ok here is the whole story...
Yes my son has issues doing homework... yes he has issues in math...(actual problems not just the lazy homework problem) BUT...

We just moved an hour from where we lived and changed his school. Now he went to this school before. At his shcool he just left he was doing well... very good grades in all but math, he was on the list to be tested for learning disabilities when we moved. I was told before we got him back in this school it would not be a problem to put him on the list here.

Ok so now he is on school and this teacher calls me this morning, and starts getting very bossy and indignant with me. just as soon as I answered started talking about how I am not signing some planner everynight, I am not making him do homework, I am not going over his multiplication facts with him. She didn't ask me about if we had done any of this just starting accusing! No I haven't signed any planner, I haven't seen a planner and do not kno anything about it. as for the rest he was working on homework last night for nearly three hours. we have been going over multiplication facts everynight, as a matter of fact I thought he was doing pretty well for a child with a math learning disabiltiy to have learned through his 2 and 3 tables in three nights. so this is what she told me.
if he doesn't get all these tables memorized he will not pass thrid grade. Now at the school he just came from they did not have to memorize them tables! so he has three weeks to learn what every other child has had all year to learn! I do not think that is right!
this is a child who yes he doesn't do half his homework but still does very well on tests and is smart and speaks up well in class. can they really fail him for not knowing these tables in three weeks? his grades at his other school were fine!, then she admits that she has not even gotten his records from the other school! this shows you how long she has had to know him, he has been in her class for 4 days now, and she is threatening to fail him! she hasn't asked me about his past stuff in school at all just called me and start accusing me of not doing my job as a parent. ok

sorry for the rant! in case you couldn't get it from my blathering on and on above here is my actual question! Can she fail him in third grade for not knowing his multiplication tables, when the rest of the students have had all year and he transferred in 4 days ago. school is out on the 27th so I know he will not have them known by then. Both the schools he went to are state public schools, different counties but still florida. shouldn't they have to go by what his other school did since he was there all year? And how can one school pass him fine when he doesn't know and WAS NEVER TOLD TO MEMORIZE them? This obviously is a school or county thing not a state thing right? She told me today on the phone she "would have to fail him for not meeting thrid grade requirements" then when I asked what the other requirements besides the times tables she said that is it.

so what do I do?
help me please!

Storm

She sounds like a big meanie, I wonder how she acts in the classroom.

I think I would call the school and have a meeting with the principal and the teacher together.

You could always pull him out now and homeschool him til next year if she is insistent on failing him.

You could always pull him out now and homeschool him til next year if she is insistent on failing him.

I tell her that.. she will not do it.. she is stubborn, and her child is even more stubborn!
;)

But ya know.. it is a good idea, Storm!
Pull him out now.. take all summer to learn those multiplication tables...
Put him back in school this fall.
Spenser is a SMART kid... no reason for him to fail his grade!

Hope

nice support I get from my best friend eh?:rolleyes:

and I am NOT stubborn! much ;)


but as far as taking him out and homeschooling him... is that possible? I mean can;t they just say oh she yanked him out of shcool in the last three weeks and not let me put him in fourth grade there next year? I would more than willing to do that if I have no other option but I don't think that will work since I would just be trying to put him back into this school next fall....

I tell you guys I keep getting more and more angry at the school system....they made me jump through hurdles to get him back in school... and in the office one day when they wouldn't let spinner in for me not having my address changed on my liscense (after 2 days in the new apartment!) I over heard them letting another woman put her kid in and told her she could just bring the same info in when she got it! WTH!?!
Storm

I have found that *some* teachers like to threaten failing a child. I don't get this but I have seen more than one teacher who gets off on power issues and actually enjoys threatening parents and students. Not saying that is this teachers problem, but I've seen it in more than one teacher in our district.

We just had the music teacher (yesterday actually) announce that she was giving our son a F in music for his final yearly grade because he missed the spring program. (we were looking at housing in Wyoming for crying outloud!!!)

Last year another teacher told our son(same son) that he would have to petition the school board to be allowed to pass the 5th grade because our entire family was gone for medical issues for 11 days that semester. (but his grades were fine)

Try not to let her huff get to you. My husband (school principal for K-12) always says some teachers do really stupid, psycho things at the end of the school year that they usually would not do otherwise.

Did you request a meeting for possible testing for your son at the new school so he can get help in math?

