When is the best time of year to move to Houston w/ elementary age school children? (Sugar Land: house, transfer)

[Moving2Houston]

We're relocating from California Bay Area to Houston with a 7-year-old (entering 2nd grade) and a 4.5-year-old (currently a pre-schooler). Any suggestion on the best time of year to move? Our pre-schooler was just accepted into a much sought-after program here with a fabulous teacher for the coming kindergarten year. In Houston I think she is still too young to enroll in kindergarten Are there any issues with over-enrollment or impacted schools that would make it difficult to show up mid-year? We are considering Sugar Land (isn't everyone?) and around the Memorial area but haven't decided yet.

[EasilyAmused]

Wow, Sugarland and Memorial are two different planets.

I think all the burbs are pretty much set up for year round transfer kids. I know Memorial schools have low enrollment numbers, so either way you should be fine.

[bostoner]

I'd be more concerned about how the move would impact the kids. I would think it'd be easier for them to adjust if you moved during the summer rather than mid-year. Also, consider the timing of TAKS, Stanford, etc. testing. Texas is testing crazy.

[citizen_jane]

We don't start TAKS testing until the 3th grade. I'm not familiar with any public schools that would turn a child away mid year but I know that it does happen in California. We lived in San Jose (Los Gatos area) and that was an issue. It's also likely that the cut off date to start kindergarten will be earlier here in Texas. My daughter went to Kindergarten in Los Gatos and there were 4 year olds in her class. I was so shocked!

Anyway, we moved twice when my kids were in elementary once mid-year and once over the summer. They preferred the "mid-year" move because it was more obvious that they were new. The school and kids made an effort to show them around and help them out instead of being lost in the crowd. But your children may feel differently. Good Luck

Edit: I just looked up the starting age for Kindergarten. The State of Texas requires that children be five years old on or before September 1 to be admitted to kindergarten.

[Topaz]

The military tells families that it is easier on children to move mid-year because then they are treated as "special" new kids. They say that if they start at the beginning of the school year, there is too much going on for anyone to help them acclimate.

I'm not sure if I believe this or not, but it is food for thought!

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by Moving2Houston

We're relocating from California Bay Area to Houston with a 7-year-old (entering 2nd grade) and a 4.5-year-old (currently a pre-schooler). Any suggestion on the best time of year to move? Our pre-schooler was just accepted into a much sought-after program here with a fabulous teacher for the coming kindergarten year. In Houston I think she is still too young to enroll in kindergarten Are there any issues with over-enrollment or impacted schools that would make it difficult to show up mid-year? We are considering Sugar Land (isn't everyone?) and around the Memorial area but haven't decided yet.

When will your younger child turn 5? If September 1 or sooner, he/she can start kindergarten. We live in Sugar Land and my son is starting Walker Station Elementary's kindergarten in August. We keep hearing rave reviews from local parents and we hope the educational experience will be half as good as they say it will be.

[Moving2Houston]

Thanks for all the comments. I'm hearing a lot about the Pre-K program at Houston public schools... Is that for everyone or a select demographic? Do all the classroom friendships start in the Pre-K program? Mine is a typical native-English speaker who has already attended 2 years of private pre-school in San Jose. We don't have public pre-K programs here. I hope she can transfer as a kindergarten student despite the age cut-off (Oct. baby).

[Topaz]

The Houston ISD Web site says:

"To qualify for pre-kindergarten, a child must be four years old no later than September 1 and must be economically disadvantaged, homeless, or unable to speak and understand English."

Fort Bend ISD requirements are similar.

If you can't get her into kindergarten this year because of the age rule, you could choose a preschool in which lots of the children graduate into the kindergarten she will be attending the next year. That way, she will know some other children, although we learned at the kindergarten Open House last month that there are 5 different kindergarten classes at our local elementary school, so even if my son has made friends with someone from preschool, that is no guarantee they will be in the same kindergarten class. Maybe some other kindergarten classes are smaller than this one, but it was new to me to think of such large numbers of kindergarteners!

[icon7]

You got to be kidding? So I will be paying over $10K in FBISD taxes next year and and every year after and when we have a kid(s), he/she will not be allowed into a pre-school program that I (and fellow Tax Payers) pay for? Because he/she is NOT: "economically disadvantaged, homeless, or unable to speak and understand English"

This a perfect case of how the government steals from those of us that work hard and pay taxes. Well I think I will start my campaign now to address the issue with the school board. Or in the future have people in the school board that understand that we pay these HIGH A** taxes for our kids to have the advantages too...

Last Time I checked: IT IS GOVERNMENT FOR THE PEOPLE BY THE PEOPLE. Not FOR the SOCIAL PARASITES BY THE ELITIST!

Originally Posted by Topaz

The Houston ISD Web site says:

"To qualify for pre-kindergarten, a child must be four years old no later than September 1 and must be economically disadvantaged, homeless, or unable to speak and understand English."

Fort Bend ISD requirements are similar.
...

[bostoner]

Originally Posted by icon7

You got to be kidding? So I will be paying over $10K in FBISD taxes next year and and every year after and when we have a kid(s), he/she will not be allowed into a pre-school program that I (and fellow Tax Payers) pay for? Because he/she is NOT: "economically disadvantaged, homeless, or unable to speak and understand English"

This a perfect case of how the government steals from those of us that work hard and pay taxes. Well I think I will start my campaign now to address the issue with the school board. Or in the future have people in the school board that understand that we pay these HIGH A** taxes for our kids to have the advantages too...

Last Time I checked: IT IS GOVERNMENT FOR THE PEOPLE BY THE PEOPLE. Not FOR the SOCIAL PARASITES BY THE ELITIST!

Yes, because what we really want here in Houston is to turn into a Third World country where only the economically advantaged, homed, and dominant-language speakers are properly educated. One need look no further than New Orleans for a glimpse of what a rousing success that would be. What you want is termed universal pre-K. Go fight for that, not against children who need the extra help.