Check out some similar questions!

heather39 · May 13, 2011, 06:58 AM

My daughter started school a year late so the school skipped K . The school put her in 1st grade not ready. My daughter comes home with big fat "Fs" on all of her work.
She Cries every day when its time for school.
I told the school to put her back in K but they said no. My daughter has missed a lot of school and now the school has called the law. What do I do?

smoothy · May 13, 2011, 07:11 AM

You MAKE her go to school. You are the parent after all. If you let her stay home because she threw a tantrum... I'm not surprised they reported the truancy.

Actually letting her stay away is only going to result in her getting even further behind.

I assume she has been tested and doesn't need placed in special needs classes. If she hasn't been tested you may want to have her tested. Just be to sure she isn't being placed where she is incapable of dealing with the material at the level of the others.

Also if it hasn't been done. Have her vision and hearing checked. If she has problems with either of those it might result in this sort of thing.

Kindergarten is more about learning to socialize with others in a group environment than it is about real learning as the First grade will be.

Wondergirl · May 13, 2011, 08:41 AM

Kindergarten is what used to be first grade, so yes, talk with the teacher, principal, and school counselor (if there is one) about her inability to keep up. She's missed out on a lot.

Why did she start school a year late?

ballengerb1 · May 13, 2011, 09:10 AM

All good advice and questions. I am not here to be harsh to anyone but there are very few reasons for a child to start school late. Different states have different laws, kindergarten is not manadted in many states, you need to step up to the plate and demand a change. Left on their own many scools place students in"age appropriate" placement, same age children all together. The jury is out on that issue but no child should get Fs in first grade. BTW, I have not seen a first grade in 35 years that actually used letter grades A-F, are you sure of this statement?

DoulaLC · May 13, 2011, 07:02 PM

What has been discussed during parent/teacher conferences? Has she been in the first grade since the beginning of the school year or have you recently moved and she started later in the school year? Were these concerns an issue from the start or more recent? What was her attendance like prior?
What sort of support has she received for her work in school and out of school?

You now have a situation where she is missing a good deal of school... this obviously would only add to her missing out on instruction and receiving poor marks. Since she has missed a fair number of days, have you been supporting her education at home?

I would guess you have already had several attempts made to have her in school. Has the district attorney's office been notified as well? It is extremely important that you make sure she is in school from here on out.

Is she attending a year-round or regular schedule school? It is possible that she will be considered for retention in first grade. Has that been discussed with her teacher?

ScottGem · May 13, 2011, 07:29 PM

And why aren't you helping her catch up? First grade should not be that difficult for you to help her catch up.

Fr_Chuck · May 13, 2011, 07:33 PM

First she she so sickly she is missing school going to the doctor ? I guess you are such a poor parent you are not making her go to school, which ( guess what) makes her even further behind.

Most kids should start kindergarten, almost knowing everything they need to know if the parent has taken time to teach them their letters and numbers and other basic skills,

But again if the child is running the home, making you allow her to stay home, I would bet she does nothing but watch TV and never do any studies.

Before they skipped a grade, they should have tested her, and there is no difference at this point of going back to K now, or merely retaking 1st grade again this next year,

It is easy, over the summer you bring her up to speed.

Alty · May 13, 2011, 07:43 PM

The school year is almost over. I have to wonder what you've done to help her catch up, to make sure she stops missing school.

You said that she cries because she hates school. Many kids go through that. For the first 2 months of grade one my son cried every day. His teacher used to have to meet me in the front of the school so she could take him inside, otherwise he'd run after me crying.

He got over it. Then he started it again in grade two and grade three, but we stood our ground. He was fine.

It's your job as a parent to make sure that your child is understanding the material, learning at home as well as in school. If she's not there to learn the material then of course she's going to fail. You can't learn something if you're not there to learn it.

If you insist on letting her stay home then consider home schooling. It's not as easy as you may think, your child will still be tested to make sure she's up to par for her grade, but maybe this is something that you should consider until you stop allowing her to stay home just because she cries.

At this point she's figured out that tears work on you. She cries, she gets to stay home.

She's ruling the roost. It's time for you to be the parent and put your foot down. School isn't an option. She has to go, otherwise she'll never reach even a grade one level.