Be very proactive then when it comes to school. If he's tested and requires Chapter reading the school gets extra money from the federal government to cover the cost of his education.

Sometime between my oldest two and youngest two, a change developed in the public school system. I'm all for active parental participation, but it became quite ridiculous. My kids were doing homework from the minute they got home from school, an hour off for dinner, and continued homework until bedtime. My kids were some of the lucky ones, it took my kids less than five minutes to get home from school. Others were on the bus to and from school for an hour. I would sign each uncompleted piece of homework with "doing homework from 3:30 - 9:30, no more time." Weekends really sucked, that's when they'd have to read an entire book for the book report due the next Friday and finish anything that they didn't have time for during the week.

We had a wedding to attend one weekend away from home and were unable to do 14 hours worth of homework that weekend and the teacher actually complained and kept them in for recess that Monday to complete some of the work. That was the straw that broke the camels back.

I threw an absolute fit. All the parents and teacher from the third grade classes, along with the principals, superintendent, and a representative from the county school board were at a meeting discussing the new state tests and witnessed my meltdown. I told them from now on they would do 3 hours of homework a night, during the weekend they had to put in 4 hours total, PERIOD. Furthermore, I let them know I was absolutely fed up with hearing about their state testing (they actually wanted them to do a million things in addition to the homework so the kids would test well) and if this homework nonsense was not immediately addressed I would refuse them permission to test my kids entirely. The majority of the parents in the room asked "can we do that?" I replied that they absolutely could and since they had to hit a minimum participation level to qualify, they need our participation.

Make an appointment to talk to your child's teacher for suggestions. Often they have programs to help struggling students particularly in reading and math, but they aren't common knowledge. If you don't get the help you need, move up the ladder. These people are there to help you whether they want to or not, and the squeeky wheel gets the grease. Let them know that you do not feel qualified to give your son the extra help he needs and that you do not have the money to hire a tutor. Find out who to contact above your local school staff, such as the county school board or state school board.

If you're still not getting the help you need in a reasonable amount of time, send an email to your state representatives including the govenor, each one of them has and educational advisor.