Well the new school year is certainly shaping up to start with a bang, isn’t it? Comes a story that could have significant impact not only on the discussion of gifted education in the county, but homeschooling too.
This week the Gazette ran a story headlined: Parent advocate says his daughter should be allowed to skip grades – School system would enroll her in advanced elementary classes. I’m actually acquainted with the parent in question through my involvement with last year’s AEI Advisory Committee meetings and have a lot of empathy for him. (You can relive the drama (referenced in the article) by trolling through my archives from the spring–or reading his own posts on the Parents’ Coalition blog). Here’s the situation:
Caitlyn, who has been home-schooled with the Calvert School curriculum since leaving Seven Locks Elementary School in first grade, has the certificates to show that she can handle middle school coursework. Yet, the school system will not allow her to enroll in middle school, mainly because of her age.
Caitlyn, who lives in Bethesda, would go to Cabin John Middle School in Potomac, if allowed, despite the fact that she’s of fourth-grade age.
Her Calvert School certificates, obtained by The Gazette, show that she has passed the fifth grade and completed math at a seventh-grade level. According to her father, a staff member at Cabin John told him personally that Caitlyn should be enrolled at the school.
“I have proof that my daughter is beyond third grade,” Kumar Singam said. “We took her out of the system, and we’re asking the school system to place her according to her grade accomplishment.”
Martin M. Creel, the school system’s director of Enriched and Innovative Programs, said that officials have offered Kumar’s daughter the opportunity to take advanced courses in elementary school.
Although Creel could not speak specifically about her case, he said that the system buses students to nearby middle schools for advanced courses. And, because Caitlyn is certified to handle middle school math, “that is something that we would certainly offer in this case,” Creel said.
There’s additional information about the case in this Examiner op-ed, and in a blog post by the father.
Where to start? So many questions. But I’ll start with the one of most interest to GT advocates in the county: What exactly, pray tell, are the “advanced courses in elementary school” that Mr. Creel has offered?
It seems that they are willing to bus Caitlyn to a nearby middle school for math (she’s working 3 grades above her age grade level). Of course. They’re always willing to do it for math.
But what about everything else? What about science, social studies, language arts? Does MCPS propose 4th grade William and Mary and Jr. Great Books for a child who has completed 5th grade? Have they offered her a seat in a Center for the Highly Gifted program? A few days ago I asked Mr. Singam, and he stated, “I did press them for a clear articulation of “advanced” work they were proposing. No reply.”
There is precedent for grade “skipping” in MCPS. However the reporter gets it all wrong on two fronts.
While grade skipping can be useful for some children, it is not for others, said one parent on the GTALetters listserv, a forum that county parents use to discuss gifted and talented education. That parent asked not to be identified because his child finally was skipped after a lengthy battle with the school system.
First, by not citing any research on grade acceleration the reporter does a real disservice to readers, allowing the general bias against grade acceleration to hang out there. The parent in question (a mom I know) referred him to the Davidson Institute for an expert comment, but he failed to follow up. Second, the parent the reporter references did NOT have a “lengthy battle with the school system.” Her journey to grade skipping for her child was actually incredibly smooth: she asked for the grade skips, and got them, thanks to individuals in system who were willing to go do things other than the norm when they recognized that this was best for her child. Imagine that. (Her child is doing just fine, by the way.)
Regarding homeschooling and school placement, the Maryland COMAR says:
.04 Placement in Public School.
Upon application of a child for admission to a public school from a home instruction program, the local superintendent shall determine by an evaluation the placement of the child and any credits to be awarded toward high school graduation. The evaluation may include administration of standardized tests and examinations and interviews with the child.
However the Caitlyn was enrolled and warmly welcomed to middle school based on her school record and the judgment of the principal. And it needs to be pointed out that her “home instruction” wasn’t some potentially questionable, loosey-goosey, mom-grade homeschooling thing. Her parents were using the Calvert School homeschooling curriculum, a Maryland state accredited homeschooling program that has been around for 90 years.
MCPS is terrified of the precedent this case could set, which is why gifted advocates in the county are watching closely.
Caitlyn has completed 5th grade. She was warmly welcomed to 6th grade before MCPS higher ups got involved. She should be allowed to enroll in Cabin John Middle School. Meet her academic needs–that’s what schools are supposed to do–and let her parents and school work together on any social emotional concerns that might arise, as they arise.
I have to ask if the MCPS used the IOWA Acceleration Scales to evaluate the child and if so – were there any objective factors that would discourage multiple grade acceleration? Just curious – I am always surprised at how many don’t use it.
Great post – this past week has been bittersweet for many who believed accommodations would be made for their children -only to have a cold dose of reality when services were not forthcoming. And good work pointing out the reporter’s neglect – so many reporters take the school’s side and then the prevailing parent opinion without pursuing the science.
Re the Iowa Acceleration Scales, I don’t know for certain, although I have to say I have never heard it being used here. The father has been meticulous in keeping records of all his interactions with the school system and pried out of the school system his daughter’s MAP-R results as well MSA scores (remember, she’s been out of school for several years). Lesson to all–one I’ve stated repeatedly–is document, document, document.
I have heard that he and his wife escorted their daughter to the middle school and were met with a phalanx of MCPS officials and escorted into a meeting. He’s going to share more details soon.
I know I shouldn’t be surprised, but with all the accommodations made for below-average IEP students, why aren’t above-average IEP students afforded the same treatment? An IEP is an IEP. Keep fighting the good fight.
Of course what MCPS is terrified of is a bunch of parents deciding to take their kids out for a year or two, completing above grade level work at home, and then re-enrolling them at the higher grade. That, in turn, might get other parents questioning why MCPS can’t just let their own kids skip without having to homeschool at all…
If I were that parent, I’d keep homeschooling all the way through middle. If he is able to keep going, it’s not worth the hassle and time to wrangle with the school system now.
I’m reminded of the words of a well known voice in the gifted professional community: It is easier to homeschool than to fight with the school.” I now cannot help thinking that for any parent of an EG/PG child, homeschooling should be the first resort and school the default, and no longer the other way around. I’d like to see this as the most recommended position. For years now, that has been the paradigm shift for 2e students, save your energy, pour all that passion into homeschooling, not on the school system. I’d like to see it widely promoted as the most flexible and enriching choice.
It is always math, isn’t it? Why?
People always ask how I stand the “stress” of homeschooling — and it is stressful — but compare it to the alternative. I’m with J., given the opportunity, I’d rather expend my energy directly on my child. Thank goodness I have that option.
[...] in Montgomery County it is when the child in question is a qualified and gifted nine-year old. As blogged about a few days ago, Kumar Singam’s daughter was enrolled and welcomed as an incoming 6th grader at Cabin John [...]
[...] Kumar Singam’s efforts to enroll his 9 year old daughter in an MCPS middle school (posts here and here), I wrote him an email: … I wanted to let you know that I really, really empathize [...]