New Kindergarten eligibility dates in Hawaii public schools (Honolulu: 2015, private school)

[zoer]

Hi,

My family is moving to Honolulu this summer. I have a kid who will turn 5 in the middle of August. Due to the changes to the age of entry she will not be eligible for kindergarten until the 2015-2016 school year. She is already attending school here in Canada and I think the transition for her and her brother would be better if they both started a new school together.

Does anyone know a way around the rules? Exceptions etc.....? If I send her to a private school for 2 years (if we could find one we could afford) could she get into public school in grade 2 and not be held back due to her age?

Any help would be appreciated. Losing sleep over this concern!

[mdand3boys]

Originally Posted by zoer

Hi,

My family is moving to Honolulu this summer. I have a kid who will turn 5 in the middle of August. Due to the changes to the age of entry she will not be eligible for kindergarten until the 2015-2016 school year. She is already attending school here in Canada and I think the transition for her and her brother would be better if they both started a new school together.

Does anyone know a way around the rules? Exceptions etc.....? If I send her to a private school for 2 years (if we could find one we could afford) could she get into public school in grade 2 and not be held back due to her age?

Any help would be appreciated. Losing sleep over this concern!

It IS possible to skip a grade or two. You must be on top of this every step of the way though and continue to push back on the local school complex. They will most likely insist upon extra testing, etc., to determine if your child is capable of skipping a grade or two. They do not like to do it which is why you will have to stay on top of it.

[zoer]

Thanks for the reply. According to the person at the DOE who answers emails if your child attends a private school for kindergarten they would be eligible for grade 1 next year. I really want to get that in writing to bring as proof for 2015-2016 school year.

[PaliPatty]

Originally Posted by zoer

Thanks for the reply. According to the person at the DOE who answers emails if your child attends a private school for kindergarten they would be eligible for grade 1 next year. I really want to get that in writing to bring as proof for 2015-2016 school year.

There apparently is more to this than automatically being eligible for first grade next year---there is an assessment required before admission is allowed and that assessment must be done by a DOE-approved examiner. Did that DOE person tell you about that?
I would be very careful about getting exact instructions regarding how to go about this. Mdand3boys is right on about staying on top of the situation.

[zoer]

I thought it sounded too easy. An assessment wasn't mentioned. Glad I asked here.

[PaliPatty]

Originally Posted by zoer

I thought it sounded too easy. An assessment wasn't mentioned. Glad I asked here.

Sad to say but many MANY times I have called various places about various things and gotten short and sweet answers that I found, way after the fact, to be either completely wrong or faulty by ommission or they cheerily told me they would do something (send copies, relay messages to appropriate depts, etc) and they hung up and did absolutely nothing. Yep---DMV, HR departments, doctor's offices, labs, etc. Seems many here are happy just to send you on your way and get back to whatever it is they were doing when you called.
Even finding info online can be tough.
Here's a little bit of what I found---and even that has left me wondering what they really require. I'm curious now---gonna keep on hunting!
Your situation is admittedly a bit more complicated than that of the average family moving here. Keep on top of it and best of luck to you!


http://earlylearning.hawaii.gov/wp-c....DHS-FINAL.pdf

State Kindergarten Policies


To be fair, I think this is a relatively new development in Hawaii although they've been doing it for years in other states. Things in the DOE have changed here just in the last year so even the experiences of those who have registered kids a few years ago may not apply.
This is just stuff I found doing searches so I really can't vouch for what you'll actually discover when it comes to registering your kids.