Does your child need to repeat the grade they just finished

It’s decision time today. Literally today, Thursday, July 15, 2021. If you have a child who is enrolled in a Philadelphia public school and you feel that your child truly did not do well this past school year, largely due to the Coronavirus pandemic and being forced to take online classes for most of the school year, last year and this school year, you have the right to speak up. As the parent, grandparent, or guardian of a child or children who you know did not grasp the education they needed, you can step up and inform the school district that you want your child to repeat the school year.
I can only imagine that’s a very difficult thing to do and a hard decision for a parent to make. Of course, all of us want to see our children do well. I think most parents and guardians of minors want to believe our children are either very smart, somewhat smart, or that they can do well in school, but perhaps they’re not putting their best effort into it. Or we simply have to admit our children or child is lazy and just isn’t doing the work, or you may have a child who is a slow learner. Nothing wrong with that. I was a slow learner in certain subjects until my parents pulled me out of a regular school setting with 56 children in the classroom. I was failing miserably in geography and mathematics.
My parents invested in me by each working two jobs so they could afford to send me to a private school, with only 15 students in each class. In some classes, there were even fewer students. And guess what happened? Things turned around. My failing grades in the subjects where I was struggling turned from an F and a D to a C and a B and ultimately to A’s. I needed a smaller classroom where I could get more one-on-one time with my teachers.
I think if more young people could be in classrooms with smaller numbers of students and more one-on-one interaction with their teachers, they like me, would see a positive change in their grades.
When I became a parent and realized one of my children had a challenge with Algebra, even though my finances were very tight because I was a single Mom paying all the bills solo. I took on part-time jobs, aside from my full-time gig in radio, to make sure I had the money to pay for tutoring through a nonprofit program called Parents United for Better Schools (PUBS), founded by one Veronica Joyner. She later went on to become the Founder and CEO of The Civics, Sciences, and Mathematics Charter School at Broad and Spring Garden Streets in Philadelphia, where the success rates of the majority of the students have been very high from day one. My point is I did something to help my children so they wouldn’t fail.
I think if a teacher had told me at the end of a school year, “I need to leave your child back a grade because their grades are not good, they’re failing,” I would do everything in my power to place that child in some kind of accelerated over the summer educational program to get them on track, so they wouldn’t have to be held back a year. For me personally, there’s just something about being “held back” that doesn’t sit well with me.
There are times when there are extenuating circumstances, and being held back just cannot be helped. If a child has been very ill and missed more school days than they were in attendance, then that’s a no-brainer. They need to repeat the year.
But in some cases, I think some intense and serious studying 6-days a week over the summer, all summer with a good tutor, and an opportunity to do some make-up tests, special reports and things of that nature, should put a child in a position where they don’t have to repeat a year.
Tell me what you think. Drop me a line via my email at: theramartin10@gmail.com. I’d love to hear how other grown folks feel on this issue.
Now back to this July 15th deadline: If you have a child or children in your care that you really feel need to repeat the school year, today is the last day you have to contact the school district of Philadelphia and let them know that.
Below is important information that was shared with School District families on July 8th regarding Act 66 legislation. This information is available in multiple languages on the Philadelphia Public School District website referenced below.
On June 30th, Governor Wolf signed Act 66 of 2021 into law and Tuesday, July 6, the Pennsylvania Department of Education provided Districts across the Commonwealth with guidance regarding the implementation of this Act as well as the enrollment form.
This new legislation gives families the option to request that their child repeat their last grade in an effort to make up for any lost educational opportunities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, even if the student met the requirements to be promoted to the next grade level. It also allows any student with a disability who was enrolled last school year and turns age 21 before the start of the upcoming school year to attend school during the 2021-2022 school year and receive services outlined in their most recent Individualized Education Plan.
Per the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the deadline to re-enroll for the 2021-2022 school year under either of these options is Thursday, July 15. If you are considering allowing your child to repeat a grade, it’s important to know that your child may not be able to remain in the same school they were enrolled in last school year if the school is over capacity for that grade.
You should also know that repeating a grade is a permanent decision to add an additional year to your child’s K-12 education. (Example: a third-grade student last year who successfully repeats the third grade for the upcoming school year would move up to the fourth grade for the 2022-2023 school year; not jump to the fifth grade)
If your child was admitted to a criteria-based school for the first time for the 2021-2022 school year, they will give up their seat in that school and will need to re-apply for the 2022-2023 school year.
For more information, visit www.philasd.org/act66 to review the full list of Frequently Asked Questions and access the Student Grade Level Retainment Notification Form and submission instructions.