Public High School 1 year early?

[Momof2kids]

So my dd is asking about going to public high school for a variety of reasons. So she has conviced me to look into ps. As we were talking about it, we thought wouldn't it be great if she could get in one year early. Is this possible? Has anyone done this?

 

She is very mature and after looking at the school info and courses on the school website I believe she could handle it.

 

But would they take her early? We did not do any 8th grade work so she is missing all the constitution stuff 8th graders do. We were planning on doing that with Oak Meadow this fall. But now, I don't know. She says if she has to stay home and read books all summer long and listen to me homeschool her younger brother she will go insane.

 

So I have a call in to the guidance couselor at the public high school. Hopefully she call me back soon. I left a message explaining that we are homeschoolers who are considering the public high school and we would like to come visit and see the school and talk to someone. I have not so far let on that we are technically trying to get her in a year early.

 

She really does not want to go to 8th grade at the middle school and I completely agree with that. We will keep her home another year of homeschooling if the public school won't take her yet.

 

So any advice? Should I be aware of anything in particular? Thanks!:)

Edited April 14, 2010 by Momof2kids

[Granny_Weatherwax]

We thought about doing this with my DS for next year. DS will have completed many 8th grade courses as a 7th grader and he is ready for the more difficult high school work. He has already taken the ACT and did very well. We figured the school district would be excited to enroll a good student but the distrcit said no.

 

Our problem is that DS was in the public school system until Jan. 2009 so the district knows where he is supposed to be according to their records.

 

If your DD has been homeschooled the whole time you won't have that problem. I would be concerned that she hasn't had any 8th grade classes. That seems to be a pretty big jump.

 

Are you open to her going into 8th grade at your local junior high? That might be a better fit for her.

[Cinder]

If your DD has been homeschooled the whole time you won't have that problem. I would be concerned that she hasn't had any 8th grade classes. That seems to be a pretty big jump.

 

 

 

It will depend on the school system. A friend enrolled her kids in ps for a time (they had been homeschooled the whole time), and even though one of her kids was working 2 grade levels ahead, the school district insisted he be put into the grade he would be in based on his birthdate. He was tremendously bored, of course.

 

I think you will have to be up front with the counselor so there will be no surprises on either side when they see her birthdate on the registration forms.

 

 

Cinder

[Momof2kids]

I think you will have to be up front with the counselor so there will be no surprises on either side when they see her birthdate on the registration forms.

 

 

Hi. Oh yes, I'd tell them for sure before we got THAT far. I just didn't say that on the message I left on the voice mail. Even if they won't take her this fall, I guess it would still be a good idea to visit the school and start getting prepared for this for the next fall.

 

 

Also, everyone, what will the PS want to see from me homeschooling wise? We are in Illinois an easy state to homeschool in. There is no reporting to anyone what we are doing. Of course I have kept records for myself but what do you think the PS will want to see/know? Or will they just look at her age/birthdate and just place her where she should be based on that with no questions asked?

[Momof2kids]

Are you open to her going into 8th grade at your local junior high? That might be a better fit for her.

 

Absolutely not. We will wait another year if we have to.

[Annie G]

We did that with middle dd. She was 13 and really wanted to go to school. The junior high was not doing the type of work she was capable of doing, so off to high school we went.

 

They gave us a little but of hassle over her age(and they knew gradewise where she should have been because she had speech therapy through the school district when she was in 2nd grade so they had those records). But we showed them her test scores and textbooks and they allowed her in.

 

For her, it was a mistake because of the social setting. She was 13 in classes of kids who were much older- sometimes 18, and those kids were dating. And they were driving, and we don't allow our kids to date or drive with new drivers when they're that young. Anyway, she was just too young and although she stuck with it, she ended up pushing to graduate in 3 years so she could get out of there. Oddly enough, when she transferred to the community college, age wasn't an issue. Lesson learned- which we followed with dd3.

 

I hope your school is better and the age difference isn't highlighted. We found that what our kids wanted wasn't school but to be a part of something with peers - something that wasn't youth group. Our youngest two found such an outlet and never desired to attend school.

 

Good luck- and if that's where you want her, push for it. Are they going to claim they never let a student skip a grade? She can do Constitution study over the summer.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Absolutely not. We will wait another year if we have to.

 

 

Totally understand that!

[Cinder]

Also, everyone, what will the PS want to see from me homeschooling wise?

 

Ds is at a small private school for 9th. We had to show standardized test scores (periodic testing is required in our state). They wanted to know what he'd been using for math, english, science but didn't want to see any of his work. He had to take a writing assessment and an end-of-course test for algebra I so he could start in geometry.

