Passing LD students on in school?

Question

My 6 year old is LD, fine and gross motors skill and emotional delays. All testing indicates he is in an average to highly superior range. He is the hardest worker in the class and is trying his very best but his academicis are about 6 months to a year behind. He has recently had an IEP put in place and we have seen some improvement.

His first grade teacher thinks he will not be ready for 2 nd grade and would like to rentain him. The school adminstration is TOTALY aginst retention. As a parent, I am mixed. I think it would a good educationaly to retain but damaging emotionaly (he tried so hard but failed).

Maybe at the end of 2nd grade, after given the tools to catch up to grade level we could evaluate. If retention or another school is needed we would have time to mentaly prepair him. It is what my parents did for me (3rd grade).

Any advice from someone with more experience?

Answer 1

As the spec ed/gen ed School Social Worker in a k - 2 building I vote against retention. I have read through the other answers you are getting and things really are different in every district. I know of some administrators who are very much for retention (this is a scary thing)  but the research is weighted strongly against retention. Being on the ground level so to speak I can see why. Every kid I see who has been retained invariably tells me they are stupid because they had to do kindergarten or first grade twice.  They tell me which grade they should be in and it is really hard to convince them that they are smart.

Almost all of my teachers fight retention. Our teachers are very flexible and our special ed. teachers go into regular ed. classrooms to work one on one or with small groups of kids.  We make every accommodation that we possibly can from one on one learning time to curriculum modifications to environmental alterations to help kids catch up. Some of our LD kids might never 'catch up' but we NEVER just 'pass a kid on'.  

Your looking at social and emotional damage if you retain and that will affect his academic performance. You will also be increasing his chances of dropping out and not finishing school.

But talk to your IEP team members and find out exactly what accommodations are being made for your son. That is wonderful that you have seen improvement but you need to know what will be done in the future. Will he get one on one time? Will it be with a para educator or a regular teacher? Will there be curriculum modifications as necessary? Will they make any other special accommodations for him? Will he be in an LD classroom? What special education services will he get? You as the parent can advocate and request any of these things.

If a general education teacher doesn't think he will be ready  for second grade, get a second opinion from a special education teacher. Not all general education teachers realize what the boundaries of special education are, what services we can provide for our kids, etc.

I see a lot of opinions on here from people who seem frustrated with education. I know a lot of educators who are frustrated with the system too. But keep in mind we tend to work with kids because we love kids and we want to provide the best education possible for them. There are always exceptions to the rule. But most of us work really hard to help kids be successful.

Answer 2

If you just put a IEP in place, I would move ahead to next year to second grade and work with him DAILY over the summer.  It doesn't have to be for a long period of time just maybe 30-40 minutes for reading and then again for math or some schedule like this.  Ask the current teacher for her suggestions as what to work on.  If he's in the same place again, with the IEP and tutoring, retain him then. Third grade requires a lot more independence and knowledge than second grade.  

The issue between the teacher and administration is extremely common.

Answer 3

"Passing on" children  doesn't really work.  They just graduate illiterate  children.  I feel badly for you and your child.  The school system does not really work for all children.  It is a long frustrating road and often the child receives such emotional damage and poor self esteem from the experience it is tantamount to child abuse.  Special needs classes are sometimes appropriate.  Parental involvement is a must-you HAVE to be your child's advocate so he doesn't get trampled in the herd and become another casualty.  Sometimes parents with your dilemma  opt out and homeschool.  You may want to research that option before your child receives too many negative messages about his abilities.

Answer 4

I taught 1st grade for 8 years. There are several issues at play here.

First, administrators often decline to retain for political reasons.  They will not admit this, however.  It is about funding and their track record.  Schools are not funded for retentions.  Admin. will give you other arguments/reasons.  (Don't be fooled by this.)  Nevertheless, I am a proponent for the best interest of the child.  

