Grade-split class condundrum (teen) Update post #16

[moominmamma]

My middle dd starts back to school in a couple of weeks, and I'm mildly concerned about her placement at the upper end of a split-grade class this year. Normally I'd sit back and watch and see and stay optimistic, but she's now in high school where it gets a lot trickier to adjust courses and classes part-way through the school year. I'm wondering whether her default placement is really the best situation for her.

She's 13 with a November birthday, starting 9th grade, and with our cut-off that makes her the youngest 9th-grader. But she attends an extremely small K-12 school with just 45 students in the Upper School division (7th-12th grades). She would be in a split class of 7th, 8th and 9th-graders for the four main academic subject areas. Electives are all multi-grade, covering the entire Upper School.

When she entered school last year from homeschooling, she was well ahead of the school curriculum so she was placed a year ahead in three of the four core academic areas, as well as in a couple of elective courses. Last year she was in an 8/9/10 split, so it was easy for her just to work with the 9th-graders for those courses. She still didn't find much challenge, and easily earned the top mark in 9th grade math and science. This next year she'll be the only student in her classroom working on 10th grade material, so she'll be basically just doing computer-assisted independent study in a corner of the room. Social Studies (i.e. History) is the only course taught within the 7/8/9 classroom that she'll be learning alongside others. Math, science and English will be 10th grade level.

I'm wondering if it wouldn't make sense to ask that she be placed in the 10th/11th/12th grade classroom this year. Her brother (whom she relates to like a peer) and two out of three of her closest friends are there. She would have to do 9th grade Social Studies by working independently. But I think it makes more sense to do one of four courses independently in the older classroom than three of four in the younger classroom.

She enjoys school, it comes easily, she is serious and goal-oriented, top of the class and doesn't get stressed: she actually digs exams, for instance. And while she hasn't explicitly asked me to advocate for an advanced grade placement, I think that's only because she figures it isn't an option. She does keep saying "I wish I was in Grade 10" and moaning about not being able to go on the Grade 10 field trip to the Shakespeare fest (because although she'll be studying Macbeth in her English 10 course, she isn't "in Grade 10" where the field trip is integrated into the schedule). 

My reservation, of course, is the age mix. I've always really liked multi-age learning, but even I can't help but wonder if maybe this is too extreme? She'll be the youngest by more than a year, and because of a demographic bulge of seniors, almost half the class would be three to three four years older. But they're pretty good kids, especially the 12th-graders, and the 10th-grade girls. And I honestly can't say the same about the 9th-grade girls!

Dd13 hasn't been tested for giftedness. Her older siblings were both tested at age 14/15 and ID'd as HG/PG. Eldest dd did very well with a grade skip. I'm pretty sure my middle dd is similarly gifted to her brother, though with a more school-oriented work ethic and learning style. The school has been really easy-going about adjusting her course placement to meet her needs. I don't particularly want to put her on track to graduate a year early; she's got her sights set on a medical, biology research or veterinary field, and I think she'd do best not to rush through her schooling but to broaden her interests and her learning while that's still possible. She's a year ahead in some subjects, but I think that will just allow her time for more electives and more AP-type stuff. So I'm thinking not of actually adjusting her academic level in anything, but just asking the school to give her a classroom work environment of older, more advanced peers for this year.

Any thoughts from interested bystanders much appreciated!

miranda

Edited by moominmamma - 9/5/12 at 3:50pm

[heatherdeg]

Originally Posted by moominmamma 

But I think it makes more sense to do one of four courses independently in the older classroom than three of four in the younger classroom.

She enjoys school, it comes easily, she is serious and goal-oriented, top of the class and doesn't get stressed: she actually digs exams, for instance. And while she hasn't explicitly asked me to advocate for an advanced grade placement, I think that's only because she figures it isn't an option. She does keep saying "I wish I was in Grade 10" and moaning about not being able to go on the Grade 10 field trip to the Shakespeare fest (because although she'll be studying Macbeth in her English 10 course, she isn't "in Grade 10" where the field trip is integrated into the schedule). 

The lines I bolded really do scream "move her".  Gifted or not, those lines pretty much spell out more than one really good reason to move her--gifted or not.  Of course, I would talk to her about it and ask if she'd really want to move and let her know that if she really wants to--you will advocate for it, but can't guarantee the school will listen, kwim?