 

I met a woman who started her ds in public school at 10th grade. She didn't mention showing the school officials any of their schoolwork. She did say her ds had to pass their 9th grade end-of-course exams for the classes she said he'd completed. But they did let him enroll in 10th grade classes prior to taking the exams.

 

Just some possibilities.

Cinder

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Also, everyone, what will the PS want to see from me homeschooling wise? We are in Illinois an easy state to homeschool in. There is no reporting to anyone what we are doing. Of course I have kept records for myself but what do you think the PS will want to see/know? Or will they just look at her age/birthdate and just place her where she should be based on that with no questions asked?

 

We are in IL, too. There is supposed to be some sort of placement testing the school does to determine which classes the student would be placed into. We were told that when DS is ready to enroll in high school (presumably for the 2011-2012 school year) that he will be required to test out of 8th grade and into the appropriate class level.

 

I hope you continue to post your experience with this process. I am curious to learn what other schools in IL are doing.

[Krista in LA]

We sort of did this in that my dd should only be in 8th grade using the birthday cutoff here. She completed 8th grade work though, so we went ahead and signed her up. I had her 8th grade Iowa test scores and once they saw those, they didn't seem to care about anything else. I was nervous they would look at her birthday and say she couldn't go, but they never mentioned it and I certainly wasn't going to bring it up. Perhaps you could have her take the 8th grade Iowa test to help show that she is ready for high school? Good luck.

[Annie G]

I like the idea of having her take the 8th grade Iowa test.

 

We live in Illinois and they didn't ask dd to take any entrance or placement tests, but that was....oh, a while ago...she's 24 now.

[Momof2kids]

We sort of did this in that my dd should only be in 8th grade using the birthday cutoff here. She completed 8th grade work though, so we went ahead and signed her up. I had her 8th grade Iowa test scores and once they saw those, they didn't seem to care about anything else. I was nervous they would look at her birthday and say she couldn't go, but they never mentioned it and I certainly wasn't going to bring it up. Perhaps you could have her take the 8th grade Iowa test to help show that she is ready for high school? Good luck.

 

Hi. She took the Iowa Basics in August of 2009. Her precentile ranking was only 60th but apparently that placed her at a grade equivalent of 7.6 when she had not yet even begun 7th.

 

Vocab, Reading Comp., Science and Social Studies had grade equivalents of 7.6 for vocab, 8.6 for Reading Comp. 11.4 for Science and 7.9 for Social Studies.

 

Spelling, Punctuation and Math brought her down a bit with grade equivalent 5.6 for spelling, 5.7 for punctuation and 6.3 for math.

 

So basically the composite score was 60th percentile with a grade equivalent of 7.6 before even starting Grade 7.

 

I know homeschoolers are supposed to score in the 90th percentile but she was weak on a couple areas.

 

But if she were to take the IOWA Basics again right now, I KNOW she would do much better in her weak areas. I am totally willing to do this if it will help her get in there in the fall.

 

I also am confident that she would be able to keep up in class AND the students even if she is 13 instead of 14 when entering high school. Like I said she's very mature and has accomplished a couple of things outside of homeschooling that are pretty impressive and demonstrate her maturity and capability. I don't want to go into that here but I will with the PS if I have to.

 

I hope they call me back soon. I want to know!!!

[Momof2kids]

I hope your school is better and the age difference isn't highlighted. We found that what our kids wanted wasn't school but to be a part of something with peers - something that wasn't youth group. Our youngest two found such an outlet and never desired to attend school.

 

 

Everywhere we go (activities, extra classes outside of our homeschool, etc.) she always surpasses her peers in maturity and skills (I don't want to elaborate what she has accomplished) and ends up fitting in better with people who are much older. The people in her life right now (public schooled kids) that are her age are bothered and jealous of her accomplishments. She wants to go somewhere where they don't know her and she can be a teenager. She will still persue her other outside interest because she loves it!

 

She is upset because she says she is always too young (by age only) for things that she wants to do and can do. She feels that she is held back JUST because of her age and that she is capable of much more. I agree and yes, even though she is homeschooled and mature and capable she is held back in some cases just because of her age. That's life I guess.

 

So ONE of the reasons for PS is to be around ALOT of people her age or slightly older so she has a greater pool of people to draw from her age or close to her age when forming friendships. She also wants a challenge and something new to stive for that really means something to her. Mom giving out grades just isn't exciting her anymore.

