Ramifications of enrolling for public high school as a 10th, rather than 9th grader?

[Erin]

We really want Buck to have two more good years at home before starting high school.

 

--He has ADD with executive function issues. Consequently, organization of space, time management, logic, etc. are skills I want to get a better handle on, before he gets dropped back into the chaos of school.

--Our school has no gifted program but he's working above grade level in both math and science. In fact, he's going to be doing 9th grade math and science (Algebra and Intro to Physical Science) next year, in 8th grade. By 9th, he'll be in Geometry and Biology.

--Once he gets into his Junior year of high school he can take distance ed. programs through the state colleges and count it for high school credit as well as college.

--There's a high probability he'll be a STEM major, but most likely just at a small, state school.

 

So, here are my questions:

 

--If we re-enroll him as a sophomore, will he be able to get GPA-based scholarships? I would think homeschool grades should count just as readily as public school, but we all know that things don't always work the way they should.

Does anyone have experience with this?

 

--Anyone who sent their kids to public high school ahead of their peers, did you have any trouble getting that coursework recognized?

 

--Any other drawbacks that I'm not thinking of?

Logically, this should be no more complicated than any other child who changes school districts, but again, we all know it's not always as straightforward as it should be...

 

Thanks in advance!!

[purplelily]

A friend of min put her son in the 11th grade, and he had to take several tests to get Homeschool course to count for high school credit. Check with the school you are considering, and see what they will require.

 

[regentrude]

There was a recent thread:

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/467583-enrolling-in-public-school-as-a-junior-credit-policies-help/page__hl__%2Bpublic+%2Bschool

 

where several posters reported that incoming homeschoolers have to enroll as freshman even if they are older, because their public schools would not recognize any homeschool credits.

You need to check with your school!

[snowbeltmom]

Check with the school you are considering, and see what they will require.

:iagree:

Our public school will accept homeschooled classes for credit, but they will not assign letter grades. All classes are simply listed as "Passed" on the high school transcript. This policy does have a negative impact on the gpa and class rank.

[Melissa B]

Definitely check with the school, as around here no homeschool credits other than those earned through the state virtual school are accepted. Also, I don't think he would really be ahead of his peers (at least not in this area) so that shouldn't be a problem. Geometry and Biology in 9th are the norm. We also have a three year public high school plan. I do know some homeschoolers that have taken that route in order to keep their kids home through 9th grade and still give them the high school experience/diploma/scholarship opportunities. However, I'm not so sure that many states offer that option? It isn't discussed much.

[RootAnn]

It depends on the school. One school in our area strongly "recommends" you just reclassify them back as a Freshman rather than dealing with any paperwork from you. (This is the "good" school district.) The other one will look over your records, haggle over what they'll accept, make an agreement with you, then halfway through your kid's junior year decide to not accept a few of your courses after all. It isn't pretty.

 

So, check with the school.

[Erin]

Geometry and Biology in 9th are the norm.

Nope. Here it's Algebra and Intro to Physical Sciences as 9th, Geometry and Bio. in 10th.

I'll give our two schools a call next week and see what I can find out.

[Luckymama]

Geometry and biology in ninth grade are the norm here for bright college-bound students, the kinds of kids who are competing for merit scholarships. These are the kids coming out of "gifted" middle school programs.

[Erin]

Entire programs for gifted kids... I hope you guys that have access to such things realize how fortunate you are!!

We don't even have basic AP classes in high school

When I say nothing, I mean nothing. :(

[regentrude]

We don't even have basic AP classes in high school

When I say nothing, I mean nothing. :(

 

 

So why do you want to send a gifted advanced student to such a high school? Why not homeschool highschool?

[Brenda in MA]

 

So why do you want to send a gifted advanced student to such a high school? Why not homeschool highschool?

 

 

:iagree:

You can always keep him as a homeschooler and have him dual enroll at your local CC in his junior and/or senior years. If you did that, you'd only have one more year (10th) fully at home.

 

Also, if he has organizational issues, wouldn't it be better to slowly ease him into more control of his own schedule by keeping him homeschooled and then slowly putting him into more outside classes as he gets older. You'd also be able to pick and choose his courses to match his abilities better.

 

Brenda

[Candid]

As others have noted, it depends a lot on the school he will enroll him in. It could be a disaster for college admissions, where the school refuses to give him credit for anything done at home and makes him retake classes he is long since done with.

[SailorMom]

Here, the normal track (not gifted) is biology in 9th. Physical science is not even counted as one of the two they have to take at a minimum. It counts as a credit, and as a 3rd year of science, but they'd still have to take the other two years of lab sciences). Also - algebra in 8th is the normal track (not gifted).

