotionally immature), they're better off staying in their own class and grade or they're going to spend a lot of time being bullied and dealing with other related issues. So before you go running off to put him in special schools, be sure that is going to work out best for him.
Since he can't switch schools easily, could he jump a grade?
No guidance on how to further the transfer process, but some ideas re: a bright but disruptive child. Ours might well become one, but it is too soon to tell. I was one.
I was in the talented and gifted, and in the fast tracked classroom. I was allowed to do additional breakout work if I completed classwork in the time alotted without error.
All this served to do was to put me further ahead of the curve in terms of academics, and no better at self regulating, or self control.
Not sure whether you might want to do this, but find an arena in which your child struggles. for me it would have been team sports. insist they try their best. it might do them well to be humbled in this fashion. to try to achieve and have difficulty doing so. complicate it with disruptive behavior by others and poor comportment. it might serve to teach empathy and restraint.
I hear martial arts works wonders in this too.
best to you and yours,
F. B.
Does he act up anytime he is bored, at school or not?
There are 2 issues, academics and his behavior.
My family is in Palm Beach County, but I don't know if the rules are the same. Is your son a minority?
Majority-to-Minority. Students attending their regularly assigned school and who are of the majority race/ethnicity at that school may request a transfer assignment to a school in which their race/ethnicity status is in the minority.
My MIL is a counselor at one of the best public schools in PBC. She says kids register as 'homeless' all the time to get into the school. If they're homeless, they don't have to prove their address.
What about private school? Is that an option, financially?
In the meantime, you, the teacher, and your son need to come up with a solution. My son's BFF is beyond gifted. He just buries himself in a book when he's done with his work. Maybe you can get your son a math workbook to keep in his desk for when he's bored/done with his work? I'm guessing he's 8/9 years old--he needs to work on appropriate behavior for when he's bored. Kids get bored all the time. Have him brainstorm ways to keep busy--write, read, crossword puzzles??
Also, many/most schools have switched to Core Standards. I think they teach less stuff at a slower/more in depth pace. That may be part of the problem for your son--they're not switching topics as often.
Good Luck!
He's going to face boredom in the classroom no matter where you go or what program you put him into.
Even the gifted classes travel at the speed of the slowest student and it's still too slow for others in the class.
He needs to learn how to cope with it.
He's got to do the work and not distract other students.
If the school is not challenging him, there is a lot YOU can do to keep him challenged outside of school.
Have him build catapult models, get him science kits or keep him reading in any subject that interests him.
Our son recently became interested in building model rockets so we found a group near us who also builds them and launches them at an auxiliary naval base on the 1st and 3rd Sat of every month (weather permitting).
Visit museums, send him to science camp, etc and so forth.
Never let the school limit what your child can learn.
If he's got something to keep him interested outside of school it can help him get through the boredom inside of school.
This place has lot's of cool science toys/projects/models/etc (Christmas is coming):
I happen to agree with some of the previous comments that you really have 2 different things going on. I can't really help you with the transfer issue. I've never had to. My kid's school system doesn't offer any other program at other schools, other than the one day a week pull out program for GT kids in elementary. She did that.
They offer a summer STEM camp, and she loves those. But it isn't year round or it's own school, so I can't help there.
But the disciplinary issues can be addressed without him changing schools. He is old enough to make some choices. Sounds like so far he is choosing to be disruptive. What is he getting out of that? Does he like the attention from the other students for being class clown? What do you do or say regarding requiring his compliance when you see the C for conduct?
What alternatives have you asked the school about for when he finishes his classwork and gets bored?
Be proactive in his current situation to the best of your ability (while pursuing alternative arrangements if that is your desire), and expect him to behave. Don't excuse it by saying it's "because he's bored" and therefore outside of his ability to do better. They may be connected, but that doesn't mean he isn't responsible.
What is the admission policy for the schools? are they magnet schools that you have to test into? is there a lottery for all kid everyone has an equal chance? find out the policy and then you will know how to proceed. there might be a waiting list.. they may only take applications in the early spring for the next school year.. every school is different.
In Michigan most schools allow kids out of district to attend as long as they live thei same county.
Please note.. if the school is not in your neighborhood... most likely the district will not provide transportation and you will have to drive him every day till he graduates.
I looked this up on the miami-dade school website. It should give you some direction for how to go about a school reassignment:
If you don't work, go to the class daily. If you cannot go send aunts, uncles, grandparents.... Teachers perform best in the presence of visitors... She will never know when someone is coming so she will also be on her toes.
