Skipping 8th grade? Help me think this through please!

[NatureMomma]

So long story short, my daughter was sick for several years and missed almost all of 6th grade due to sickness and being in the hospital for months. Last year when we were trying to move back to Ca. We put her in public school briefly (3 months) so we could sell our house and focus on leaving. They thought because of her experiences and always being homeschooled and in a minority school she would do better if they placed her at 6th rather than 7th, which was fine with Me at the time because she missed almost a whole year and we don't really do 'grades' anyway.

 

 

So here's the dilemma and issues I need to think through. She'll be 14 in just a few weeks (in 7th). I I felt it was fine if it helped her emotionally heal with another 2 years before high school- If I continue her at this schedule, she won't graduate from school until she's 19 😳Which she's not happy about, assuming we stay with the public charter school I have her signed up for in Ca. They give a generous stipend of 2700 to high schoolers which is a big help!

 

But here's the thing- we don't know if we are going to continue homeschooling her, put her in public school (how would I even do this) or do a dual enrollment with community college. Here in Ca high schoolers can dual enroll at age 14. So if she continued Homeschooling, going into 8th next fall, she'd have to wait another year to dual enroll which she really wants to do.

 

She's very behind in math because of being sick for so long- math was pushed to he side. She's currently working trough Teaching Textbooks 6 which I know Is already behind as it is. She's very motivated to catch up- but math is NOT her strong suit. She's had a Charlotte Mason Ed since Kindy so is above grade level for literature and writing.

So how would I go about moving her back to her level (going in to 9th) and would you? She emotionally matured a lot in the last year, and is really wanting to take her education seriously. She is not planning on going to college other than a vocational school, she thinks she might like to be a flight attendant. She's thinking if she can do dual enrollment starting at 14, (that's if she moves to 9th in the fall) she can graduate early when she's 17 instead of 19, and have college credits to boot.

 

If I homeschool her independently I don't see a problem- but if she's going to public school (a possible scenario) or continuing through the public charter school how do I do this? I can't exactly just ask them to move her up a grade can I?

 

And would you skip a grade based on the fact that math is seriously lagging? This will never be her strong suit- and she will be lucky if she can pass Algebra with a C when she finally takes it.

 

Did she really miss something crucial this year when she was technically already supposed to be in 8th preparing her for high school?

Like I said, she's really motivated, but very stressed at the possibility of being out of school so much older than her peers and so many plans she wants to attain to if she were to stay this current course.

 

Please advise!

 

*** sorry for the typos and bad grammar! Typing on my phone!

Edited March 5, 2016 by NatureMomma

[EKS]

Keep records as though she were in high school and decide when the time comes.  If she wants to graduate with her age-grade class, then she is going to need to step up her work in math.  But--having dealt with teenagers for many years--the motivation for moving more quickly in math is going to need to come from her.

[OneStepAtATime]

Is math the only class she is behind?  And how is she actually doing in math now?  Is she understanding the material?  How is her foundation in this subject?  Was it always hard for her, even before the lost time?  Or is she doing well, she just needs time to catch up?

[laundrycrisis]

Perhaps you could use a self-paced accredited program instead of the charter.  Then she could work at her own pace, but the classes would be accredited so if she wanted to transfer into high school, it may be easier to have the credits transfer.  (I am thinking American School in Lansing IL - it is very affordable.  )

[NatureMomma]

It was never her strong point to begin with, but with several years of critical foundation learning lost, it's been a real struggle to consistently teach her and retain the skills. She's very motivated to catch up though, although she struggles with the content.

I would say on all other subjects she on par or above typical 'grade level'. When she was in PS briefly a year ago, they evaluated her reading level to be above 10th grade level (currently reading The Tale of Two Cities) and her writing to be at a 9th grade level. She loves learning, she taught herself Greek at age 9, and can read it well now.

 

This wouldn't be as much of an issue if there wasn't the possibility of sending her to public school/and or KEEPING her in the public charter she's now at. Would they even allow me to bump her up a grade??

 

I don't see the benefit of waiting now maturity wise. Even 8 months ago I would have strongly felt that it was best to keep her at this grade with her being slightly older, but now I'm not so sure.

 

But oyyy... The math... IF she goes to public school where would they place her? Do they have remedial programs? And who's to say she's even caught up In a year if I keep her on the current schedule?

She's very right brain and might be one of those people that a strong basic understanding is really all that she will be able to do.

