Older students pose unique challenges for teachers, families
As her 16th birthday approached last summer, Curtisha Davis faced two less-than-ideal school choices. She could attend eighth grade at a K-8 program, where most of the students would be two, even three, years younger. Or she could go to Booker T. Washington, a school created for older students who have not yet passed the eighth grade, a place Davis feared after hearing of regular fights. Davis is one of hundreds of New Orleans schoolchildren who are two or more years older than typical for their grade level, a group that poses unique challenges for families and educators. Sarah Carr, The Times-Picayune, May 18,2010