School is almost out and in light of your previous schools suspicion that your son may be LD (if I read your post correctly), the new school really should be a bit more understanding. Not to mention that your son transfered to a new school just recently???? That is a huge stress and event for a child.

Anyway, I'm not totally clear if your son has been put on a IEP at the last school or this new school for math? It did not sound like he is. Sorry my answer is not totally clear...I may have missed some information in your post.

Hugs,

Michelle

Originally posted by Storm
nice support I get from my best friend eh?:rolleyes:

and I am NOT stubborn! much ;)


but as far as taking him out and homeschooling him... is that possible? I mean can;t they just say oh she yanked him out of shcool in the last three weeks and not let me put him in fourth grade there next year? I would more than willing to do that if I have no other option but I don't think that will work since I would just be trying to put him back into this school next fall....

I tell you guys I keep getting more and more angry at the school system....they made me jump through hurdles to get him back in school... and in the office one day when they wouldn't let spinner in for me not having my address changed on my liscense (after 2 days in the new apartment!) I over heard them letting another woman put her kid in and told her she could just bring the same info in when she got it! WTH!?!
Storm

Ready to be yelled at here.....

I think homeschooling is used waaay too often as a knee jerk response threat when parents are unhappy with a situation with the school district.

Homeschooling is NOT easy and make darned sure you would be homeschooling because you truly belive in it and not as a knee jerk emotional reaction. (yes, we homeschool one child so I do understand from real experience)

Try to work with the teacher and if she is being really difficult, talk to the administrator and explain your sons history of LD in math and your fear/stress stemming from the teacher stating your son will be failed and not moved forward to the next grade. *If* he indeed is LD in math, the school can not hold him back due to it. Worse case scenario....some summer school tutoring.

I wish I knew if your son had been tested for LD in math??? That really would make all the difference in this situation about his math, in light of good grades in all other areas.

Hugs,
Michelle

Ok dealing with similar trouble here. I will tell you a little about it and my advice may or may not help in your present situation... Alex has different problems but it sounds like he has an equally crappy teacher... lol... So here it is:

Alex was homeschooled last year. And the year before. Since he is now in first grade that means that he went from being home with me full time to going to school full time. That is a huge adjustment. So I went in to the principal of our local school and talked with her about what Alex was like. I talked with her about how this was all new, and there may be some adjustment time etc... Boy did it... he got in trouble nearly every day for about a month, and it got better, and I was thinking that it was all good.

Fast forward 6 months. HIs teacher calls me and tells me she would like a meeting. When I get there she says that she is "worried" about Alex passing first grade. She says that the way he is having trouble reading... WHAT? My son has been reading easy readers for two years... so I just lay low and let her keep talking. She keeps talking about his disapline problems in reading group (which is a group of 15 kids that sit around and read to each other... not in small groups, each one of them actually has to listen to 14 other children read... slowly. :rolleyes: ) When she got to that I said that Alex is a Kenistetic Learner and he may not be able to learn just by listening. She said "But this is the curriculum" pointing to the book. I said "But ALEX may not learn that way". She says "He has to adapt, we do more kenistetic learning for reading in the spring." WHATEVER!!!!!!!!! So I drop it... at the time I did not want to fight with her. So I started asking about other things...

How is he doing in computer group?... "oh fine, he actully asks to get up when he is done that is so cute"...

How is he doing in shared play with manipulatives?... "Oh great... he does not have a malicfull bone in his body"...

How has he been doing at recess?... "much better... he hardly ever gets a 'Red Card' now"...

SO what your telling me is that he is having trouble in READING GROUP... And that because of trouble IN READING GROUP, you are telling me that he may not pass into second grade? "Yes, but next year is a really hard year if they are not compotent in reading." My son is compotent in reading... he just doesnt want to read to you. He reads at home all the time... "It does not matter what he can do at home... it matters what he can do on the assesments."

I left...

This started a ton of trouble with her being mean to Alex... and eventually I had to get the superintendent involved. It made a big difference... even if all I did was take all her power away...

I have NO idea if this story helps you at all... but one thing I learned is there are times to be a bi*ch in the public school system. And we are the ONLY advocates that our children have. We have to fight for them... (Please excuse me being gruff... I am still in the middle of this... his teacher avoids me, and I have asked to transfer to another school and I am not sure if they will aprove the lateral... but at least I want him in with a better teacher for Alex.)

Here is what I know.

Advocate for your child... who cares if the school likes you... they are OBLIGATED BY LAW to create an enviroment in which each child can learn at their own pase.