Edited March 5, 2016 by NatureMomma

[laundrycrisis]

If you stay with the public charter and they don't allow self pacing, I don't see how that will help you at all.  

Regarding math, our son caught up three grade levels over one summer using ALEKS.  

[Arcadia]

If I homeschool her independently I don't see a problem- but if she's going to public school (a possible scenario) or continuing through the public charter school how do I do this? I can't exactly just ask them to move her up a grade can I?

 

For B&M public school, they would just accept her as a 9th grader based on birthday. The original birthday cutoff was Dec 2nd for California so for entering 9th grade this fall, her birthdate has to be on or before Dec 2nd, 2002 which I think your child meets the criteria. Subjects wise, the school would either place her at the lowest track or do a placement tests for Language Arts and Math. Placement tests here are done in Spring of 8th grade so I would recommend you call the high school and ask if public school is an option you are looking at.

 

For the public charter school that your child is currently enrolled in as a 7th grader, request for a grade skip now. The charter may or may not grant a grade skip to 9th for fall. Put in the request now and get the paperwork started.

 

Either way, if your daughter is going to be in public school or public charter for 9th grade, a-g requirements start kicking in even though the 9th grade subject grades will not be counted in the GPA for UC and CSU. 

[PeterPan]

Will the charter let her do a 5th year of high school?  That would be a nice solution.  Happens in the ps, so seems like it ought to be possible with the charter.

[AggieMama]

You could call her an 9th grader this year and have her take high school courses for the humanities and science. Work intensely year round to catch math up and get through algebra, geometry, and some kind of consumer math by the end of high school. Use the extra money from the charter to buy the extra math resources to remediate and bring up to level.

[Ellie]

So long story short, my daughter was sick for several years and missed almost all of 6th grade due to sickness and being in the hospital for months. Last year when we were trying to move back to Ca. We put her in public school briefly (3 months) so we could sell our house and focus on leaving. They thought because of her experiences and always being homeschooled and in a minority school she would do better if they placed her at 6th rather than 7th, which was fine with Me at the time because she missed almost a whole year and we don't really do 'grades' anyway.

 

 

So here's the dilemma and issues I need to think through. She'll be 14 in just a few weeks (in 7th). I I felt it was fine if it helped her emotionally heal with another 2 years before high school- If I continue her at this schedule, she won't graduate from school until she's 19 😳Which she's not happy about, assuming we stay with the public charter school I have her signed up for in Ca. They give a generous stipend of 2700 to high schoolers which is a big help!

 

But here's the thing- we don't know if we are going to continue homeschooling her, put her in public school (how would I even do this) or do a dual enrollment with community college. Here in Ca high schoolers can dual enroll at age 14. So if she continued Homeschooling, going into 8th next fall, she'd have to wait another year to dual enroll which she really wants to do.

 

She's very behind in math because of being sick for so long- math was pushed to he side. She's currently working trough Teaching Textbooks 6 which I know Is already behind as it is. She's very motivated to catch up- but math is NOT her strong suit. She's had a Charlotte Mason Ed since Kindy so is above grade level for literature and writing.

So how would I go about moving her back to her level (going in to 9th) and would you? She emotionally matured a lot in the last year, and is really wanting to take her education seriously. She is not planning on going to college other than a vocational school, she thinks she might like to be a flight attendant. She's thinking if she can do dual enrollment starting at 14, (that's if she moves to 9th in the fall) she can graduate early when she's 17 instead of 19, and have college credits to boot.

 

If I homeschool her independently I don't see a problem- but if she's going to public school (a possible scenario) or continuing through the public charter school how do I do this? I can't exactly just ask them to move her up a grade can I?

 

And would you skip a grade based on the fact that math is seriously lagging? This will never be her strong suit- and she will be lucky if she can pass Algebra with a C when she finally takes it.

 

Did she really miss something crucial this year when she was technically already supposed to be in 8th preparing her for high school?

Like I said, she's really motivated, but very stressed at the possibility of being out of school so much older than her peers and so many plans she wants to attain to if she were to stay this current course.

 

Please advise!

 

*** sorry for the typos and bad grammar! Typing on my phone!

 

I would absolutely "skip" that girl. She's 14; she should be entering 9th in the fall, so heck yeah, 9th it is.

 

No, she didn't miss anything. Eighth grade is almost a free year.

