Ahead of Curriculum - Need Options

Another option is a bilingual class. I don't know if they allow it in Frisco...but you could check into "Two-way, Dual Language" classes. These classes are a mix of English speaking and Spanish speaking children and they get a mix of language instruction. She would still be reviewing the things she already knows but using that knowledge to pick up a second language. Unfortunately, very few school districts offer this option....I wish mine did. Good luck!

Just wanted to add that Frisco teachers will teach beyond the grade level if you talk to them. My son is in Kindergarten at Ogle and he was reading way above grade level when he started.(of course the normal K'gartner isn't reading well at first). His teacher told me that they are instructed not to take Kindergartners above reading level "6", but she had him tested by their reading specialist and she now spends time with him alone since he is reading at level 17+. Now, I will say I have still had my concerns that he doesn't get near as much attention from his teacher, but I do understand that she has children who still don't know all the alphabet by sight.

all that to say they are not totally forbidden from teaching above grade level in Frisco.

S.,

I don't know if this would fit your beliefs or philosophies, but there is a great private Christian school in Frisco called Legacy Christian Academy (www.legacyca.com). Check out their website and click on Overview. From there, click on Classical Education. It is a great method of teaching that really fits the various age groups, and it seems to be a highly structured, challenging environment for learning. Also click on Head of School to learn more about the school, and then click on Capehart Seminars under Links to learn even more.

I don't have any children at Legacy; we live too far south in Dallas for that to be feasible, and my husband isn't open to private schools right now (our first daughter will begin kindergarten next year). I would love to have the opportunity for our girls to go to a school like Legacy (and there are other schools that teach from the classical perspective closer to us, so maybe we will someday).

I don't know if that helps...I know private schools are expensive...another option, but again Christian, is a private school that teaches a couple of days a week to supplement homeschooling. There is at least one school in Dallas that does that; it has a Latin name that I can't recall right now and can't find through my Googling; if you're interested, contact a local homeschool group.

I wish you the best in making a good decision. I was a music teacher and then a counselor in public schools. While I think the public schools do a great job in some things, I would prefer my children to be in private school. Much of the resources the public schools have go to highly identified groups of children, whether the group involves those struggling or those highly achieving. The middle kids, who are bright, quick learners, are often left without much support. It's not easy wading through your options, but I encourage you to do lots of research and to also realize that the best answer today may change over time for you and/or your daughter. Always be flexible but never give up!

Hi S.,

Have you had a conference with the teacher yet? They should be able to differentiate their teaching for kids that are above and below grade level. There is no reason they can't give your daughter more challenging work. The class teacher may not be able to make all assignments and acitivities different for your daughter, but she should be able to give her options in her work that make the material more interesting and on her level.

Good luck! C.

Hi S.!

This is exactly what happened to my daughter, but in MI schools and over 9 years ago. We have homeschooled ever since. Since I'm not sure what is available for gifted and talented in the Dallas area, I can't tell you what options there are. In MI, there weren't as many available openings in the G&T program until they were in 3rd grade. My daughter was 1st and tested 99th percentile in math and 96th in reading. The G&T program for k-2 required you to score at 99th percentile across the board. My daughter was way ahead of the classroom, yet not enough to get into the special program. She was getting bored in school and did a lot of coloring. She was pretty bored during her days.

There isn't any huge gain for a child to be way ahead, BUT, if the child is just learning at a fast pace and enjoys it, it is wrong to hold them back. If a child has a love for learning and picks it up quickly, yet isn't allowed to move on, they will become bored with learning and once the desire shuts down, it is really hard to get back up. My oldest daughter (now 17) had a difficult time ever regaining the desire (in public school through 3rd grade). My other daughter (16), who only spent through 1st grade in public school, has been very self motivated with her education ever since we homeschooled.

Since homeschooling is the route we chose, I can only tell you about it. I don't have many other suggestions for you that doesn't sound like something you've already tried.

Let me know if I can answer any questions you might have.

M.