Make sure you know HE DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THERE! Just to make sure, check the law in your state... but in Washington a child does not have to be in any form of schooling until age 8 and even then all they have to do is take a test every year... that is all. If they are doing nothing but taking that test, well that is all they need. They do not even need to pass it... That is all the law asks for here. I would look in to it if I were you. I agree with the above statement that sometiems parents use homeschooling as a fighting mechanism and do not understand what they are saying they will do... It takes quite a bit for teachers to take that seriously and it should be a well thought out choice. I was an unschooler myself... so aside from being there and being present with Alex, I did not follow any curriculum... There are many forms of homeschooling... Some more structured than others.

Ask her what SHE is doing to help him learn this and if you are not ready to be a full on b-i-t-c-h like me...lol... then I would try really hard to work with that so that he can get to the goals that she has set... but don't let her dump this all on you. If you were the one responible for teaching your child his tables then YOU WOULD HAVE HIM AT HOME. There is no need for school if you are the only one held responcible. (BTW, why didn't she have a meeting with you to talk about the "planner" and all that? If she did not hand it to you then what gives her the right to be so high and mighty about it? She can not even be sure you have one!)

Get higher-ups involved. This attitude (if she is showing your son the same type of disrespect) could really damage your sons self efficacy and self asteem. GOOD SELF ESTEEM IS PERIMOUNT FOR PRODUCTIVE LEARNING... So that should be something that the principal, teacher and all staff is looking out for. Even if it means protecting him from his own teacher.

And if need be, pull him out now and put him in with a better teacher next year. Do not hold him back if you do not think he needs it. Try to have a lot of meetings and be in the classroom as much as you can. (this is my vow for next year as well)

Ok now on a softer note... big hugs mama... I know how hard it can be to feel like your kids school is working against you... At the same time, keep the blame where it is due and do not let them turn this around on you. They are the educators... you are the parent... You are here to teach him morals and understanding of the world... they are here to teach mutliplication tables... that is their job!! Don't let her dump this on you.

HTH I feel like a big fat meany now... but I really hope that this at least gives you a sense and you are not alone in the fight for good public school education... I know there are MANY in this fight... IMHO to be present is the best thing we can do.

HUGS!

Love Val

Edited to say that Alex's teacher is not a bad teacher... I was a teacher and I know that she is doing the best she can... She has 26 kids in a small class room and she is totally tapped out... it is a personality clash... and she is not a good teacher for Alex. I am angry that it got this out of hand... but I was not involved for a long time, and I remember making snap judgments about parents for the same reason... so I just wanted to say that this teacher may not be a bad teacher... it may just be a bad fit for your son. KWIM?

Originally posted by Momof6
Anyway, I'm not totally clear if your son has been put on a IEP at the last school or this new school for math? It did not sound like he is. Sorry my answer is not totally clear...I may have missed some information in your post.

Hugs,

Michelle

OK so we established at the old school that he had legitimate problem in math. It was a little difficult because I admit he is lax on doing homework but I finally had a teacher there who would listen to me. she honestly looked at all his grades and test scores and said yes we have a large gap and need to test him. he had been put on the testing list and so far had done all the first little things, the hearing tests, the comprhension tests the eye tests you know all the stuff that says "ok he can see the black board and hear what the teacher is saying so let's go on with it" that's how they decsribed it to me anyway. So the were 15 kids above him on the list and I was told he would probably be tested for real in the summer. which was fine but then we got an opportunity to move back over here which is where I lived before I met DH and is a great thing for our family. So I know I am not using the correct names for things but am I explaining it right?

Also, before I even finalized us moving I went to this school(which he had attended before) and asked them what I needed to get him back in and how it would go with him being tested, they it would be fine. then when we actually showed up they wanted all this other stuff and wouldn';t let him in school for three days till I could get it all, which bothered me since I had gone there asking two weeks before so I would have time to get things together and was told I needed nothing!

I have had problem after problem at this school, but it is a good school as far as what they teach you know? So now I have mentioned the math testing a couple of tiems but they keep talking over me. All anyone can ever focus on is the homework not being done. I know that it is terrible that he doesn't do it, but I have done all I can do besides doing it myself(which I will not do cause then he will learn nothing) But most teachers in my experience won't go past that. He has a REAL SERIOUS problem with math but it alwaya comes back to..."well if he did his homework.." well hello he does all his homework but math! does that not tell you anything? he can't do it! he sits and looks at the paper for hours and just cries!