I really wouldn't worry so much about the mixed age peers in the higher grade room.  For one, you said you feel relatively comfortable that they're good kids.  But I used to teach high school electives (until 2007--so not in the dark ages  ) and often had kids in grades 9-12 in the same class.  Large, regional, upper middle class to affluent district (and competitive about everything from clothing to test scores) and really, it was fine.  The younger kids weren't really exposed to anything in the classes that they shouldn't have.  That's really a matter of the culture the teachers cultivate in their room.  My students were exposed to more during passing time, lunch and gym where there was less supervision and I think the worst of it was stories about their escapades while left completely unsupervised at home at times.    Those were stories that got more surprising with the older kids in my district.  But they were stories from a small handful (in a school of 1,200 students)... about experiences that your kids wouldn't have if they were accounted for and supervised.

JMO

[whatsnextmom]

Your instincts have been pretty great when it comes to educating your kids. Based on the experiences of your other children and from what you've said about DD and the school in the past, if being in the older group makes sense to you and your DD, I suspect it's the right thing to do. The fact that it's 10th/11th/12th would actually make me more comfortable. In multi-age groups, individual ages don't seem to matter as much. She'll be moving around many of these kids for a couple years and adding kids she's already familiar with next year. You wouldn't even have to officially skip her if you didn't want to as next year, she'll be in the same group. If she wanted to study on her own, she could do that at home as she did in the past. She's in school because she wants to be I presume. Why go if she's going to be alone with a computer most of the day?

If it were anyone else, I'd question the situation more but how often has your gut really been wrong when it comes to your kids?

[Tigerle]

 What everyone else has said, including their respect for your instincts. So now I'll bold those quotes that scream "move her" to me:

Originally Posted by moominmamma 

She would be in a split class of 7th, 8th and 9th-graders for the four main academic subject areas.  

When she entered school last year from homeschooling, she was well ahead of the school curriculum so she was placed a year ahead in three of the four core academic areas, as well as in a couple of elective courses. Last year she was in an 8/9/10 split, so it was easy for her just to work with the 9th-graders for those courses. She still didn't find much challenge, and easily earned the top mark in 9th grade math and science. This next year she'll be the only student in her classroom working on 10th grade material, so she'll be basically just doing computer-assisted independent study in a corner of the room. 

I'm wondering if it wouldn't make sense to ask that she be placed in the 10th/11th/12th grade classroom this year. Her brother (whom she relates to like a peer) and two out of three of her closest friends are there. She would have to do 9th grade Social Studies by working independently. But I think it makes more sense to do one of four courses independently in the older classroom than three of four in the younger classroom.

She does keep saying "I wish I was in Grade 10" and moaning about not being able to go on the Grade 10 field trip to the Shakespeare fest (because although she'll be studying Macbeth in her English 10 course, she isn't "in Grade 10" where the field trip is integrated into the schedule). 

But they're pretty good kids, especially the 12th-graders, and the 10th-grade girls. And I honestly can't say the same about the 9th-grade girls!

 She's a 10th-grader. from all you've written about the school, they'll happily comply with your request.

I can't really tell whether it would be a problem, administratively, to stay in the 10/11/12 split for four years instead of three in order to broaden her science background. But I'm sure you'll find a way for her, the way you did for your oldest. Which reminds me I haven't read your blog for a while, looking forward to catching up!

And kudos for getting the new courtesy rule about stating age groups in titles established ...

[moominmamma]

Thanks for your kind words, and for weighing in. You've helped me trust my instincts a bit better.

Last night I broached the possibility with her. I asked "I wonder if you would be happier if they would place you with the Grade 10's, 11's and 12's for your core academics." It was in the midst of a raucous and often silly discussion about school-related stuff with myself and her sisters. I swear I heard the 'snap' of a steel trap closing around that idea. Discussion kept meandering wildly thanks to her sisters, but she kept pulling it back: "Hey. Grade 10. Let's get back on topic. Can I skip into Grade 10? Why couldn't I?" I kept throwing out counter-considerations and she kept shooting them down. She was relentless.

But she doesn't just want a more convenient place to do subject acceleration. She wants to move ahead in all subject areas. She made that very clear: she wants the challenge of a full grade skip. She wants access to a couple of community-mentored elective options that for various complicated reasons would only be available if she were enrolled in 10th grade. And she wants free of the social morass that currently exists amongst the 8th and 9th graders. She wants the option to graduate early, then take a gap year, or to enrich her high school course-load with higher-level study, delaying graduation by a year so that she'd finish at 17. So I seem to have opened a larger can of worms than I intended.

