Kindergarten Age Restriction - What are my options in Prince William County? (Annandale: fit in, credit) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

theBIGstep · 05-21-2009, 12:01 PM

My daughter has been in PreK program through which her teacher feels she is advanced and is ready to go to Kindergarten this year - however my daughter misses the age restriction by 2 mths and therefore the public school in our area said that our only option was to pay for private Kindergarten. My daughters pre-k teacher accomplinied us on my daughters behalf when we went to a center which offered private K and within 20 minutes the teacher of the private K said that my daughter is absolutly ready to start this fall. However the school is well over $300 a week. I was told by the public school system that as long as I PAY for private K there is no question for her readiness - but that they will not make any exceptions based on her aptitude. Please help me is there any other options? Are there any programs which could test her apptitude and not generically say she is not ready before they even evaluate her? And why if I PAY does that seem to be the all mighty admittence requirement and not her ability?

Any info would be greatly appreciated! Or any suggestions on private K whether secular or not would also be appreciated.

claremarie · 05-21-2009, 12:20 PM

If the public school system has a strict age-based policy, with no exceptions, then your only option is to pay for private kindergarten or preschool and wait until next year for public school. With a "no exceptions" policy, aptitude is irrelevant.

Catholic grade schools are an option, but if you are not a member of the parish (or Catholic), there may be no open slots for you, especially for a kindergarten class. Also, you may find that many private schools similar age restrictions that may exclude your daughter.

It's tough to have a child who just misses the age cutoff, but the line has to be drawn somewhere.

terrence81 · 05-21-2009, 12:27 PM

Well I don't know how it is in VA but I know in Georgia you'd have to wait until 2nd grade if the child is private or home schooled. Although I will say that she might like being the oldest in her class for a kid that's better than being the baby of the class. The reason being is that there is a cut off for entering kindergarten and just in case a parent wants to be sly they have a cut off for entering 1st grade. Also kindergarten is actually optional in GA I think but don't quote me.

LVMYDACH · 05-21-2009, 02:20 PM

Just wanted to share my experience on this issue. My daughter, who is now 21 and in college, was in the same situation with missing the cut-off age for kindergarten by 10 days. Looking back my husband and I regret not having her tested (which Fairfax County did offer at that time) to be considered for an exception to start early. My daughter was at the time in a preschool and very advanced, especially in reading. I talked with several friends/family members, including a neighbor teacher and they recommended that we just hold her back until the next year. We made the decision to hold her back, which in hindsight was not good for our daughter. She was always older, physically bigger, more mature and academically ahead of her peers, especially in elementary and middle school years. She struggled at times to fit in with her peers because of some of these very issues. My daughter cried many tears along the way because she was left out a lot, especially in social situations because of her size and maturity. Also, sometimes it's not cool with your peers if you are advanced academically either. If you have any option available to put your daughter in kindergarten early, I would strongly consider it. Just remember that it strictly depends on the individual child as to whether they are mature and advanced enough to handle starting school early. Lots of things to consider when making that decision.

horseplayer · 05-22-2009, 05:28 AM

I missed it by three weeks. Church Kinder and private first grade (Merrydowns in Annandale). There were NO EXCEPTIONS then either. That was in FCPS. Entered college at 17.

Yankeesfan · 05-22-2009, 06:51 AM

One of my children learned to read on his own when he was four, but so what? This will only be an issue from your daughter's point of view if you make it one. So don't. Just save your money and keep her in preschool and then send her to kindergarten next year with everyone else her age. Frankly if you're making such a fuss over this now I wonder what you'll be getting worked up about over the next thirteen years of her schooling.

ChristineVA · 05-22-2009, 07:08 AM

It's really not about you "paying money" that magically gets you in. If your daughter attends an accredited Kindergarten progam when she is 4, they will then agree to take her for first grade. It would be the same if you had lived in Maryland (where the cut-off is December 31st), and the moved to Virginia for her first grade year. Seeing that she completed an accredited Kindergarten somewhere will get her into first grade. The only option for this in Prince William County is paid, private Kindergarten. This is the only way around the rules.

horseplayer · 05-22-2009, 10:01 AM

Then the rules have changed. They wouldn't let me into public first grade, either.

michgc · 05-22-2009, 02:44 PM

Maryland's cutoff is not December 31 any longer. It is Sept. 1. At least that's what it is in Montgomery County. Regardless, I think you have to think very carefully before pushing your child ahead. It is not always easiest being the youngest in a class. And with many parents in this area holding their kids back, she'd be even younger. My daughter has an early November birthday and at first I was bummed that she'd be among the oldest in her class. She was always mature for her age and seemed pretty bright. And while she was ahead of most of the kids in kindergarten, it is starting to even out now that she is finishing first grade. She is still on the advanced side socially and academically, which I actually like better. She is always in the highest reading group, highest math group, etc. If she had been pushed ahead, it may not have been the case. So unless your child is a genius and is socially on par with kids a full year ahead of her, I wouldn't take this decision lightly. Talk to as many parents as you can who pushed their kids ahead or didn't and get their take on it. I think you'll find that most parents are glad they didn't push their child ahead.

One more example - two of my sister's children (one boy and one girl) made the cutoff in PA by days. She struggled and struggled with what to do - hold them back or keep them in. They were both reading before age 5. Their preschool teachers said no question they should NOT be held back. So she sent them. Her children are now 18 and 20. Looking back, the fact that they were reading so young meant nothing. While her son did very well academically, her daughter was always average. And my sister said if she knew then what she knows now, she would have held her daughter back because she was always on the immature side all through school. Her son did fine being the youngest, however. There was no way she would have known that at age 5, though. I've always heard the most people do not regret holding back but more people regret pushing ahead. Just my 2, 3, and 4 cents. Good luck!

ChristineVA · 05-22-2009, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michgc

One more example - two of my sister's children (one boy and one girl) made the cutoff in PA by days. She struggled and struggled with what to do - hold them back or keep them in. They were both reading before age 5. Their preschool teachers said no question they should NOT be held back. So she sent them. Her children are now 18 and 20. Looking back, the fact that they were reading so young meant nothing. While her son did very well academically, her daughter was always average. And my sister said if she knew then what she knows now, she would have held her daughter back because she was always on the immature side all through school. Her son did fine being the youngest, however. There was no way she would have known that at age 5, though. I've always heard the most people do not regret holding back but more people regret pushing ahead. Just my 2, 3, and 4 cents. Good luck!

I agree with this.

My daughter's birthday is July 29th--2 months before the cutoff. It never even occurred to me to hold her back but, you know what? A good many of her peers had been held back and many of them were quite a bit older than her. She was very advanced in preschool, was reading short words at 3, and reading very well in pre-K. She was one of their "brightest" students. When she went to Kindergarten, so many of the kids were a LOT more mature than her and picked up things quicker. Frankly, it sort of intimidated her. She was a great candidate for waiting even though it wasn't an issue at the time. I should have done it at some point in elementary school. Even now, she has a lot of friends in the grade below her that she seems to "click" with better.

I don't think I'd push it and I agree with the previous poster that no one has ever regretted waiting.