I know how all this is because I am the same way in math. noone would ever listen to me they just always called me lazy and said "well your reading scores are perfect why aren't your math?" I was scoring 99% on the reading CAT's when I was in 4th grade and I was scoring 35% on math. but all they cared was that I didn't hand in my stupid homework, that I would sit over for hours not understanding or even caring about. I never got the help I needed and I ended up hating school and never going to college, my grades got worse everyyear and never once did anyone ever suggest I had a learning disabilty until I was 22 years old and worked part time at a coffee shop.

My boss there had been a teacher for many years in canada before she moved here, and one day she asked me to the store room which was on the other side of the mall to get gift boxes, they were all folded up flat when they came in we had to fold them ourselves you know the kind... there were several different shapes and sizes and I know my own brain, I knew I needed to take a box with me to unfold and compare or I would never come back with the right size. She looked at me funny when I asked her for a box but she gave it to me and when I got back with the boxes she called me in the back, she had several math problems scrawled on a piece of scrap paper and asked me to do them for her, she had noticed I could not make change without the cash register at all, and had been putting two and two together.

I tried the problems she had and I nearly started crying right there. she was surprized when I got all panicky and started crying. she was amazed that noone had ever noticed I have a "severe" as she called it math disability. well then I started to cry for real! lol She after watching me in a non school setting for one week had noticed something no teacher in 13 years of school had ever seen and even denied to my face! It was a validation for me, too bad it came too late but it was nice to hear.
the problem is spinner is exactly like me in school.

and you guys I feel horrible! I feel to blame for passing these screwed up math genes or whatever to him, or maybe I projected it onto him I have no idea but either way he is now as bad maybe even worse than I was! and I don't want him to hate school, and dread it, and have anxiety attacks like I did.

goodness I am sorry for going on like this! if anyone is still reading this self centered babbling I apologize! but it feels better to get it off my chest!

I just don't want spinner to be held back for something like this, I don't want his math stuff to mess him up in school like mine did, I want him to get the help we need and for teachers to help him not accuse our family of being stupid and unconcerned... here I am crying my eyes out at the keyboard please forgive any grammatical errors and ramblings...

Storm

Val,

I so agree with much of what you said! We do sometimes have to get very very tough and involve administration when necessary. Some teachers really do pull the wool over the administrations eyes....they act one way in class (bad) and when the administrator walks in to watch the class, the teacher is totally different. (nice etc...)

I actually took a teacher due process last summer which was a huge mess with my husband having to excuese himself from it all since he was one of her bosses etc....She knew she'd lose her job so she brough in a (union) lawyer to face off with me. (I could not afford a lawyer) She also threatened (veiled threats mind you) the witnesses I had (students) to the one federal law and 13 state rules and regulations she broke. So.......with the union and her threatening my witnesses I was stuck. Just a week ago she gained tenure so now she is going to be impossible to get rid of!! She is a bad teacher....one of the worst I've seen. And she did retaliate against my other children as did her aid who is sadly my disabled childs aid this year and it has been H*ell as a result.

Well, I guess we all see we are not alone and the key is to fight for our children. My son was so glad I went to bat for him and fought for him, even though the Union was one that I could not beat.

It is a fact that there are bad teachers out there....thankfully they are a minority!!

Hugs,

Michelle

Storm,

My heart goes out to you. I also struggled in math in school but I do think it was partly because the time era I was in school, there was the "belief" that girls were not good in math and science. Kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy. But it is painful when you see your child struggle in a area you have painful memories of! I am so sorry for that.

I'd call the old school, and it should be in their records that he was in line for testing. Show it to the new school.

There should be a paper trail there. Go to the Special Ed director of your district and explain that your son was identified as possibly LD in math and that you moved before being able to get all the testing done. Request he be tested....you have that right as a parent to request this.

I don't understand all the legal aspects here...I wish dh was home for me to ask him. But it sounds like the fact taht your son was "flagged" as needing testing for a possible math disability at your old school, should change this situation.

If you feel like you are beating your head against the wall with the teacher....go to the administration. Her threats of failing your child warrent you to go to the next level....especially if she is not even wanting to listen to what his last school was in the process of doing for him.

Now, homework is a whole other gripe of mine!!! Teachers assign way to much of it!! They also will assign it as punishment which really really gets me going.