Obviously this is regional, but I wouldn't worry about a 'gifted' program at the school if your son is what is considered on the normal track in many places. This isn't an insult, or to tell you your son isn't intelligent - I have no idea - but I'm just telling you that he is on the normal track for a good portion of the country.

As for placement - he can take whatever math or science he wants to in high school. If he places in to a higher math then that's the math they go to. And science - well - the order the sciences are taken really has nothing to do with grade level. Other than Chemistry (have to have a good bit of math, but can take it any year)and Calculus based physics (obviously), a kid can kinda take most of the sciences in any order gifted or not.

The reason they don't need gifted in high school is because the kids can take individual classes in whatever grade at whatever level they need - IYKWIM. Now - honors and AP would be nice options - do they have those?

Around here, no credits are recognized from homeschoolers, and the school doesn't even have to take Clep or any test scores in consideration for credit. They can - but they don't have to. I told my son that it was 9th grade back or not at all.

 

 

[Erin]

This isn't an insult, or to tell you your son isn't intelligent - I have no idea - but I'm just telling you that he is on the normal track for a good portion of the country.

Truth be told, I'm not saying he's gifted. Just that he's working above grade level, because for our district, he IS. :)

Ninth graders are not put into Geometry or Biology. Period.

[Pawz4me]

If I were the OP, the first thing I'd do is look up my state's General Statutes on homeschooling and see what, if anything, they say about how re-enrollment is handled.

 

When I enrolled my homeschooled son for 9th grade (during the summer before school started), there was no problem at all. The guidance counselor looked at his standardized test scores and said "Well obviously he can take anything he wants." And that was that, including accepting a credit for his having already completed Algebra I at home. But I'm not sure things would have been nearly so easy had we waited to enroll him in 10th grade when many more credits would have been involved. IIRC from when I researched our General Statutes on how re-enrollment is handled is, other than a few general guidelines, it's pretty much left up to the individual principal's discretion. But of course laws vary greatly from state to state.

[G5052]

From what you've said, I'd keep homeschooling.

 

Locally, they'd throw out my credits and then refuse to let mine take the classes I feel they are ready for. And the reality is that even if they took the higher-level classes, they'd still be below my personal expectations.

 

So we keep on here! Hard decision though...

[Jean in Newcastle]

Another vote for finding out what your district policy is on enrolling homeschoolers in high school. Here it is very clearly stated that if you start homeschooling high school you'd better finish homeschooling high school unless you want to start back as a Freshman. I know one boy who wanted to go back as a Junior - they still put him back as a Freshman despite appeals and testing that he passed. And the district has the legal right to do that.

[moki4]

Wondering why it would be a disaster for college admissions? Wouldn't you just provide the homeschool transcript along with the PS one?

Up here where we live, it is up the the principal.

[FlockOfSillies]

I have a friend who put her kids in after 9th grade and she said it was a nightmare for all the reasons others here have stated. (LA Unified) And she had been in a homeschool charter, so they were technically ps students already. Didn't matter. They doubled up on classes to be "caught up," but they were just retaking stuff they'd had already.

[Candid]

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Truth be told, I'm not saying he's gifted. Just that he's working above grade level, because for our district, he IS. :)

Ninth graders are not put into Geometry or Biology. Period.

 

Wow! Even in the prehistoric days when I went to school I did Geometry in 9th grade.

[Candid]

Wondering why it would be a disaster for college admissions? Wouldn't you just provide the homeschool transcript along with the PS one?

Up here where we live, it is up the the principal.

 

Most colleges look at two things in evaluating academic success of a student: rigor of the transcript and class rank. With a year lost in terms of class rank, then many schools will not look at a student with a class rank that is too low. Further, doing over ninth grade subjects in tenth grade? Also a strike against rigor.

 

Also, you will get into issues of access to the transcript, etc, cooperation or not from guidance counselors (depending on the school they have may have strong, established relationships with college admins). It would be different if we were talking one or two courses at the local PS, but total enrollment would I suspect, mean no mom transcript.

[snowbeltmom]

It would be different if we were talking one or two courses at the local PS, but total enrollment would I suspect, mean no mom transcript.

 

:iagree:

A friend's child asked to enroll in our public high school full time after homeschooling 9th grade. The public school is issuing the official transcript, and there have been a few "battles" between my friend and the administration exactly what homeschooled classes will be listed on the official transcript. Some of his homeschooled classes are not being listed on his official transcript. My friend has spoken with the adcoms at the schools her son is applying to in the fall. Many of the schools have said that she can also submit her transcript of the work her son did in 9th grade that was not included on the official transcript. For the most part, these are small, private universities. I am not sure she would have received the same response from the big, public universities.