I think my next step will be to have heart-to-heart with my friend who is the guidance counsellor and assistant principal of the school to get her read on all this. She knows my dd, she knows the school, she's dealt with grade-skips in the past. She tends to believe my kids are capable of anything, so I think I need to stay somewhat skeptical if she's whole-heartedly in favour of a skip. But I have definitely opened a can of worms with dd now, and I feel I need to at least gently pursue the information-gathering step.

Miranda

[chaimom]

It does sound like you've made great educational choices for your kids so far.  The two keys for me would be that your dd is already doing 10th grade material and will have to do it alone, since she's not in 10th grade.  Also, the fact that your dd wants to skip-- that says a tremendous amount about her desire to learn and her understanding of her abilities.  If it were me, I would push ahead. 

[Linda on the move]

We did a similar thing last year with DD#2, but slightly different because the school is set up differently. At our school, 6-8 is one cohort, and 9-12 is a cohort. DD#2 was age appropriate for 8th grade, and the because of the way her birthday falls, was the youngest person in her school in 8th grade. She was approved to take all high school classes (that she met the prerequisites for) and attended all high school field trips. She was still classified as an 8th grader because we did not want to bump up her graduation date at this point. She did get highschool credit, so we will revisit the graduation date question in a couple of years.

It worked out really well. She found her classes interesting and was spending time with her true peers, rather than her age mates. Her anthropology teacher said that she was a great addition to the class because not only was she a super student, but she really challenged the other students, including the seniors, who didn't care for being out done by the youngest and smallest person in the class (we are a short family).

The only downside is that it did bump up the age of the people she hangs out with outside of school, and also what she does with friends. I felt that it would be inappropriate to put her in a situation where all the kids she is around have one set of rules because they are older teens, but then for us to treat her like she was 13 (even though she was 13). So her rules and outings were more appropriate for about a 16 year old. I think this was the right thing to do, but at times it was hard for me. She did things like go see movies with a group of friends with a teen driver. All good kids, most of whom we know the parents (one of the joys of a small school). Yet, there is something about the "riding in cars with boys" stage that I wasn't quite ready for.

Many things in our community have age guidelines as well as grade guidelines, so you might want to double check what switching her grade does and doesn't make available to her. Sometimes it is in the fine print, because they assume all kids in a certain grade are at least X years old.

I'm still not sure about bumping up her graduation year. There are pros and cons, and we are going to keep putting it off as long as we can. (My DD took her first high school credit in 7th grade, and took an overload last year).

[moominmamma]

Originally Posted by Linda on the move 

The only downside is that it did bump up the age of the people she hangs out with outside of school, and also what she does with friends. ....

Many things in our community have age guidelines as well as grade guidelines, so you might want to double check what switching her grade does and doesn't make available to her. Sometimes it is in the fine print, because they assume all kids in a certain grade are at least X years old.

Yeah, I hear you about the ages and rules for social activities. But we've been through that with our eldest, who was a year ahead through high school, and who always preferred teenaged friends several years older, or young adult friends. And the four people dd13 hangs out with most (and this is unlikely to change) are 14, 15, almost-16 and 17. 

As for community-based activities, there are precious few, and they tend to go (loosely) by age, nothing to do with grade level, and she already squeaks in. She is on the Board of Directors of the youth centre, and attending the centre merely requires that one be at least 12. She was the was the token 12-year-old in the sixty-voice youth choir for ages 13-23 last year, and fits the official age criteria now. "Upper School Soccer" and other school-based sports merely require one to be in or beyond 8th grade. So she did those last year.

Good to hear that things worked out well for your dd last year. That's encouraging.

Miranda

[ChristaN]

I'd agree with the others: she's essentially a 10th grader.  My dd13 is very close in age to yours and she is officially a 10th grader in a huge high school (500 kids/grade) so a somewhat different set-up than the small school you have, but it is working very well.  She took both the 9th and 10th grade science classes last year in 9th so she has a lot of juniors in her science class this year and some other elective classes that are a mix of 10th, 11th, and 12th graders.  Like your dd, her friends are older by preference.  She has a couple of 17 y/o boys (yikes, although one is gay) who she counts as good friends.  Her female friends are mostly 15 and some are close to 16.