Second, the older a child gets, the more difficult retention is, psychologically.  My husband was held back in second grade and went on to fly jets for the Navy as an adult.  Without it, he would have been behind for his entire school career and his adult life would have no doubt turned out quite differently.  So early retention is good.

I have also seen it go the other way.  I have a friend who wanted to retain her child in second grade, but trusted admin.  Consequently, her boy was not retained until 6th grade and is still having a struggle.  I believe that had he repeated in first or second grade, he would have had a better chance. Remember the primnary years are when the foundations in math and reading are layed down. These are such important building blocks to ALL that is taught later on.  If you don't have a good foundation, just like a building, the rest will not stand.

I would say, listen to the teacher, she sees him daily and knows his needs the best.  As in the case of my husband, another year served to boost his confidence and he went on from being in the lower part of the class to the upper. Sometimes, another year is all it takes to get back on track.  

    

If necessary, you can submit a letter to first the principal (be prepared for pressure against) and, if need be, the superintendent.   State that you think it in your child's best interest to repeat this year's instruction.

Good Luck.

Answer 5

I would want to know more about the modifications in the new IEP as you say he has fine/gross motor issues, then what was put in place to compensate for those? Is he able to answer correctly, verbally, w/out writing?

Also what kind of LD? How is the school compensating?

The other suggestion is finding out about next year's teacher(s) sometimes talking to other parents can help. Some kids just "click" with a different teacher.

Consider a summer program to keep skills up- ask about "critical learning period" and you are afraid that he will take too long to "recoup" skills he has learned during the summer.

Answer 6

I would recommend that you not hold him back.  Research shows this puts him at risk for failure and/or dropping out later on.

I would suggest that you provide him with additional educational support over the summer, and possibly throughout his next school year.  Ask the kindergarten teacher what specific skills he is lacking and any suggestions she has for ways you can help your son at home.  I would even consider hiring a tutor or tutoring service.

Answer 7

Speaking as someone with a silly thing called Dyscalculia *I just don't get numbvers...have trouble with anything beyond fractions..)

DO NOT let them hold your kid back, if it can be helped. Go to Sylvan, get a reccomendation from them. YOur child is likely smarter and brighter and more capable than the other kids in his class....save for the issues he is having. He needs a Tutor and a smaller student-to Teacher ratio. Go on line to ASCD.org and talk to them....I used to work for them, thier ed. rescource material is fantastic. Get books pertaining to his areas and work with him at home. I attended a school in South Carolina called Trident Academy . The school is located in Mount Pleasent and they have a website that may be of some service to you....They specialize in LD education, have recieved Presidential accreditation!....I attended for only two years and then my father got a transfer back to northern Va. so I did not get to graduate, hense my continues issues with Math....but this did not preclude me from obtaining a job with our federal govt. or doing some rather fantastic things with my life at this point.....We so called LD kids are so good at thinking outside the box we often outfox everyone else around us. I really believe that there is no such thing as LD, really....everyone is differerant, we all learn by the best means we can. What we lack in one area we make up for in another. I hate the labels. Other kids made fun of us 'cos they they thoght we were stupid (Learn, Dummy! =LD) until my science and mathematics class smoked the tar out of the top contenders at a Science fair and Academic stand off thingy...I forget what the tv show is called, sorry...lol...but we beat the pants off of them and it really ticked them off.

Continue to believe in your son and spare no expense in getting him what he needs...There are Ivy League schools waiting for him!

Answer 8

You should do everything in your power to keep him from being held back...perhaps look into getting a tutor to work with him over the summer.  If you have seen improvement since the IEP was implemented and you have a hard-working child, a little one-on-one help will probably get him pretty well prepared for 2nd grade.  He doesn't need all of 1st grade again, he needs the 1st grade material presented differently.  Check with your school...many corporations put together lists of teachers (some have a separate list of special education teachers) who tutor during the summers.

