# public school question



## Marshloft (Mar 24, 2008)

I'm not at all familiar with this part of HT. So,, if I have a question about public school,, would I still come here to ask?
GH


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## Narshalla (Sep 11, 2008)

If you like. Or, if you want to get homeschooling parents' input on a topic, question, or problem, you could always ask in Countryside Families and then add a thread here, directing us to CF.


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## mrsgcpete (Sep 16, 2012)

sure ask away my kids have been to public school, catholic and homeschool


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## Marshloft (Mar 24, 2008)

Well,, does anyone know how teachers communicate one year to the next?
This is the deal,,, my son was asked 3 years ago to have extra reading time after school.
Every year since then,, he has been asked to stay after school for help.
This year,, my son went into this year determined to try as hard as he could so as to not have after school time.
Well,,, last week,,, before the qtr is even up,, a teacher called and wanted him to do afterschool time,, and saturday school. 
When I asked my son about it,, he got really upset,, telling me he has done all his homework,, turned it in on time. And feels like he is doing fine in school.
I'm not sure,,, but,,, do the schools pick out certain students and use them to bring in more funds based on previous years needing extra help?
In 3 weeks,, we have teacher parent conf. I would think they would have at least waited till then if extra schooling was needed.
I guess my question boils down to this. How does a parent truely know when his child
needs help,,, vs the school district is targeting him for extra funding.
I work with my boy in his homework,,, he does have a hard time understanding things the first time
its presented.
Trying to be honest here for both sides. My son will never be a rocket scientist,, but he's not a moron either.
GH


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## Narshalla (Sep 11, 2008)

Yes, your son has a file that "travels with him" from year to year. The school keeps track of it.

Yes, the school probably is doing their best to keep the number of "special" students they have up, because yes, it does get them extra money.

As for how he is doing, you might consider having him take a standardized test to see if he is at grade level. If you were here in Oregon, I could point you in the right direction, but as you are in Kansas, I don't know.


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## pheasantplucker (Feb 20, 2007)

As a former teacher, I will have to say that a child's "file" goes with him or her throughout their enrollment, and yes teachers do discuss students and their weaknesses and successes, but not in a conspiring way and certainly not to keep up funding. Believe me, if your child tests out of special services, there are five other students, identified with difficulties,ready to take his place.


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## Tracy Rimmer (May 9, 2002)

First of all, I'd like to point out that The Classroom area of HT is *NOT* exclusively for home educators. It's for ALL questions about education, of any kind. We just seem to have a LOT of home educators who visit HT.

Marshloft, as others have said, your child's file will follow him from grade to grade, and it allows his teachers to be on the lookout for problems, or to continue with activities which have been deemed necessary. Asking for extra time with him after regular school hours has NOTHING to do with his "doing all his homework on time" -- the teacher has confirmed over the past couple of weeks what s/he was notified of in his file: he needs a little extra help to meet his potential. 

Certainly, discuss it with him/her when you go in to the parent-teacher meeting, but I doubt it's about funding.


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## Marshloft (Mar 24, 2008)

Thanks,, I think you all answered my question.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

And I would ask if the Parent/Teacher conference could be moved up a bit.
3 weeks is a long time to go when you have questions and 3 weeks is a long time to make the kid wait and wonder..


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## offthegrid (Aug 11, 2009)

I agree - you should not have to wait for a parent teacher conference to discuss what is going on in school with the teacher. And, more likely, you will not have enough time on conference night since every other parent is coming in.

Call the school and ask for the teacher to call you back at home. Ask what the criteria are for this afterschool program -- what is the starting grade level; what is the "test out" grade level; how are kids selected (from test scores, out loud reading in class, individual assessment?) and then ask specifically what the goals of the program are and how you will know if they are working for your child.

My youngest dd was pulled out for reading help in 1st grade and I wasn't even told (they pulled kids out of certain classes). As far as I could surmise after the fact, a parent volunteer read with her in the hallway. Not exactly a carefully planned remedial program. In another school (a private school), my older dd was given math help by an assistant teacher after school. She made up problems and wrote them down as they worked, and told me "well, she likes those type of story problems like three kids each had $50 each...." :bash: What? The tutor made up math problems based on what my 2nd grader "likes"? Oy. I don't think these "special programs" are always well-designed.

It's your child, your tax dollars - you should not feel the slightest bit hesitant to ask for all the pertinent details. If you approach it in a constructive, non-confrontational way, they should be more than happy to explain it clearly.)


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## jcatblum (Dec 15, 2009)

Former teacher here & I agree the teachers had already discussed what each child needs before hand. At my school children were even divided up into classes based on ability. At the end of the year we would get a questionnaire to fill out on each child, it would list questions like kids that work well together, should defiantly not put together. How does the child learn, personality & such. They try to use the questions to figure out what is best for each child. If there was 16 kindergarten children not reading well they would all go into 1 class so the teacher would be able to spend more time focusing on reading skills. The down side was when children came in mid yr they could get thrown into a class that wasn't the best placement for their ability. 

Another note-- title 1 schools get funding for those after school programs & schools will pick children that need extra help --- but they will also pick children that will not have any issues with transportation. There may be a child that needs help but has no way to get home from school if they stay after the bus runs. Not fair but they want the funding so they work the system. I think the ability for any child to get extra help is fabulous, tutoring isn't just for students who are struggling. 
Hopefully talking with the teacher will help your family understand why they are suggesting the extra lessons. 
Let us know how it goes!


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

If you want to do your own standardized test at home you can do so through Seton testing and compare it with what the school is saying. You can give him the test and send it back and they will send you results in a week or so. Price is reasonable $25. CAT | Seton Testing Services - Helping Families Measure Success


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