 

Also, we have never found any homeschoolers that we can connect with. We never fir in with any groups. We have tried tomeet other homeshoolers but we never formed any lasting realtionships. I have given up on that.

 

We have discussed possibly going to the community college a bit early like around 15 or 16 but she says she does not want to be that age with a bunch of 18 and 19 year olds because she will be the "too young" one again. Basically under age. What if she likes a boy who is 18 and she's 15? She looks 15-16 already right NOW and she acts more mature. People think she is older than she is. Basically she can fit into a high school right now no problem. So I really feel this is right for her. Hopefully they will let her in!

[Adrienne_in_TX]

I completely understand your dd wanting to be around mature peers and find a more social environment. My concern (regarding the social aspect) is that with the good comes some very bad. I have had 2 dds who have attended public high school. We have what I consider a good school district in a very "churchy" town with primarily family-oriented, Christian teachers. However, many of the students are from families who do not have a strong set of defined morals, and these children are left to sort it out on their own with the influence of media as their primary example of how a teen should live.

 

My eldest dd flourished despite the negative aspects of ps, but she has always been very strong in her convictions and lets the junk just "roll off". We removed my younger dd from ps 9th grade midway through the year because the junk was beginning to pull her down. Since bringing her home, she has realized how the environment was changing her, has solidified her own convictions, and has decided that she does not ever want to go back to ps.

 

We found that the caliber of student, both academically and morally, is higher in Honors/AP classes, although not entirely. However, in regular classes, my younger dd was often exposed to conversations full of foul language about s*x, drinking, drugs, and "hooking up". It's not unusual to see "making out" in the parking lot and walkways, there are openly homosexual couples, and they even have to lock the bandhall bathrooms before and after school because students were meeting there to have s*x.

 

So, make sure she knows what she might be getting into. After being involved in the ps for many years now, I just don't see the wisdom in taking a bunch of searching teens and confining them in a building for the majority of their waking hours.

 

IMHO,

Adrienne

[Jeannie in NJ]

I tried to get dd into high school last year when she was 13 and they said NO way, No how, would not even discuss it. Said that they went completly by age. So this year, at 14 she started 9th grade and now wants to come home. She says that the kids are so immature, and only talk about drinking and drugs and new boyfriends or girlfriends every week and the senior boys really hit on the freshman girls. She said that the freshmen girls really have to watch out for the senior guys. She is excited to take some cc classes next year and if the older guys hit on her she will just tell them that she is underage and do they really want to be looking at jail time!

[yslek]

I skipped 9th grade and went to High School a year early. (Where I lived, Jr. High was grades 7-9, and High School grades 10-12. 9th grade still went on the transcript, but 9th graders were physically in a building with the 7th and 8th graders.) The principal at the High School had to give me permission to do this. He was willing to give it a try. For me, it was a positive experience. Most of my friends were a grade ahead anyway, and I felt like I fit in better socially at the high school than I had at the Jr. High. Academically, I did well also. Like others said, I think that a lot of it depends on the student and the school.

[Momof2kids]

Adrienne in Texas - Hey I hear ya! I know what you're saying. I am concerned. I know I can take her out if I need to. It's just something she really wants to do and I can see some benefits to it.

 

We are supposedly in a "good" distict and the HS is supposed to be very good. We'll see.

[Annie G]

We have discussed possibly going to the community college a bit early like around 15 or 16 but she says she does not want to be that age with a bunch of 18 and 19 year olds because she will be the "too young" one again. Basically under age. What if she likes a boy who is 18 and she's 15? She looks 15-16 already right NOW and she acts more mature. People think she is older than she is.

 

 

 

You are aware that this scenario can quite possibly be what she faces when school starts in the fall, right? She looks and acts older than she is and there are plenty of 18 year old boys in high school.

Not trying to say you shouldn't pursue the placement- just keep your eyes open.

[Momof2kids]

You are aware that this scenario can quite possibly be what she faces when school starts in the fall, right? She looks and acts older than she is and there are plenty of 18 year old boys in high school.

Not trying to say you shouldn't pursue the placement- just keep your eyes open.

 

Yes I know but after looking at the courses that she would be taking most of her classes will be with other freshman and maybe some sophmores.

 

When I was in PS school as a freshman the only time I encountered a senior was in Chorus. All the other times I was with freshman peers.

[Jeannie in NJ]

in all of our local high schools all grades both boys and girls have p.e. together, no seperation at all. As in in the same class there will be about 90 students both sexes all 4 grades. Dd said that is where all the senior boys get to know the freshmen girls. Also the freshmen students are assigned mentors that are seniors.

