Adjusting grade level while moving...

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

From my experiences, no matter how intelligent, mature and socially gifted a child is, an year or two can affect school experience. Let them be the oldest. Enroll them into to the school feeder where you want them to graduate from by 6th grade. Middle school is very important if you want them to succeed in high school, it makes it much easier.

First let me say that I think the parents made a good decision that seems to be in the best interests of their child.

The post above, though, made me smile. How do you expect to accomplish the bold for every kid? One of my kids was right in the middle, and one was among the younger, in the youngest quarter actually, and in some cases in ele school, due to severe red-shirting in our community, among the youngest. By middle school in our district, there were many courses where the grade levels were mixed, and it didn't make a lot of difference. By high school, most courses were multi-grade level, except for the required LA and social studies courses.

[Spazkat9696]

Originally Posted by zulu400

Hi,
My daughter is the youngest in class (because she just made the cut off) in NY. Not very excited about that, but she is doing well academically, average socially.

If we move to this new place (where the cutoff is even earlier) she will potentially have kids who are a year and 3 months older than her in her class, also this is a transition from 5th grade (elem) into middle school.

We have mixed feelings about keeping her in 5th again vs letting her get into middle school. Also, the schools in the new place are supposedly better than where we currently are.
If you have or know anyone who had to take such a decision when they moved in, can you please give us some feedback on what was the decision and how did that pan out ?

Appreciate the comments.

The school will go by the recommendations of the prior school. Meaning they will place her in whatever grade the last school placed her in. This information comes from the student's record. I'm not sure a school would have her repeat 5th per parent request.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by gentlearts

It seems a bit arbitrary, since in my grandsons case, his birthday is late September. It's not as though he was months and months too young.

September was considered late in my state over 2 decades ago. Today a child starting kindergarten when he or she is barely 5 would be at a huge disadvantage--especially a boy--with classmates as much as 18 months older than he or she.

[ClaraC]

Originally Posted by zulu400

Update - We are holding her back.

If she went to her next grade - no one in her class would be her age.

Let me put it this way... if she was born in the new place we moved to, then she will be in the grade that we are holding her back in, so age wise I think she will be fine. The school has a couple of accelerated programs if the kids are advanced (just spoke to the principal this week).

Daughters fine with it (because she understands that if she was born here, she is in the proper grade).

I think you've made the right decision. I was in the same position in 6th grade - moved from upstate New York to a tiny town in Texas. I was small, a late bloomer and then add to that I was more than a year younger than most of the kids in my class. The schools that I attended in New York were miles ahead academically compared to the schools in the southern district in Texas so I did well academically. But I felt like I was still a child, and going to school with young men and women.

[zulu400]

Thanks a bunch guys for your feedback. It matters to us.