My S18 has been out of school for almost a month due to mono… he doesn’t seem to be improving rapidly and hasn’t done a lot of work while at home. It is hard to know when he’ll be returning… could be two weeks, could be two months. While the school has been really supportive, I am starting to wonder if he will be able to complete this semester. Even if the teachers excuse work and work with him, he will have missed enough that I am not sure moving ahead is the best idea. He is not bound for super selective schools… really a solid B kid. We are meeting with his GC tomorrow to figure out what to do. Anyone has thoughts on this? He is rather young for grade and I am not opposed to repeating the year.
That seems drastic. At our kid’s HS, they would have let a kid make up late work over the summer to get them graduated and off to college in the fall. You may need the GC to communicate to his schools if he is going to be finishing some work over the summer, though.
int, I think OP is saying that her ds is in the Class of 2018. Is that correct, OP?
He is just a sophomore and a borderline B student. I’m just not sure that he will have gotten enough out of sophomore year to be successful in his junior and senior years. He is not terribly motivated or mature so making up work in the summer, while in theory would be awesome, could result in some sub-par work. I guess my question is more about the logistics of repeating high school classes. His fall semester was ok. Not great. If he doesn’t make it back to school for at least a month it isn’t realistic for him (and I know there are lots of kids that could do that— I have two that would be fine) to make up that volume of work.
ask your GC if your school district offer home instruction; a program for students who are ill and the teacher comes to your home to teach. I am really surprised that there is nothing in place for students who miss school due to long term illness
Ah, sorry, thought S18 meant he was 18 years old (sometimes labeled that way on CC). Hmm… I’d still see if he can make it up. I assume he is not so keen on repeating a year. If you are worried about the impact on college apps, the GC can speak to his illness this semester in their recommendation. Lots of students seem immature as sophomores, but they do mature a lot over the last couple of years before graduation. It is kind of tough socially on a sophomore to get “redshirted”.
@intparent That’s funny… I have been trying as a new CC member to figure out if the numbers refer to age or graduation year. He, oddly, isn’t opposed to repeating. I never had mono, but those who have tell me it is pretty awful. I think he wants to just spend time recovering and not worrying about school. So, thank you @sybbie719 , I will ask about that option. He is at a small charter high school and I know they must have experience with this. Hoping to get answers tomorrow!
Could he drop the harder classes and finish up some of the classes in the summer? If he only had 3-4 classes instead of 6, making up the work might be realistic. He could then take one extra class as a junior and senior, if he even needs them.
One consideration is if he plays sports. Some states allow 4 years of high school play only, so if he does repeat, he couldn’t play the 5th year. The NCAA also doesn’t allow grades/courses from the repeated year to count. Just a consideration.
Repeating doesn’t sound so bad to a sick 15-16 year old. It’s sound a lot worse when he’s a junior and all his classmates are graduating and he’s not.
Call your district special education/504 coordinator to see if there are home based programs for sick children. I believe most public schools are supposed to provide services like this if warranted. I agree that perhaps dropping some of the classes then redoing the dropped ones over the summer through virtual high school or other online high school might be the best option. The impact of his illness is probably clouding his decision making. However, repeating a year of school due to extended absence is probably one of the only good reasons to consider retention (if there are any). Work with your son’s school to come up with the most appropriate plan.
I think giving an immature sophomore the gift of time is a great idea. Holding a B student back makes no sense - but this illness is an opportunity in disguise. If it were my S, I’d be looking for a way to repeat the year or at least the semester.
Friend’s son with a December birthday ended up repeating 7th when he switched schools. It was life-changing for him. He went from class clown to student leader - he just needed the extra time to grow up. We held S back for a year in kindergarten so he wouldn’t be the youngest in the class - and have congratulated ourselves ever since for that move. It’s made all the difference. Not saying your B student will turn into an academic wonderkid, but it could be life-changing for him too - and even if it’s not, what’s one more year to grow up a little?
Another option is to pull him out of school and homeschool him for the rest of the year. You can make sure all the subjects are covered but you don’t have to worry about assignments because you’re the one deciding how to assess what he’s learned. He can return to school in the fall as a junior.
The school may assign you a home tutor to help catch him up. I know that our school system assigns home tutors for those at home ill/recovering. Even if he gets some classes completed before the end of summer- like math, history, electives. Then he could elect to take a summer school class in future years and graduate on time if he wants to. As he gets older he may become much more motivated to graduate on time.
We were recently in a very similar situation. I don’t want to get into specifics on a public board but feel free to
message me and I can give you the details.
Thanks CC… I really like the idea of trying to focus on just a few classes. I’d like him to finish up ASL 2 class so the FL is done. I also don’t think an extra year would be the end of the world for him. His high school works closely with the local community college - a really great one that is a top feeder for the UC system - so if he gets motivated junior/senior year it would be totally possible to graduate “on time.” Thanks again… this forum is truly awesome. I feel so much more prepared to meet with the GC today.
@thinmints I will message you, thanks.
@latetogame - just messaged you back!
Im team “let him repeat the year”. My son has a summer bday and I didnt let him start kindergarten until he was 6, because he was immature. So he was either going to be one of the oldest or youngest in his class. It was the best decision I ever made.
My DD had horrible mono freshman year and missed 6 weeks of school. When it was clear that her mono was not a mild case, I notified all her teachers and her GC. One of the teachers (not the GC) told me about the district’s home bound program. To get the service, I had to jump through a few hoops through the district (not the school). After I completed the paperwork, a tutor came to our home and communicated with her teachers about her work. Having the home bound designation erased all her absences as well.
You would have to ask the GC how the different options will effect his transcript. One of my children had a health issue at the end of a semester. We asked the GC if he could drop the hardest class to ease up on the work load and he would not allow it. DS had to settle with a C.
Would a charter school student have access to the public school district’s home tutoring program? I think charters are their own districts. I guess he could probably drop out of the charter and use the public school resource and then drop back in later?
Also ask him what he thinks…socially it might be a disaster for him.
Sophomore year is not super crucial…You could have him on home instruction and keeping up…maybe drop a class or two now and do them over the summer (if possible)?
My DD had mono at the end of junior year…she kept going to classes but was excused from marking period finals. THe GC was a great help in working with the teachers.
Thanks again. @bopper Took your advice mostly! Just came from meeting with GC and it looks like he will be dropping Algebra 2 for now and making it up over the summer online (I’m a math teacher so I feel pretty confidant I can help out). The rest of the teachers will modify work so that he can complete sophomore year. Chemistry is the unknown at this point. If he has to drop it, he’ll take lab science junior and senior year and have a total of 3 1/2 years there. His path was never going to be AP track to selective schools so there is a lot less stress in dealing with illness in that regard. I just want him to have the options at the end of high school… including college.