[Brindee]

We have discussed possibly going to the community college a bit early like around 15 or 16 but she says she does not want to be that age with a bunch of 18 and 19 year olds because she will be the "too young" one again. Basically under age. What if she likes a boy who is 18 and she's 15? She looks 15-16 already right NOW and she acts more mature. People think she is older than she is. Basically she can fit into a high school right now no problem. So I really feel this is right for her. Hopefully they will let her in!

There are highschool programs where highschool kids those ages go to the CC for classes. I'm doubting she'd be the only one going that's around that age! If she wants the challenge, she may have to change that attitude abit to go with what needs to be done to do what she needs to do.

 

DD sounds a lot like your dd. She has a huge outside project, and volunteers at the Humane Society. She just turned 13 and is going to go into 9th grade work next year also. She gets frustrated sometimes about the age thing too, but is looking forward to taking CC classes. Here, she can't do that 'til she's 16, which would be her senior year, but, at least she'll be able to get in a couple or 3 classes. Then she'll take a year to intern or work, or something like that, and may just do on-line college. She doesn't want to be in debt when she starts working, and, for now anyway, she's not wanting to go away to school anywhere! :)

 

I agree with taking the 8th grade ITBS test, it certainly can't hurt, and it may help! I wish you well, I hope dd can get in, since that's what you both want, and I hope it works out great for your dd!

Edited April 15, 2010 by Brindee
GOt rid of an extra/random icon! ??? :)

[Pamela H in Texas]

When I put my kids into school (granted, not high school), I simply enrolled them for the grade I wanted them to attend.

 

I would just do the same putting a child into 9th grade (past that, there are credits to worry about).

 

Of course, there is good and bad in school. I've found some amazing positives and MOST of the negatives homeschoolers turn into doomsdaying aren't nearly as real as I believed before starting to work in the school. But there ARE some negatives. It REALLY depends on the child and family involved as well as the school. I have considered sending my ds next year. We keep waffling.

Edited April 14, 2010 by 2J5M9K

[Momof2kids]

When I put my kids into school (granted, not high school), I simply enrolled them for the grade I wanted them to attend.

 

I would just do the same putting a child into 9th grade (past that, there are credits to worry about).

 

Of course, there is good and bad in school. I've found some amazing positives and MOST of the negatives homeschoolers turn into doomsdaying aren't nearly as real as I believed before starting to work in the school. But there ARE some negatives. It REALLY depends on the child and family involved as well as the school. I have considered sending my ds next year. We keep waffling.

 

 

Yeah we keep waffling too. We have waffled around 2nd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade always at her request and we always decided not to send her and she was ok with that and I REALLY didn't want her to go anyway.

 

Then she was content at home for 6th and 7th grade. She says if she has to stay home another year she will go insane. I cannot find enough to keep her busy and satisified. I still have to spend time with her 10-1/2 year old brother. And she needs more outside stuff to do not in small bite size pieces (she's been doing that for years) but something more substansial. So now she wants to try PS ONLY for high school.

[Adrienne_in_TX]

Although she is probably not old enough yet for this option, you might hold it out as a carrot on a stick for the following year. We let our dd who is a freshman this year get a job.

 

She is very social, has several ongoing community service commitments, and just loves to be around people. She is the social butterfly of our family. However, she is not our academian. She knows what she wants to do after high school and would just like to "get it done" with as little "hoo-ha" (her word) as possible and move on. So, we are focusing on getting some solid courses in (without all the bells and whistles that I would have liked) and equipping her with life skills.

 

There are a few businesses here that will hire kids at 15 (grocery stores and fast food). We asked friends at church and got a wonderful recommendation for the Chick-Fil-A near our church. They were thrilled that she could work during the day while other teens are unavailable. She gets up and does school from 8:00 to 10:30, works from 11:00 to 2:00, and then comes home and finishes up school in the afternoon or evening depending on other commitments.

 

She is thrilled to be making some money and be out of the house. We are comfortable with the adults that she is in the company of, and we feel that this will help her be more ready for those CC classes in her junior and senior years because she will have honed some people skills. This experience will also enhance her college applications. She will likely not have stellar SAT scores or AP exams, but she will have a consistent track record of both job and community service experience.

[Charles Wallace]

It will depend on the school system. A friend enrolled her kids in ps for a time (they had been homeschooled the whole time), and even though one of her kids was working 2 grade levels ahead, the school district insisted he be put into the grade he would be in based on his birthdate. He was tremendously bored, of course.

