My child would be 5yrs after September 1st, any Kindergarten school suggestions for this year (Dallas: how much, home)

[Big G]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

CORRECT! The only option is private school IF you want them to start a year early. HOWEVER, not only will they have to move down to their age grade level if you put them in public school in the next few years you also will not be able to have your son in ANY G/T programs if he should qualify. To be in such programs you have to be the right age level for each grade.

At least in Plano ISD, it's not that extreme. They won't let in underaged 1st graders, even with private school kindergarten. But they will let in underaged 2nd graders and above, with a corresponding private school background of previous grades. PISD doesn't bar admission to their G/T program to those with out-of-age placement.

TOTALLY AGREE!!!!

I have never for the life of me understood this concept of holding kids back that really do not need it. Sure, there are a FEW, A FEW, that probably need it but not this overwhelming large group that most seem to think. As the mother of 2 girls any boy that is a year older than them thru school but their grade I'm always leery of because they are more aware of the physical side of relationships.

Hah! The child I referenced earlier has this EXACT problem! He looks like he's 15 or 16 anyway, and by slumming in a class of kids younger than him on top of that, he finds it IMPOSSIBLE to go out with a girl in his grade without being run off by mom and dad. Then, when he chases after girls his own age (one grade higher), they don't want to be associated with the "younger" kid.

Oh, and this whole boys mature slower than girls academically I call hogwash on. Sorry, but I've seen too many boys that were just fine by starting school at the year they were supposed to. In my older daughters kindergarten G/T class of 19 students 3 of the boys had summer birthdays. One of them, now in high school, is the top kid in the entire class and may be headed to TAM's next year. Yep, starting him on time in kinder was such a bad idea It's the parents that put this notion in these kids heads that they can't do the work. Let the kid go to kindergarten on time. If at the end of the year his teachers say that he needs to be held back THEN consider it. Give the kid a chance.

Word.

A lot of this "hold the boys back" movement is based on athletics. Consider this. If you had a kid playing baseball, would you hold him back athletically and have him play t-ball for an extra year? Hell, no! Imagine the uproar among the other parents about how unfair that would be. On top of that, your kid would gain little in the way of skills. If anything, good athletes "play up a year" with older kids to improve their skills faster. I see nothing wrong with high-ability kids doing the same thing on the academic front.

[5stones]

It's NOT just North TX...Sept 1st was the cut off in our PA schools too.

NO matter what the cutoff is there ALWAYS will be some child who misses it.
Nov. birthday no big deal, there are plenty of kids with sept and Oct birthday's.

My daughter is an Aug. birthday, she is the YOUNGEST in her class. It never really bothered her until last year (sophmore HS) when ALL her friends started driving. She didn't get her's until right before junior year started, so she couldn't have friends in the car etc...
ALSO...all her friends are turning 17, they can go see R rated movies. She still can't.

School academics were never a problem and neither was "social" time...but boy did I hear it when she had ot wait a year for for the drivers license!!

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by Big G

At least in Plano ISD, it's not that extreme. They won't let in underaged 1st graders, even with private school kindergarten. But they will let in underaged 2nd graders and above, with a corresponding private school background of previous grades. PISD doesn't bar admission to their G/T program to those with out-of-age placement..

The difference between the two districts G/T is that our schools G/T is a magnet program and it's hard to get into. PISD is a pullout when time allows at the regular neighborhood school thru elementary.

Originally Posted by Big G

Hah! The child I referenced earlier has this EXACT problem! He looks like he's 15 or 16 anyway, and by slumming in a class of kids younger than him on top of that, he finds it IMPOSSIBLE to go out with a girl in his grade without being run off by mom and dad. Then, when he chases after girls his own age (one grade higher), they don't want to be associated with the "younger" kid...

Let's take a kid w/ November birthday and parents hold him back. By the time he in the 8th GRADE he can get his permit to drive. And that would be in NOVEMBER of his 8th grade year. UH! NO! You can get your permit at the age of 15. Who really wants to be the kid that is 15 and in middle school when most 15 year olds are in high school.

Originally Posted by Big G

Word.

A lot of this "hold the boys back" movement is based on athletics. Consider this. If you had a kid playing baseball, would you hold him back athletically and have him play t-ball for an extra year? Hell, no! Imagine the uproar among the other parents about how unfair that would be. On top of that, your kid would gain little in the way of skills. If anything, good athletes "play up a year" with older kids to improve their skills faster. I see nothing wrong with high-ability kids doing the same thing on the academic front.

There was an article awhile back about one area school district that has a high school football team that is always going to state. Seems they have this rampant issue of parents holding their boys back a year to start kindergarten. ONLY so that by the time they are in high school they will be bigger than the others and get to play and bigger than their competition.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by 5stones

It's NOT just North TX...Sept 1st was the cut off in our PA schools too.

