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The initial point of entry into the public schools is kindergarten.
The compulsory ages for school attendance in this state is from 7 until 16.
You could have a seven year old in K which is where school starts. They don't have to stay in K but instead the principal can move them to a higher grade but that's his discretion not yours.
There's nothing I can find that states there is a right to drop a kid into 1st and skip K without permission from the principal.
The way I have always understood it is that, yes, one would have to start in Kindergarten, but you do not have to send them to school (by law) until they are 6 years old.
The way I have always understood it is that, yes, one would have to start in Kindergarten, but you do not have to send them to school (by law) until they are 6 years old.
For what it's worth, I'm the OP and we decided to hold our son back and put him in transitional kindergarten this fall. After talking to a kindergarten teacher and his preschool teacher we thought he would really benefit from another year to mature socially. Plus, the thought of him having kids in his class who are 18 months older doesn't sit well with us.
of course he'll benefit. EVERYONE would benefit if they are allowed to perform at a grade level lower than their ability.
Now YOUR kid will be the one in class who is so old that other parents are uncomfortable. Congrats, I guess.
The first thing I thought of when I read this thread was the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. It attempts to explain the hidden 'why?' behind certain phenomenons....I'll copy this passage from Wiki:-
The book begins with the observation that a disproportionate number of elite Canadian hockey players are born in the first few months of the calendar year. The reason is that since youth hockey leagues determine eligibility by calendar year, children born on January 1 play in the same league as those born on December 31 in the same year. Because children born earlier in the year are bigger and more mature than their younger competitors, and they are often identified as better athletes, this leads to extra coaching and a higher likelihood of being selected for elite hockey leagues. This phenomenon in which "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer" is dubbed "accumulative advantage" by Gladwell, while sociologist Robert K. Merton calls it "the Matthew Effect", named after a biblical verse in the Gospel of Matthew: "For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance. But from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath."[7] Outliers asserts that success depends on the idiosyncrasies of the selection process used to identify talent just as much as it does on the athletes' natural abilities.
of course he'll benefit. EVERYONE would benefit if they are allowed to perform at a grade level lower than their ability.
Now YOUR kid will be the one in class who is so old that other parents are uncomfortable. Congrats, I guess.
Sounds to me, from your reprove, that you either don't have kids at all or have never been faced with this decision. I am forced to make a very difficult decision based on what others do with their kids. Everyone says "do what's best for YOUR child". That sounds fair enough in theory, but it's not about my child; it's about what the rest of the parents are doing. The kindergarten classrooms are made up of mostly 6 year olds now. I don't want my kid to be the "outlier" (yes- I'm quite familiar with the Gladwell book) just because everyone else is holding THEIR kid back. If this decision were base solely on MY kid then I would send him. But, since everyone else is holding their kid back it would make mine up to 18 months younger than the others in his "peer group".
You say if I hold him back he will be the oldest in the class, making other kids uncomfortable, but that's not so. Parents are holding back January-August birthday kids now because of this craze so mine would be right in the middle. I wish it were an even playing field, but sadly, it's not.
Sounds to me, from your reprove, that you either don't have kids at all or have never been faced with this decision. I am forced to make a very difficult decision based on what others do with their kids. Everyone says "do what's best for YOUR child". That sounds fair enough in theory, but it's not about my child; it's about what the rest of the parents are doing. The kindergarten classrooms are made up of mostly 6 year olds now. I don't want my kid to be the "outlier" (yes- I'm quite familiar with the Gladwell book) just because everyone else is holding THEIR kid back. If this decision were base solely on MY kid then I would send him. But, since everyone else is holding their kid back it would make mine up to 18 months younger than the others in his "peer group".
You say if I hold him back he will be the oldest in the class, making other kids uncomfortable, but that's not so. Parents are holding back January-August birthday kids now because of this craze so mine would be right in the middle. I wish it were an even playing field, but sadly, it's not.
Kindergarden is made up of kids who are 5 mostly to start the term. 6 year olds are the exception ....not the rule.
Kindergarden is made up of 5 year olds...not 6 year olds..a 6 year old is the exception ....not the rule.
Really? Do you have a 4 year old with a late birthday this year? Have you gone to your kid's home school and seen the roster of kids signed up for Kindergarten this fall? Have you talked to Kindergarten teachers at local charter and private schools who urge you NOT to send your kid because he will be "so much younger" than others in his class?
Kindergarten is supposed to be made up of 5 year olds. That is not the case in our situation with our school.
I thought of this thread the other day. My daughter is in 2nd grade, and she was mentioning a pep rally they had and she said the older 2nd graders were there. I asked her what she meant by that, and she said there are second graders that are 8-9 years old instead of 7-8. Those older kids are put into a separate classroom. She said it was so they didn't feel uncomfortable with the little kids, like her.
So it sounds like the schools, well at least our school, groups the older kids into a classroom. So the fear of your 5 year old being in a classroom with 6-7 year olds may be unfounded. My daughter went to Kindergarten in another elementary school, and none of the kids in her class her much older. They were all 5-6 years old.
So if you only reason to hold him back is so he's not in a class with older kids, maybe you should ask the school if the separate those kids.
Really? Do you have a 4 year old with a late birthday this year? Have you gone to your kid's home school and seen the roster of kids signed up for Kindergarten this fall? Have you talked to Kindergarten teachers at local charter and private schools who urge you NOT to send your kid because he will be "so much younger" than others in his class?
Kindergarten is supposed to be made up of 5 year olds. That is not the case in our situation with our school.
Yep..have a 5 year old in school..most all are 5.
Except for sports ..which yes, being younger is not a benefit, I think its academically better for the child to be challenged earlier. Now if you have a child who is not going to perform properly academically because of age then its understandable to want to hold them back.
Except for sports ..which yes, being younger is not a benefit, I think its academically better for the child to be challenged earlier. Now if you have a child who is not going to perform properly academically because of age then its understandable to want to hold them back.
Yes, my youngest is 5 1/2 now. He started when he turned 5. The majority of the kids in his class are either 5ish or newly 6 b/c they missed the cutoff or are now turning 6. He actually does not have any older kids that started later by choice. I have never bought into this phenomenon, and all of my summer babies are doing just fine by starting "on time". I am probably more "old school" though .
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