I'm trying to get my son into kindergarten where I will be on sabbatical next year. Problem is, he will be 5 years old two weeks after the kindergarten cutoff this fall. But are willling to push it because 1) we think he's ready. He has been sounding out two and three letter words like "the", "he", and "red". He is able to add numbers under 10 using his fingers, and has a good vocabulary. He's probably moderately gifted, but not a "three sigma" type. 2) His sister is born before the cutoff date for her cohort. We would prefer that they be two years apart in school instead of one, and 3) We would like to avoid paying $12,000 for another year of pre- school for him.
Several months ago, I called the school district and met with a resounding "no exceptions". Following your advice, today I walked into our putative grade school, and met with another confident, instant, and resounding "no exceptions. state law" . I don't expect to find anything different at another grade school in the area, but should I try?
You should check to see if it is state law. It is in some states. Some leave it up to individual districts. Some have very specific hurdles you have to pass. Google early entrance kindergarten and the name of the state and you should be able to find their guidelines.
ReplyDeletestate law does not restrict early kindergarten enrollment. it is a district- wide decision. our home district is flexible. sabbatical district not.
DeleteUgh, they shouldn't be saying it's a state law if it isn't!
DeleteI dunno, we chose not to fight the public school fight and are paying lots of time and money for private school.
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I stated that home school was flexible. I was wrong, because the principal was willing to talk to me. I thought he was willing to hear my case. He just wanted to explain why not.
DeleteMy daughter misses the cutoff be a few weeks. People were telling me to put her in a private kindergarten and then into first grade in the public school. It's cheaper for me to pay for pre-school than a private kindergarten.
ReplyDeleteSomewhere there is a school board you can call to actually get this question answered, along with criteria for early entry. Depending where you live, the state school board or the local school board (in, say, the South) is who sets policy.
ReplyDeleteIf your home district is flexible, can he start kindergarten there for a few weeks and then move? I'd think they'd be much more likely to allow him to continue in the same grade.
ReplyDeleteI would try another school.
ReplyDeleteIf that doesn't work, you then need to answer a different question. Do you want him to go ahead with K and go the private route, or do you want him to repeat another year of preK?
I commented last week in your post from late November about this. My town allows kids whose birthdays are from September-December to enter first grade if they have done K at an NAEYC-accredited private school and have a recommendation from the teacher. For us, it was a no-brainer. We were going to have to pay for another year of something, and since our daycare was roughly the same price as the private K, we opted for K. We also couldn't really stomach the idea of our kid doing preK again because she really was ready for K.
Will the school allow him to transfer into kindergarten if he starts kindergarten in another public school district and moves into their district? Could you start him in kindergarten in your home district and then "move" to your Hub's school district 1-2 weeks after school starts? I knew another two-body couple who did this.
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