Answer 9

It is impossible to predict the outcome of either choice. My eldest was born in January, so he was already 6 1/2 going into first grade. I elected to pull him from public school and send him to a parochial school because I disagreed strongly with the public school's placement of him. He didn't really "get" school until the third grade, and then it was because of extensive therapy, not because of anything the school did or didn't do. He eventually dropped out of high school to go to college. His academic progress was fine, but he never really fit in socially at his high school.

My second son was born in December and was always a little bit behind his classmates physically. He didn't hit his big growth spurt until the summer after his freshman year. He had an attitude, caused by being teased as the smallest boy in his class every year. I think he would have done better if I had waited to start him in school a year later. Holding him back was never an option because he was academically advanced.

So, I'd advise to go with your gut feelings. You know your kids better than any teacher possibly can. As for administrators, I have never believed that they really have the best interests of students at heart. They are too tied up by paperwork and educational mandates to be able to narrow their focus to an individual student. I had to fight school administrators almost every year over my idea of what was right for my kids and what the school wanted, which was to force kids into neat pigeonholes. Both my sons are college grads and doing well, but I firmly believe it's in spite of the school system, not because of it.

Answer 10

It is impossible to predict the outcome of either choice.  My eldest was born in January, so he was already 6 1/2 going into first grade.  I elected to pull him from public school and send him to a parochial school because I disagreed strongly with the public school's placement of him.  He didn't really "get" school until the third grade, and then it was because of extensive therapy, not because of anything the school did or didn't do.  He eventually dropped out of high school to go to college.  His academic progress was fine, but he never really fit in socially at his high school.

My second son was born in December and was always a little bit behind his classmates physically.  He didn't hit his big growth spurt until the summer after his freshman year.  He had an attitude, caused by being teased as the smallest boy in his class every year.  I think he would have done better if I had waited to start him in school a year later.  Holding him back was never an option because he was academically advanced.

So, I'd advise to go with your gut feelings.  You know your kids better than any teacher possibly can.  As for administrators, I have never believed that they really have the best interests of students at heart.  They are too tied up by paperwork and educational mandates to be able to narrow their focus to an individual student.  I had to fight school administrators almost every year over my idea of what was right for my kids and what the school wanted, which was to force kids into neat pigeonholes.  Both my sons are college grads and doing well, but I firmly believe it's in spite of the school system, not because of it.

Answer 11

As the parent YOU make the final decision, not the teacher or the school.

Think of this - If he is failing now, why would anyone think they are going to pass the next time around? What is the teacher going to do different the next time, than what they are doing this time?

NOTHING.

The child needs a BETTER way of teaching, not more of the same that is making him fail.

The IEP plan is suppose to address the problems and since what is on the IEP plan is not working now, you can request that it be changed to somethign that WILL work.

There is NO reason for a child with an IEP to fail. This is what an IEP plan is for, to help them NOT to fail.

You wrote - Maybe at the end of 2nd grade, after given the tools to catch up to grade level we could evaluate.

Legally schools are not suppose to do testing for a child with an IEP plan only once every 3 years automatically.

Special ed allows testing once a year IF the parent AND school agrees to it. Schools usually dont' agree to it.

If it has been less than a year since they did testing (which I doubt they did since he reccently got an IEP plan) they can not do testing until 3 years after current testing has been done.  OR, if parent and school agrees, they can do testing once a year (which the school rarely agrees to)

They can do 'informal' testing, but it is illegal to use informal testing to determine problems and services needed.

And, this can not be written into the IEP plan.

If it has been over a year and you request testing, they can refuse it IF they have a legal reason to.

If he is retained, he might do even worse if he has low self esteem because of it. Passing him on might help him feel better because he will feel he is ok.

Since the administration is against retention, if there is a written policy prohibiting retention, he can't be retained anyway, no matter what the teacher thinks.

Answer 12

Is there any possibility of getting additonal help over teh summer?  i would try to do that-and seriously consider promoting him to the next grade-

try asking him how he feels-is he afraid to go to the next grade-would he like another chance to do better in 1st grade-although the decision isn't up to him-you can take your cues from him to help make teh decsion