“I am a teacher in a public middle school in Los Angeles. This is my advice.....”
What an interesting coincidence. I’m a former middle school student in the LAUSD. They were certainly educational times. Although I would hasten to point out that what I learned was probably more relevant for a life spent in prison than a life spent in society at large.
My advice is to pull this child out of the government school in question and do it now.
The school in question will never provide the quality of education that the parent can provide with a few used textbooks and some attention. The parent can spend countless hours lobbying for better treatment for her child, or spend the time simply teaching her.
Resounding YES. That would be the first choice. However, if it's just not feasible, second choice is to drive them up the wall.