NO matter what the cutoff is there ALWAYS will be some child who misses it.
Nov. birthday no big deal, there are plenty of kids with sept and Oct birthday's.

My daughter is an Aug. birthday, she is the YOUNGEST in her class. It never really bothered her until last year (sophmore HS) when ALL her friends started driving. She didn't get her's until right before junior year started, so she couldn't have friends in the car etc...
ALSO...all her friends are turning 17, they can go see R rated movies. She still can't.

School academics were never a problem and neither was "social" time...but boy did I hear it when she had ot wait a year for for the drivers license!!

My daughter has two good friends w/ those August birthdays that are having to wait for their license.

[loves2read]

you can tell the important things in a teen's life---

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by jaime_mac

This has got my curiosity since I'm pregnant and my child will have a November birthday. I guess this means my kid can't start school until they are 6? Is this true for ALL schools in North Texas? We will be living in the GCISD and I really hate to think that I will have to hold my child back an entire year because people in Texas think it's better for boys because of sports. I mean really? Isn't it 2011? I didn't grow up in Texas and I'm pretty positive it wasn't like this when I was going to school in California.

Can someone enlighten me on what I will have to go through to get my child into kindergarten when he/she is 5 instead of 6?

Your child would start Kindergarten at 5 years, 9 months with a November bday. Otherwise your child would start at 4 years, 9 months.

It is very common for families to hold kids born between January & August back one year so they start Kindergarten at age 6-6.5. I used to not be the biggest fan of it but Kindergarten is a full, serious learning day now vs the play/creative half-day it was 25-35 years ago. Cursive is now taught in 1st grade vs 3rd grade when I grew up. It does help the more mature kids to be able to sit still & concentrate in Kindergarten from 8am-4pm, to have the motor skills to learn cursive in 1st grade, etc.

FWIW, all 50 states have a "Kindergarteners must be 5" rule. Texas and 29 other states have a Aug 31/ Sept 1 cut off. All states have a cut off by Jan 1 of the Kindergarten year. California has one of the latest cut-off dates (Dec 3), with Hawaii's Dec 31 and Connecticut's Jan 1st being the last ones.

[Big G]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

Who really wants to be the kid that is 15 and in middle school when most 15 year olds are in high school?

Yep. It's true that Timmy will be the first one picked for teams in elementary school, but it becomes a lot less cool when all your age-peers are headed off to college, and you're still in HS at age NINETEEN.

[jaime_mac]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Your child would start Kindergarten at 5 years, 9 months with a November bday. Otherwise your child would start at 4 years, 9 months.

It is very common for families to hold kids born between January & August back one year so they start Kindergarten at age 6-6.5. I used to not be the biggest fan of it but Kindergarten is a full, serious learning day now vs the play/creative half-day it was 25-35 years ago. Cursive is now taught in 1st grade vs 3rd grade when I grew up. It does help the more mature kids to be able to sit still & concentrate in Kindergarten from 8am-4pm, to have the motor skills to learn cursive in 1st grade, etc.

FWIW, all 50 states have a "Kindergarteners must be 5" rule. Texas and 29 other states have a Aug 31/ Sept 1 cut off. All states have a cut off by Jan 1 of the Kindergarten year. California has one of the latest cut-off dates (Dec 3), with Hawaii's Dec 31 and Connecticut's Jan 1st being the last ones.

Thank you for your insight on this. I have an August birthday and was always one of the youngest in my class, but I never cared. I really never thought twice about it so I guess that's why I just don't understand why Texas is so strict on this Sept 1 cut off.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Big G

Yep. It's true that Timmy will be the first one picked for teams in elementary school, but it becomes a lot less cool when all your age-peers are headed off to college, and you're still in HS at age NINETEEN.

I get your point, but generally kids are friends with people in their grade, not their age. I was a late birthday for my class, so has friends whose ages spanned 18 months older and 6 months younger - a full 2-year range of ages within my graduating class. The only times I ever noticed were when everyone turned 16 and started driving and that the youngest female friend didn't "mature" until 9th grade...that was hard on her, but she started school overseas so they weren't following the 5 year old kindergartener rule there.

I don't think the two guys who graduated high school at 19 really cared/noticed that the other 19-year-olds were already in college. It's definitely not a "black mark" on someone who was already old for the class and then held back on top of that.

16 & 21 are the two big birthdays...if you're in the middle, you're in the middle. Everyone's kind of in the same boat, you know?

[FarNorthDallas]

In May if any of y'all still read The Dallas Morning News and they publish the colleges the top two graduates of every high school will be attending, be sure and notice their ages. You'll be amazed at how many are 19 years old. Lots!