Have you broached the subject with the school to see if placing her in the 10, 11, 12 group is possible and whether having her be a 10th grader on paper is something they'd consider?  I'd normally push people for IQ testing before getting on board with a skip and I, honestly, wouldn't have been comfortable agreeing to it for my own dd.  However, mine is my oldest so this was our first venture into something like this.  You have such strong support in terms of her achievement and b/c you have two other kids with tested IQs in the HG+ range, I'd be pretty confident that you're looking at a truly gifted child not just a high achiever.

[moominmamma]

Well, I wrote to the school explaining that dd wants information about the possibility of a full grade-skip, and that I found her reasoning compelling enough to support her in seeking information. But the school is closed for another week and the teachers aren't back at all until next Friday. I know the principal socially a bit, so she wrote me back as a favour and said that if she had time she'd have a quick word with the VP today during a leadership meeting, but that probably the real discussion would have to wait until the teaching staff were back next week or the week after.

She did give me the party line about "we don't do this based on parental request; it's definitely a school decision" and "students considered for a skip need to be head and shoulders above their peers -- more than just a grade level ahead" and "it's important to look down the road" and all that. It felt a little patronizing: elder dd was grade-skipped (before this principal was at the school), I'm the product of a double-grade-skip myself, my siblings were all grade-skipped, and I've been privy to grade-skip discussions on this board and elsewhere for more than a decade. But I suppose she doesn't know most of this and has forgotten the other part.

I just left it. This was just a short email conversation back and forth and she's going to get back to us about a meeting. However, it strikes me that in some ways it should be an easier assessment at this age. Rather than having to try to predict 10 years into the future with a 6-year-old, we're just looking three years into the future of 13-year-old. It seems much less likely to me that there will be a dramatic fall-off in her achievement over that relatively short time-line. So there probably needs to be less of a "cushion." I also don't think she would achieve "two years ahead" in all subject areas: in high school academic achievement is much more content-dependent; you can't succeed at pre-calc unless you've done trig, and trig isn't something bright 13-year-olds tend to pick up organically the way they picked up multiplication when they were 4 or 5. So I don't think the "two years ahead" rule of thumb works at the high school level the same way it works in primary school, where achievement is more skill-dependent. 

Anyway, I'll just wait and see what transpires with the meeting, whenever it occurs.

Miranda

[heatherdeg]

Wow.  That's a heck of a response!!  And when you get to the point where you're all talking, I might call them out on why they didn't initiate the idea rather than wait for you.  I mean, surely they can't think that having her sit in a classroom isolated from her peers because she's doing 3/4 of her work without them when she could be in the next "grade" upward and working with her class-peers (and eligible for the field trip that rightfully goes with the work she's doing but would currently be off-limits to her because of her grade).  I mean, even if they let her go on the trip--do they mean to tell you that having her work independently for 3/4 of the time is the best thing for her?

And really, (I think you will understand where I'm coming from as a former homeschooler) isn't this kind of the situation they regularly accuse homeschoolers of?  Isolating their kids socially? Since you've homeschooled, I know you realize how false this is in REALITY--but it seems to be the non-homeschooling or rather the educational community's perception of homeschoolers and the argument they use most adamantly for having kids in a classroom.  So this is kind of ironic that you've gone from homeschooling to the classroom only to have her work in isolation next year for the most.  I'm guessing she has other opportunities to work with the other kids and enjoy some of the social aspects of school, but it's annoying.

I truly hope they have some answers for you next week.  I would be kind of on the edge of my seat, myself, if I were in your and your daughters place.

[moominmamma]

Yeah, it got my hackles up a bit at first, but, well, I tend to try to rethink things and give people the benefit of the doubt. 