 

I wouldn't even worry about the math. She can do that at the community college. Both of my dc began taking c.c. classes when they were 14, so I'm all about that. We did c.c. instead of high school. One dd took time off from her regular course of study to do cosmetology school at the c.c.; after she graduated from that, she worked for awhile, then finished her AA, transferred to San Jose State, and graduated with a BA in English Lit.

 

Private homeschooling will give you the most freedom; if you stay with the charter you'll just have to ask them to bump her, based on her age, and see what happens. Of course, even if you stay with the charter, your dd can take classes at the c.c., regardless of what grade TPTB at the charter say. And when she's 16, you can have her take the CHSPE, which is the equivalent of high school diploma, and she'll be free to do whatever the heck she wants.

 

[Lori D.]

Meh. Graduating at 19 is so NOT a big deal any more! DSs were 18.5yo and just-turned-19yo when they graduated from homeschool high school, which was perfect for both of them. Lots of the students in our big homeschool group have also been older 18yos and some 19yos when they graduated. There has been such a big push in many areas to delay students (esp. boys) from starting school to give them a bit more maturity, OR, "redshirting" students for sports participation, that there are loads of older 18yo and 19yo high school graduates. That older age often can pay off big-time for the student with increased maturity to be able to handle college classes, and have higher test scores for more potential scholarship $$. They are also just flat-out more mature for handling LIFE… :)

 

And, I know it's really hard for tweens/teens to have a grasp on this because they are so very self-focused (that's just naturally part of that age), BUT, honestly, no one but you is really noticing your age. ;)

 

 

re: dual enrollment

Just going to throw in there that in order to do dual enrollment, most schools require a student to take a placement exam in math, reading, writing, which shows if the student has the basic required levels of those subjects in order to be able to handle college classes, or will need to first take remedial classes before the student can take actual college-level courses. So if your DD is working at a lower Math level, she may not be able to place high enough with the Math in order to take certain dual enrollment classes.

 

Also be aware that because dual enrollment IS college, whatever grade is earned in those dual enrollment classes follows you and is part of your permanent transcript. So, that's great if you earn As and Bs. Not so great if you earn Cs and Ds.

 

College classes also move about twice as fast as high school classes (so a 1 semester college class tends to be worth 1 year of high school credit). You'll want to very carefully assess whether or not your 14yo has the skills (study and test-taking skills, classroom skills, time management and self-discipline skills) --  and the brain maturity -- to successfully learn at this accelerated rate.

 

Will your 14yo be mature enough to be able to take classes in which the rest of the students are adults? That can be a stumbling block for young teens and dual enrollment. Also, some college classes may contain adult material (because college students are adults). Esp. some Humanities courses (Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, and Philosophy -- and sometimes History or Political Science) read about and discuss mature topics. Writing courses usually require reading of some Literature and then writing about it -- some instructors select Literature with mature themes and language that a 14yo may not be ready for. 

 

Also, you might want to do some checking about availability of dual enrollment classes at your local community college -- in the last few years, so MANY people have been returning to community colleges that esp. in CA, many schools were limiting dual enrollment to just older high school students, or enrolling dual enrollment students last, after all of the adults who were registering, which was resulting in many CA high school students not being able to take any classes via dual enrollment. Don't know if this is still the case in CA, but it is worth checking in to...

 

Not at ALL trying to dissuade you from letting your DD take dual enrollment, but there are a lot of factors that really need to be considered when deciding if your specific student is ready for it or is a good candidate for dual enrollment. :)

 

 

re: skipping 8th grade

Well, what level is DD working at in all the rest of her subjects? Other than the Math, is she working at a near-high school level right now, so that the transition to possibly doing 9th grade work next year is do-able for her, or is that going to be a pretty big leap across the board? That would mean that next year DD would be doing something along these lines for school:

 

1 credit = English = 1/2 Literature  and 1/2 Composition

(reading classics, looking for literary devices, and beginning to analyze and discuss different types of literature -- novels, novellas, short stories, poetry, plays) 1/2 Composition (writing multi-paragraph papers of different types)

1 credit = Math = Algebra 1

(although, your DD would be doing Pre-Algebra, which would put her on track to complete: Algebra 1 = 10th, Geometry = 11th, Algebra 2 = 12th)

1 credit = Science: Physical Science (overview of Physics/Chemistry topics)

1 credit = Social Sciences = World History (or possible World Geography)

1 credit = Foreign Language

1 credit = Fine Arts (music, art, theater, etc.) -- OR -- Elective (Computer, Health, PE, Personal Finance, Home Ec, Vocational-Tech, etc.)

