6th grader gets placed in 9th Grade Algebra 1

While studying in Genie Academy's Remote learning during the Pandemic

Long time Genie Academy student James formerly of Milltown, NJ  moved to Montgomery school district at the beginning of 6th Grade in Sep 2021. The new school decided to give him a Math placement test. He passed that with flying colors. They gave him a much harder placement test. He passed that with flying colors as well. As a result he was placed in Algebra 1. He will be doing coursework that is more appropriate for for 9th graders. And he is only in 6th grade. 

James and his sister have been students of Genie Academy since they were 6 years old. They have been enrolled in our Abacus Math program since then. We teach our students Mental Math. We claim that the Abacus program and Mental Math  develops new synapses in a child’s neurons. James is in a long line of our students who have achieved extraordinary learning a few grades above their current grade. 

We generally recommend that students move from 1 hour to 2 hours when they reach 2nd grade. Our reasoning is that there is so much material to cover that usually 1 hour is not sufficient. However James and his sister remained enrolled in 1 hour thru 5th grade. They were busy in so many other activities and with the commute time to and from our centers. That is the best they could do. It took them longer to finish the Abacus books compared to other students. However in hindsight it made no difference in their long term learning and progress.

We interviewed James and his mom and following is a lightly edited transcript. 

James and Olivia enrolled at a young age. What what was why did you decide to sign up?

Mom:  We have five children. And we didn't want the younger ones to struggle with math. So we figured that if they had the advantage of starting out earlier that they would have the success later and not struggle when they were in high school or in middle school.

How has your experience been so far? 

James: So far, my experience with Genie Academy has been great. I've learned a lot and I've been able to keep up and exceed my grade level 

Mom: Our experience with Genie Academy, was also very pleasant. They (James and Olivia) look  forward to it and we are happy that he is taking honors Algebra 1 as a sixth grader. That's positive, considering they were  learning themselves at school, or on  zoom.   

What benefit did you get from Genie Academy

James The benefit of Genie Academy was it was teaching me a lot of things before school did.   Genie Academy was teaching me multiplication before I even knew what that was. And our school was maybe a year ahead? And Genie Academy was still learning above school.

Other benefits?

Mom I find that they are disciplined. Genie Academy helped him become more disciplined. He was always conscious of getting his homework done. He was very confident because he was ahead of the game. 

Can you tell us what happened when you guys changed the school district?

Mom: So yes, we have moved from one school district to another school district in New Jersey. And after our move, James had to take a math placement test. And he completed the test on his own at home. And he then had gotten it we had gotten an email from the I believe it was the either the math teacher or the student coordinator, and they said that  James did very well. And they ended up giving him another math test to take. And he did very well on that. So they were able to place James in the Honors Algebra 1 due to the fact that he was able to complete the math assessment on a high level.

Algebra 1 is what grade?

Mom He's going to six, but in their curriculum. This is a ninth grade program.

Can you tell me about different teachers at Genie Academy? 

James: I've noticed how most of my teachers have been very helpful, and some would be a little more, someone be a little more rigid when they needed to be like, if I was doing something good. They wouldn't help me as much because they knew I could be more independent while doing that work.

Let's talk about COVID. So when COVID hit our classes went remote. James has been remote the entire time. Yes. So tell me what that whole experience with Genie Academy and COVID?

Mom: So with the kids doing Genie Academy at COVID, I felt that it helped them a little bit better. We didn't have that 30 minute commute. So they're able to log in at their own time. And I found that the teacher was very engaged. She was able to manage all the kids during the Genie Academy, because I pop in and listen. And I just found that the kids were eager to get onto the computer and start their Genie Academy, due to the fact that they're comfortable in their own home.

James: I thought it was very nice that they were able to keep everything under control, and still be able to engage you with the class, even though they're online. Everybody was at home.

Okay, so what is amazing is that during COVID, most kids are behind. You on the other hand, have leapt ahead. So that's fantastic. 

James: I've been able to stay ahead is Genie Academy has been able to keep me up to date with all the things that I've been doing in school. Its more and be more advanced. Most kids have forgotten their lessons.

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