Advise for a 9th grader

[originalamyj]

Something else to throw into the mix, she'll probably be able to do dual enrollment via distance learning too, so this might avoid not only BEING on campus, but having to GO there.  (that was an issue for us when my not-yet-driving-teen had to be on campus 3x per week in the middle of my day)

Yeah, just call me Mrs. Uber. 

[rlw74]

Thank you for all the advice! It's a lot to think about. Some of it echos my concerns completely. I'm leaning towards just letting her take CLEP exams or maybe SL or just waiting a few years.

The attractive thing about this particular set up is, she wouldn't be going to a college campus and she would be with teachers she already has currently, taking classes during the school day at her high school. She has the option of DL or going to a campus but that would be outside the full-day of classes she already has. Both of us nixed those options right away. We would also only consider one class at the most at a time.

I'm just really torn as she wants to do this but I'm looking at the big picture and worried about potential failure and marring a perfectly good college record at the age of 14.

I might pursue it further with the guidance counselor about the option of transferring in SL or CLEP credits to fulfill high school credits. He said he has done it before. It isn't technically "dual enrollment" in the strictest sense but will allow her to forego taking those classes at the high school level. Maybe she'll have more time her senior year to take a college courses or two if she gets high school credits finished early.

I'll definitely look into the Facebook group cookderosa! Thank you. I was a homeschooled student myself and if she were home every day this would be an easy decision as she would have more time and personal guidance. As it is, she doesn't have much free time. She is very involved in sports too so I think it's wishful thinking on her part as her time is limited. But I hate to be the mom who holds her back.

[dfrecore]

Thank you for all the advice! It's a lot to think about. Some of it echos my concerns completely. I'm leaning towards just letting her take CLEP exams or maybe SL or just waiting a few years.

The attractive thing about this particular set up is, she wouldn't be going to a college campus and she would be with teachers she already has currently, taking classes during the school day at her high school. She has the option of DL or going to a campus but that would be outside the full-day of classes she already has. Both of us nixed those options right away. We would also only consider one class at the most at a time.

I'm just really torn as she wants to do this but I'm looking at the big picture and worried about potential failure and marring a perfectly good college record at the age of 14.

I might pursue it further with the guidance counselor about the option of transferring in SL or CLEP credits to fulfill high school credits. He said he has done it before. It isn't technically "dual enrollment" in the strictest sense but will allow her to forego taking those classes at the high school level. Maybe she'll have more time her senior year to take a college courses or two if she gets high school credits finished early.

I'll definitely look into the Facebook group cookderosa! Thank you. I was a homeschooled student myself and if she were home every day this would be an easy decision as she would have more time and personal guidance. As it is, she doesn't have much free time. She is very involved in sports too so I think it's wishful thinking on her part as her time is limited. But I hate to be the mom who holds her back.

When I was homeschooling my kids, this was definitely going to be an option.  But once they started going to our local public charter schools, time became a major factor.  Between sports and school, there really is just not enough time in the day to add additional classes right now - even in their junior and senior years, it will be a challenge - like, I think my son will test into Integrated Math III with Precalc for his 9th grade year, then take Calc AB in 10th, Calc BC in 11th, and then we're going to have to try to take Calc III and whatever comes next at the CC.  With 3 sports he's planning on doing, possibly at the varsity level fairly early on for at least 1 of them, and the probability of AP courses, I just can't see being able to fit it in.  While I would love to take advantage of the free tuition, we may have to forgo it and have him take the courses online instead, or even start him with IM II in 9th and just slow it all down a bit.  There's really no rush to "get ahead," in our lives at least.

[davewill]

That's a horse of a different color. I would find it very hard to discourage a kid who is highly motivated to stretch herself. Find out if it's possible to transfer out into a regular HS course if it's not working out. Maybe that could be your backup plan. I also think she should consider doing an AP course first. Still get college credit without the grade concerns.