I can't believe I'm thinking of this option, since I have not considered it.........but I do have several friends who have been driven to homeschooling their children for this reason! Crazy that those words are coming out of my mouth since I am struggling with that concept myself....we are in Flower Mound at Bluebonnet Elementary(2nd grade) and really like it alot. Hope this helps.
T. L.
____@____.com

My experience with the Texas Public School System is you have to yell and scream A LOT to be heard. I used to work for it and found it to be a very undesirable atmosphere because it was fraught with deadlines and ridiculous requirements that kept me from actually helping parents.
You have to be a real pain in their sides to get any action. Call them every day and complain that they are not doing good enough. Call their district office too, and become an activist for change. Talk to everyone who will listen and even those who don't want to listen. Let them know you are not complacent to let them sweep your child under the rug because of a bunch of stupid rules. They have to be able to do something and will if you complain enough.

That said......
Homeschooling is not your only option. Though a homeschooling mom myself I don't recommend it unless you can dedicate a lot of time and energy toward it. It can be overwhelming at first. So a Support group is highly recommended if you go the homeschooling route. It takes a LOT of dedication to Homeschool.

You can also pull her from public school and place her in a private school with Montessori philosophy. They work at her pace and teach her what she is ready for. It can be expensive, but this is your child's well being and education we are talking about. That has no price.
One school we were looking at and liked very much was Explorations Prep in Flower Mound.
They do science and mathematics based learning with a Montessori structure.

Here is the link: http://www.explorationsprep.com/Home.aspx

RPocai

S.,

My middle child was designated GT in Kindergarten in the TX Public Schools down in Belton, TX. Her teacher there was fantastic. We too experienced the same situation you are faced with. Our Lily was way beyond the other students and passed Kindergarten in the first 3 weeks of school. We had her in for testing as soon as they offered it; however that did not help us in the immediate time frame. My husband and I both sat down with the Principal and Teacher to discuss how WE were going to handle Lily's special needs until we could get her into the GT program. We were very fortunate we did not struggle to be heard. If you continue to run into problems I am a very firm believer in utilizing the Superintendent of Schools. Trust me this does work. We have lived all over the country and have faced many difficulties with our children with special needs (my other two children are testing into the GT program as well). Not all districts are the same. We struggled in the Garland School Systems. They "tried" to tell us the same garbage..."We must stick to the curriculum!" Well we have since moved out of temporary housing into a house here in Wylie. The Schools are beyond fabulous! We love it. Lily's Teacher here is actually certified for GT. So she gets what she needs daily from this teacher. Now she also get’s pulled out once a week with the other GT children to get special instruction. YOUR teacher is the one that doesn't want to step out of her comfort zone. SHE doesn't want to do anything that may cause her to extra work. My youngest daughter’s teacher designated her GT and goes out of her way to help my little one stay challenged. She utilizes her knowledge to assist some of the children in class that may not be doing as well. This helps Aria and the children that weren’t doing as well are thriving with the extra help. During our parent/teacher conference she sent home "extra" work so that she can stay challenged. Now this work will not be graded and will not count for or against her grades. It is simply to keep her challenged. She isn’t any longer acting out or bored in class. You could make a suggestion like this to your teacher. In the end you are the best advocate for your child. If you think home schooling is your best option, I would personally seek out information and resources. If you would like to further discuss the GT program I would be glad to talk with you about it.

Good Luck,
Dene’ H.

You know that your story is exactly the same as mine was? My daughter was in kindergarten in Frisco too and way ahead and bored and starting to get into trouble as well. I talked to the teacher and she just gave my daughter extra reading to do but I knew she could do more in all subjects. We had her tested for the G&T program and she didn't get through the first stage so I was at a loss for what to do also. The only option you have in grade school is if they turn 6 before some date like January 1 then they are eligible to be put a grade ahead and just skip kindergarten. My daughter's birthday was January 19 so we just missed the cutoff and that wasn't an option for us; however, I wasn't sure putting her with kids a year older was the best option either...didn't think she was ready for kids a year ahead of her in maturity.

What we decided was that homeschooling was our best option because even in private school she would probably be somewhat ahead and I didn't want anybody to hold her back from learning what she is capable of learning. Private tutoring is the only way to avoid that because it's only about that one child and where they're at. You don't have to worry about a whole classroom of kids because it's impossible to have everybody at the same point. I can't imagine the frustration teachers have to go through having to work with so many kids!

Homeschooling has turned out to be so wonderful for us. Sure, it's a challenge at times but overall awesome AND I know just what she's learning and there's no limit to what she can learn now. Nobody is telling her "oh, you can't learn that yet". Baloney! That's the problem with a classroom setting....