6 credits total = about 6 hours of work per day

(very rough guide = work 1 hour per day 4-5 days per week for 1 credit)

 

If (with the exception of Math), this looks like the logical next step for next year for your DD, then -- go for it! :) And if you get into the year and find that it's all a struggle and she's barely hanging on, then step down the pace, call it 8th grade, and the following year will be the official 9th grade. Not a big deal! :)

 

 

Finally, I would strongly suggest talking to some local homeschoolers to get all of the charter / public / private school things figured out, and to hear the pros/cons from BTDT families. They can also let you look at various high school curricula so you can start figuring out what would be a good fit for your DD. Also, they can point you towards some great extracurriculars and opportunities beyond just academics that your DD might enjoy taking advantage of while in high school. 

 

BEST of luck as you sort through your options! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited March 5, 2016 by Lori D.

[Tsuga]

I will say that I agree with much of what Ellie writes EXCEPT: in CC, often developmental / pre-college courses, like pre-algebra, are not funded. So it is self-pay. You can't take them in the context of state-funded dual enrollment programs. Take a look at that before you decide to go that route.

 

THAT SAID, I think CC is an excellent place for developmental math getting through your college-level quantitative requirements. We get everyone who isn't "mathy", who can't get into Uni. And yet, we are tasked with getting them through college-level math. There are some amazing programs going on and many options for students to progress from basically 7th grade math (multiplying fractions) through to college-level math as quick but as thoroughly as possible, even in STEM tracks. It's hard but everyone is working on it because there is such a huge population in the US.

 

So, I agree with Ellie BUT!!! Make sure you have a way to pay.

[SparklyUnicorn]

What about deciding IF you have to?  Keep plugging along and teaching to wherever she is at and then if later on she needs to go to PS then decide what would work grade wise.

 

 

Edited March 5, 2016 by SparklyUnicorn

[SparklyUnicorn]

And to add, I don't know what your schedule is like with homeschooling, but if you are following the traditional school calendar you could continue with math during vacations to help her catch up.

 

 

[Chris in VA]

My son graduated when he was 19. He wanted to graduate the same year as his peers at church, so we did a semester of work the summer before his senior year, and he graduated in December. He took a couple of months off, then got a job until the next September, when he entered college.

Worked well for him.

 

IIWY, I'd keep her home, do 8th grade, and maybe take a Freshman English course and something that uses a lot of reading, like Psychology, at the CC. If she took a couple of CC classes each semester and one in the summer, she could probably earn an AA degree by the end of high school. So, she'd be a year ahead of her peers at graduation, really!

[JumpyTheFrog]

If you have her skip 8th grade, will her math skills be good enough for whatever science class she takes?

[Upward Journey]

I actually have experience with this because I red-shirted my three youngest children.

 

The child that struggled (and still struggles) in math: I did not bump her back up when she started high school.  Being behind in math means that they also struggle with all math related sciences.  Why set her up for failure?  She will graduate from public school the month after she turns 19. 

 

Child number two is going to be skipping grade 9.  He's currently at home and in grade 8, but doing all grade 9 work.  He will start 10th grade at his assigned ps in the fall. High school starts in grade 10 here. He will graduate at 17 because he has a very late summer birthday (the reason he was red-shirted to begin with).

 

I would keep your daughter where she is.

Edited March 5, 2016 by Upward Journey

[Lori D.]

PS -- Forgot to add that since your DD is possibly interested in a career as a Flight Attendant, here is some info:

 

Flight Attendant - US Bureau of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook

Info on what the job does, salary, training, and future outlook (is it a growing field, flatline, or declining # of jobs). From the OOH:

 

"Many employers prefer applicants with a degree in hospitality and tourism, public relations, business, social science, or communications. Those who work on international flights may have to be fluent in a foreign language. Some flight attendants attend flight attendant academies."

 

Knowing that, DD can make herself more competitive for the field (and also open up other possible job opportunities for herself) by taking specific kinds of classes in high school (such as foreign language), or getting involved in specific kinds of extracurriculars (like DECA, Speech & Debate, and First Aid and CPR training), or take specific kinds of vocational-tech courses as dual enrollment (business, hospitality, etc.)

 

Also, just spending time on her own learning about the field of flight attendant will help make DD more competitive for hiring. Examples:

- Study.com: Flight Attendant career info

- FAQ for interviewing for a job

- Travel Academy flight attendant course