 

I think you will have to be up front with the counselor so there will be no surprises on either side when they see her birthdate on the registration forms.

 

 

Cinder

 

Here's a question related to this post - what if the homeschooled child in question has distance ed. work from an accredited institution at the high school level??

[Momof2kids]

Although she is probably not old enough yet for this option, you might hold it out as a carrot on a stick for the following year. We let our dd who is a freshman this year get a job.

 

She is very social, has several ongoing community service commitments, and just loves to be around people. She is the social butterfly of our family. However, she is not our academian. She knows what she wants to do after high school and would just like to "get it done" with as little "hoo-ha" (her word) as possible and move on. So, we are focusing on getting some solid courses in (without all the bells and whistles that I would have liked) and equipping her with life skills.

 

There are a few businesses here that will hire kids at 15 (grocery stores and fast food). We asked friends at church and got a wonderful recommendation for the Chick-Fil-A near our church. They were thrilled that she could work during the day while other teens are unavailable. She gets up and does school from 8:00 to 10:30, works from 11:00 to 2:00, and then comes home and finishes up school in the afternoon or evening depending on other commitments.

 

She is thrilled to be making some money and be out of the house. We are comfortable with the adults that she is in the company of, and we feel that this will help her be more ready for those CC classes in her junior and senior years because she will have honed some people skills. This experience will also enhance her college applications. She will likely not have stellar SAT scores or AP exams, but she will have a consistent track record of both job and community service experience.

 

My dd has basically had a part time job for about a year and a half. Being that she is only 12, soon to be 13, she was not paid of course. It's "volunteer" and "experience" and she interacts with a wide range of people and shows alot of leadership, confidence and ability in this area where she volunteered. We were and still are hoping that she will get a part time job out of the deal when she is of age. Unfortunately, that opportunity has been stalled at the moment and she is not involved as she used to be for various reasons. I think the hole that that has left in her life has been bringing her down and she wants something new and challenging to focus on. Whether she gets her opportunity back or not, she tells me she still wants to go to high school.

[Momof2kids]

Here's a question related to this post - what if the homeschooled child in question has distance ed. work from an accredited institution at the high school level??

 

Well if the student already has actual "credits" then I would suppose that would not be a problem. But who knows!?

[Brindee]

Although she is probably not old enough yet for this option, you might hold it out as a carrot on a stick for the following year. We let our dd who is a freshman this year get a job.

 

She is very social, has several ongoing community service commitments, and just loves to be around people. She is the social butterfly of our family. However, she is not our academian. She knows what she wants to do after high school and would just like to "get it done" with as little "hoo-ha" (her word) as possible and move on. So, we are focusing on getting some solid courses in (without all the bells and whistles that I would have liked) and equipping her with life skills.

 

There are a few businesses here that will hire kids at 15 (grocery stores and fast food). We asked friends at church and got a wonderful recommendation for the Chick-Fil-A near our church. They were thrilled that she could work during the day while other teens are unavailable. She gets up and does school from 8:00 to 10:30, works from 11:00 to 2:00, and then comes home and finishes up school in the afternoon or evening depending on other commitments.

 

She is thrilled to be making some money and be out of the house. We are comfortable with the adults that she is in the company of, and we feel that this will help her be more ready for those CC classes in her junior and senior years because she will have honed some people skills. This experience will also enhance her college applications. She will likely not have stellar SAT scores or AP exams, but she will have a consistent track record of both job and community service experience.

We tried that with ds16 when he was 15. He talked to a lot of people and filled out a bunch of applications, but with the economic downturn, nobody was hiring kids. They're hiring adults who have lost their jobs for one reason or another, and who really need jobs to support their families!

 

With no social outlet, nor possibility of a job, and a yearning to go to the school his brother went to, we let him go to school. It's a Christian boarding school that is a work/study program. They put in solid hours of schooling, then work 3-4 hours, have recreation and often do volunteer work as well. He's loving it there! He's made friends with everyone, and is getting the social and spiritual, as well as having a job that helps pay the school bill. Sending him to school wasn't our first choice. Both he and dh and I had thought we'd homeschool him all the way through highschool. But with lots of prayer this is how it worked out, and he is doing so well!

 

So, a job may not be possible until age 16 or older unless the economy gets way better! But, there are other avenues too, I hope it works out well!

[Chris in VA]

OP--no comments about going to high school, just wanted to say that you might want to have her take a standardized test like the Stanford, because a homeschooling mom can test her own child using the ITBS and CAT, and schools can get suspicious about that. Ask what they do for entrance testing, if any. She may have to take something there.