Hugs,

Michelle

Originally posted by Storm
OK so we established at the old school that he had legitimate problem in math. It was a little difficult because I admit he is lax on doing homework but I finally had a teacher there who would listen to me. she honestly looked at all his grades and test scores and said yes we have a large gap and need to test him. he had been put on the testing list and so far had done all the first little things, the hearing tests, the comprhension tests the eye tests you know all the stuff that says "ok he can see the black board and hear what the teacher is saying so let's go on with it" that's how they decsribed it to me anyway. So the were 15 kids above him on the list and I was told he would probably be tested for real in the summer. which was fine but then we got an opportunity to move back over here which is where I lived before I met DH and is a great thing for our family. So I know I am not using the correct names for things but am I explaining it right?

Also, before I even finalized us moving I went to this school(which he had attended before) and asked them what I needed to get him back in and how it would go with him being tested, they it would be fine. then when we actually showed up they wanted all this other stuff and wouldn';t let him in school for three days till I could get it all, which bothered me since I had gone there asking two weeks before so I would have time to get things together and was told I needed nothing!

I have had problem after problem at this school, but it is a good school as far as what they teach you know? So now I have mentioned the math testing a couple of tiems but they keep talking over me. All anyone can ever focus on is the homework not being done. I know that it is terrible that he doesn't do it, but I have done all I can do besides doing it myself(which I will not do cause then he will learn nothing) But most teachers in my experience won't go past that. He has a REAL SERIOUS problem with math but it alwaya comes back to..."well if he did his homework.." well hello he does all his homework but math! does that not tell you anything? he can't do it! he sits and looks at the paper for hours and just cries!

I know how all this is because I am the same way in math. noone would ever listen to me they just always called me lazy and said "well your reading scores are perfect why aren't your math?" I was scoring 99% on the reading CAT's when I was in 4th grade and I was scoring 35% on math. but all they cared was that I didn't hand in my stupid homework, that I would sit over for hours not understanding or even caring about. I never got the help I needed and I ended up hating school and never going to college, my grades got worse everyyear and never once did anyone ever suggest I had a learning disabilty until I was 22 years old and worked part time at a coffee shop.

My boss there had been a teacher for many years in canada before she moved here, and one day she asked me to the store room which was on the other side of the mall to get gift boxes, they were all folded up flat when they came in we had to fold them ourselves you know the kind... there were several different shapes and sizes and I know my own brain, I knew I needed to take a box with me to unfold and compare or I would never come back with the right size. She looked at me funny when I asked her for a box but she gave it to me and when I got back with the boxes she called me in the back, she had several math problems scrawled on a piece of scrap paper and asked me to do them for her, she had noticed I could not make change without the cash register at all, and had been putting two and two together.

I tried the problems she had and I nearly started crying right there. she was surprized when I got all panicky and started crying. she was amazed that noone had ever noticed I have a "severe" as she called it math disability. well then I started to cry for real! lol She after watching me in a non school setting for one week had noticed something no teacher in 13 years of school had ever seen and even denied to my face! It was a validation for me, too bad it came too late but it was nice to hear.
the problem is spinner is exactly like me in school.

and you guys I feel horrible! I feel to blame for passing these screwed up math genes or whatever to him, or maybe I projected it onto him I have no idea but either way he is now as bad maybe even worse than I was! and I don't want him to hate school, and dread it, and have anxiety attacks like I did.

goodness I am sorry for going on like this! if anyone is still reading this self centered babbling I apologize! but it feels better to get it off my chest!

I just don't want spinner to be held back for something like this, I don't want his math stuff to mess him up in school like mine did, I want him to get the help we need and for teachers to help him not accuse our family of being stupid and unconcerned... here I am crying my eyes out at the keyboard please forgive any grammatical errors and ramblings...

Storm

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be easy on yourself here. Problems in math is not a unheard of problem. They ahve ways to help him and fighting for that is the best thing you can do. They have to give your son the help he needs and if you had not had trouble in math yourself then you would not even know what to look for. I say you are lucky to have the same trouble... just imagine if you thought he was just being lazy too? How messed up would he be then? Now he has a great mommy at his back, that really understands what he is going through... what better way to beat any disability!?! I would go in and sit down with the school counsiler. Tell him/her what is going on. Talk to him/her about what has happened and how you will be willing to help if that is what they need. Tell her/him that the best thing to focus on is self esteem... if he feels as though he can do anything, he will be more likly to try math, instead of always feeling stuck.