I may have made the 7/8/9 classroom placement sound worse than it is. Working independently on course-work in a multi-grade classroom isn't at all unusual in this school, even for the kids "on grade level." Courses like English, writing, social justice, fitness, outdoor education, and all the short electives are largely project-oriented and multi-grade. Sometimes there are on-line collaborations with other rural schools in the region. Many of the field trips are multi-grade: last year the entire Upper School went on a five day field trip that incorporated multiple subject areas. But for the content-levelled courses, there's a lot of independent learning involved even for kids who have several grade-mates taking the same course in the same space. For example, Science in the 8/9/10 classroom last year had students in four groups (8, 9, 10-academic and 10-applied stream). Occasionally one group would work with the teacher doing something hands-on, but most of the time all the students would be working from textbooks and computer presentations, while the teacher was circulating offering help to individual students who had questions or were struggling with the material. Ds was in 10th grade last year, and the two other students in 10th grade were doing the applied stream, so he was in "a classroom of one, in a classroom of many" just because of the demographics. Elder dd ended up having to take a number of courses in the semester they weren't being taught in (because of travel and other considerations) and took them through the Facilitated Learning Centre, which normally caters to about a fifth of the student body during any academic time-block, and is all "classroom of one" stuff. Having dd in a similar situation this year won't be a particularly unusual situation at this school. I don't think it would particularly socially isolating. There's lots at this school that compensates for the amount of independent study required in those handful of content-levelled academic courses. 

I'm not really on the edge of my seat about it. Not sure why. I guess because a week ago we hadn't even considered the possibility, and we were leading happy lives then -- so how big a deal can it really be? And also maybe I'm a bit distracted with having my eldest home (briefly!) and then sending her off on the plane to start university. For whatever reason this issue doesn't really feel all that big. I know dd13 will cope fine with either placement. I believe she'll be happier in 10th, but I'm pretty sure she'd make 9th work for her just fine too.

Miranda

Edited by moominmamma - 8/24/12 at 9:29pm

[heatherdeg]

Originally Posted by moominmamma 

Yeah, it got my hackles up a bit at first, but, well, I tend to try to rethink things and give people the benefit of the doubt. 

I may have made the 7/8/9 classroom placement sound worse than it is. Working independently on course-work in a multi-grade classroom isn't at all unusual in this school, even for the kids "on grade level." Courses like English, writing, social justice, fitness, outdoor education, and all the short electives are largely project-oriented and multi-grade. Sometimes there are on-line collaborations with other rural schools in the region. Many of the field trips are multi-grade: last year the entire Upper School went on a five day field trip that incorporated multiple subject areas. But for the content-levelled courses, there's a lot of independent learning involved even for kids who have several grade-mates taking the same course in the same space. For example, Science in the 8/9/10 classroom last year had students in four groups (8, 9, 10-academic and 10-applied stream). Occasionally one group would work with the teacher doing something hands-on, but most of the time all the students would be working from textbooks and computer presentations, while the teacher was circulating offering help to individual students who had questions or were struggling with the material. Ds was in 10th grade last year, and the two other students in 10th grade were doing the applied stream, so he was in "a classroom of one, in a classroom of many" just because of the demographics. Elder dd ended up having to take a number of courses in the semester they weren't being taught in (because of travel and other considerations) and took them through the Facilitated Learning Centre, which normally caters to about a fifth of the student body during any academic time-block, and is all "classroom of one" stuff. Having dd in a similar situation this year won't be a particularly unusual situation at this school. I don't think it would particularly socially isolating. There's lots at this school that compensates for the amount of independent study required in those handful of content-levelled academic courses. 

Well that is totally different than I imagined for sure.  And that being the case, I hope that if they don't move her they might agree to let her go on the trip with her course-mates.  That seems like a fair exception if she's doing the work of the course.  It sounds like a very interesting school overall.

Originally Posted by moominmamma 

I'm not really on the edge of my seat about it. Not sure why. I guess because a week ago we hadn't even considered the possibility, and we were leading happy lives then -- so how big a deal can it really be? And also maybe I'm a bit distracted with having my eldest home (briefly!) and then sending her off on the plane to start university. For whatever reason this issue doesn't really feel all that big. I know dd13 will cope fine with either placement. I believe she'll be happier in 10th, but I'm pretty sure she'd make 9th work for her just fine too.

You are a better woman than I!!! LOL!  Even if I knew my kid would be okay either way, I seriously cannot handle any variant of "limbo"!  LOL!  But I'm really, really glad that this is your feeling on it because it's WAY, WAY healthier!!!

Let us know what happens!!

[moominmamma]

Originally Posted by heatherdeg 

Well that is totally different than I imagined for sure.  

