Accelerating Elementary School by Way of TTU K‑12

By Leslie Cranford, Section Manager

Theresa Ellington recognized the precociousness of her younger daughter even while she was an infant.

Evelyn, or Evie as her family calls her, is 5 ½ years old. Theresa describes her as a bright, curious, dramatic girl, full of giggles and smiles.

"She has had an insatiable desire to learn for as long as we can remember," Theresa said. "She has been ahead of all expectations since infancy. Evie asks big questions, expecting equally big answers, all the while playing with her beloved baby dolls."

Evie attended TTU K-12 during the late spring/early summer of 2020. While she is returning to their local public school for fall 2020, Theresa says Evie may return to TTU K-12 in the future either because her educational needs demand it or the uncertainty of the future of in-person schools.

Evie's story starts with her being born in late October, so she misses the traditional Texas Sept. 1 cutoff for age to enter school. Theresa knew this would be a challenge.

"We first encountered a roadblock in preschool during the potty-training days," she said. "Evie was hitting developmental and academic milestones very quickly and slightly early. With my background in education, I began to take note and monitor, but I was still focused on our older daughter, Katie, with a similar situation."

According to her mom, Evelyn's first academic acceleration was set in motion in January 2018, when Evie had just turned three.

"We had recently moved to a new preschool and private kindergarten for Katie," Theresa explained. "The director noticed Evie had mastered all the Preschool/3 curriculum and knew skills of the PreK4 class. She agreed that Evelyn needed to move up to PreK immediately, as she was showing signs of boredom."

Theresa and her husband James expected Evie to remain in PreK through her natural age time, but by fall 2018 she was ready for kindergarten and was still a few months shy of her fourth birthday.

Continuing the story, Theresa said Evie continued this accelerated path academically, but in true gifted and talented student fashion, her social and emotional skills were developing very asynchronously.

"In fall 2019, while Evie was academically ready for first grade, we chose for her to attend public kindergarten in a Montessori program to help her grow socially and emotionally," Theresa continued. "A nearby school district had open enrollment and a waiver for kindergarten that allowed birthdays up to 90 days past Sept 1! We thought we found the perfect solution. Then COVID‑19!"

She explained that schooling in-person to meet Evie's advanced academic needs was a challenge but moving online made it impossible.

"I supplemented and began seeking other solutions both for now and the future, knowing the great deal of re-teaching that would be required for most students at the beginning of the fall 2020 term."

Then they found TTU K‑12.

"Evie was able to complete first grade in a matter of months this summer, thanks to Texas Tech Elementary School, which now allows her to enter second grade despite her age," Theresa said. "TTU K-12 was the answer to our prayers and dilemmas of how to meet Evie's advanced educational needs."

Theresa continued, explaining that without TTU K-12, Evie making the leap from a full year in kinder to a full year in second at five years old would not be possible.

"The mastery-based and student-paced lessons in the elementary curriculum allowed Evie to demonstrate mastery on the skills she knew, without sitting through lengthy lessons or repetitive work as she would have in the traditional classroom," Theresa explained. "Instead she could put time and effort into the topics she didn't know yet, as well as dive deep into projects that interested her. The curriculum tasks really pushed Evie to challenge herself and reach her full potential."

For now, Evie is doing in-person instruction for second grade at the local elementary school. However, Theresa says, with the ever-changing outlook during the pandemic, they are leaving their options open, including returning to TTU K‑12.

Reflecting on Evie's goals, Theresa laughs.

"Evie is five, so she just wants to be a mermaid! Beyond that we hope to continue to foster her love of learning, curiosity and positive self-esteem."

And for other parents and families, she emphatically has words of advice.

"If traditional school isn't working for you, then TTUK-12 is your answer! Student-focused and self-paced, with truly personalized learning!"