Focus on the positive. Make sure all of the meetings you have with him present talk about what he is doing correctly and if they have complaints make sure it is a meeting without him there. (They want Alex to come in with me and talk about what he is doing wrong. I told them that I would have humiliate my son like that and if they want to tell me about what he had done wrong he was not to be there. they have not called me back... I guess they have nothing positive to say... grrrrrrrrrrrr...)

God I sound like a bossy flossy don't I? lol... just to say that this is the way I have found results. You may have a different tactic that works wonderfully... This is just to option that worked the best for me. When My son has good self esteem, many of the problems figure themselves out. And most are gone within weeks. That is what I always focus on now.

Love Val

So true Michelle... That is a sad story about that teacher.... those are the ones where I would not cry if they were accidently hit by a bus... lmao...

I understand where Alex's teacher is coming from... but at the same time she has an obligation to him to make him comfortable. In Alex's school the motto is "Safe, Kind, and Producitve". Man did I turn that one around on them. I said "If teachers are not kind, and are not safe to a child's whole being (including self esteem), how do you expect any child to be prodictive? And if a child is not seeing kind behavior from the people he looks up to, how do you expect him to hold that trait as a priority?" Few did I get some interesting responces there...

Must go bath the littlun... will check in later...

Hugs my public school fighting mamas!!! (((((

Love Val

Thanks ya'll for being so nice and supporting :)

I am feeling better, I just a phone call from the principal of his old school. I had called them and left a message with the secretary for his teacher to call me that they were trying to retain him and it got back to the principal.
She called to tell me it is odd that they would even consider failing him! she said his test scores on the florida test called the FCAT (which are a big deal right now) is a 5 in the reading portion which is the best you can make! She said even his math scores are average at a 3. She asked me why they were threatning us and then laughed when I told her about the times tables thing. According to her any school should be excited to get a child who makes a 5 on that test as it brings in the "numbers" schools need to be rated well, you know? she gave me some links to look up to try to find seminole county requirements but told me even if they are written that he needs them memorized as soon as they realize he made a 5 if they have any sense they will pass him, if they still insist I can fight it and she said then it is a state thing and I certainly would win!
I feel so much better! She knows Spenser herself and she said he is such a joy to be around and is funny and smart. as a matter of fact she said herself what I have said before, that he is probably being too smart and the teacher can't handle it! lol feels good when a principal says great things about spirited children who usually get told to be quiet!

so they are faxing test scores to dh at work so when we go in on monday (school here closed tomorrow) we will have some ammunition. and because the lady who is in charge of all the tesing at old school called the new school earlier this week and they were mean to her too! she didn't trust them to show the scores to us or admit they had gotten them at all! Seriously looking into alternate school options over here, charter schools or magnet schools? what't the deal with them? anyone have info?

Thanks!
Storm

So wish us luck! I will keep ya'll posted!

Storm,

I'm not sure what kind of area you are in, but you can opt your child out of your school district into another. Our state law is that you have to do it by mid March. Look into that too.

All districts have a opt out option.

My husband has quite a few students who have opted into our district and with it being rural, their parents just have to drive them the 20 miles twice a day.

Just throwing out another option as well as private, charter, magnet etc...

I'm so proud of you mama! You are really being an advocate for your son and he is blessed to have you as his mother.

Hugs,

Michelle

I am so glad that turnned around! Yay! Doesn't it feel good to have someone who knows what is going on agree with you? I wish we had a principal like that... hehe...

Sounds like you are doing a wonderful job! Please keep us posted. And keep your chin up!

Big hugs!

Love Val

Originally posted by Storm
Can she fail him in third grade for not knowing his multiplication tables,

No. She can't. To be perfectly honest, she probably can't convince her principial to hold him back for any reason at all given what a short period she's had him, especially if you can document that he was scheduled to be evaluated for a LD at the old school.

But basically, teachers can't retain kids at all. Schools can, but that decision is always made by a team, must include your input (whether they tell you that or not) and they DO take your opinion very, very seriously into consideration. The older the child, the less likely retention is at all (they're more likely to write an IEP and get the kid help OR just bail on the kid and let him not learn anything, but it does sound like this school will at least offer some services once you get past Ms. PMS.)

Get the principal involved. I'm glad he wasn't stuck with her all year.

Then you'll have a summer to learn math times tables. Make it a game for the whole family over dinner or something. Next year's teacher will go to the previous year's teacher and tell her, "I don't know what you're talking about, yeah, he needs some assistance, but his times tables are fine."

{{{hug}}}