What you likely imagined will occur in English. The 7/8/9's will be taught using common reading material, but with different expectations for depth of mastery, in a fairly traditional class format. My dd will learn English 10 either in a corner of the same classroom or by going to the FLC (independent learning centre) during that time. English 10 is a course that is less flexible in content, due to the provincial examination, so she can't simply do novel studies with the younger kids. She can't move to the 10/11/12 class during English, because it's taught at a different time and would result in her missing all of Science, or Socials, or Math, depending on how the schedule ends up being taught. (There is, as you would imagine, only one English teacher. She can't teach six grade levels in two different classrooms during the same time block.)

Science and math, which are more content-levelled, are taught using lots of independent study as I described in my preceding post. Those may work fine.

Socials is taught much like English, but if my dd remained in 9th grade, she'd be learning that with the 7/8/9's, so no problem.

Miranda

[Tigerle]

Meh on the principal's attitude. But if she's fairly new to the school...let's hope the teachers conference will set her straight and inform her "it's just another moomin! just do as mrs moomin suggests, she'll be fine..."

[moominmamma]

We had our meeting this a.m.. Wow! There was a lot of concern about appearances! I guess that's how it is in an extremely small school in an extremely small community. 

The school has agreed to place her with the 10/11/12 class for all her core academics with the exception of History, and to allow her to go on the English 10 Shakespeare fest trip. They'll let her do credits in Choral and Instrumental Music at the Grade 10 level too, even though they receive no funding for that. But she'll remained registered in Grade 9, for what that's worth. It turns out that the schedule has been adjusted a little over the summer, so that History 9 and 10 are actually taught as two streams in the same classroom, which is nice. History 9 is a far more useful course in terms of what content it covers, so I can see a good argument not to skip it. The teacher is fantastic and awesome at differentiating and presenting open-ended assignments.

The down side is mainly that for her electives she'll be granted Grade 9 credit, rather than Grade 10. Last year she was at the very top of most of her electives, outscoring many of the juniors and seniors on quizzes and tests, so it seems a little odd to hold her to a Grade 9 level credit, but since (1) she's not wanting to be on track to graduate early and (2) the level of challenge would remain the same in those courses regardless of the level of credit she's awarded, she and I are both feeling this isn't a big deal.

At the end of the interview there was a mini-lecture about how this should be presented to her peers. Basically "I'm ahead in these subjects from homeschooling, and there's a schedule conflict in these others, so they kinda had to move me. I'm still in Grade 9, though." Okay. Whatever.

She's very happy with the compromise. 

ETA: Just spoke to my friend who is subbing at the school this month and was at the staff meeting where my dd was discussed. She said it was incredibly clear that the principal is totally against grade-skipping. The teachers who spoke up favoured the move, but principal kept leaning the other direction. Principal even brought up falling enrolment and said it wasn't in the school's best interest to have students graduate early, because they'd lose the funding for that student a year early. OMG. What a great reason to hold a kid back. Now I want to talk dd into fast-tracking her graduation, just out of spite.  Kidding, sorta.

I'm glad I wrote the first part of my post before I heard that little tidbit. Now I can remind myself that we were happy with the outcome, and the closed-minded reasoning behind it shouldn't have any bearing on that.

Miranda

Edited by moominmamma - 9/5/12 at 5:52pm

[Tigerle]

Well I am glad that the end result at least works out for your daughter. So if it makes the principal happy for her to say "I am in the 10th grade classroom for all my subjects but I am a 9th grader" and she thinks that it will make everyone else happy and not roll their eyes...maybe you can point out to them the more flexible they show themselves to be, the sooner they'll get ahold of funding for your youngest...sheesh.

I hear that the principal of our local elementary (where we will not send our child) determines whether a child needs early entrance or needs to be held back solely based on whether the classrooms are full that year or not. What a credit to the educating profession these people are.

[heatherdeg]

I'm so glad you guys found a great resolution--regardless of the behind the scenes politics.  Those exist everywhere and you're right: way more important that she and you are happy with the arrangement.

YAY!!!

[moominmamma]

I have to say, though, it gives me pause about my currently-homeschooled younger dd, who is way more all-round precocious than any of her older siblings. I am not at all optimistic about her being accommodated now that I know how strongly anti-skip the principal is. (So gee, I guess the principal's desire to preserve enrolment numbers by refusing dd13's grade-skip might be backfiring?)

Miranda

[mom2ponygirl]

Well, that is an annoying attitude by the principal.  It sounds like other staff have a more reasonable approach.  I'm glad there is a compromise that works.  Your daughter can stay at grade level, and then if she wants to leave a year 'early', she can just go on to college!