private school in atlanta with late cut off date (Decatur: neighborhood, preschool)

[Maman2]

Hi,Does anyone know of any private schools in the Atlanta area that have cutoff dates AFTER Sept. 1?
My baby is born on september 2nd and i really don't want her to repeat pre-k just because she miss the cut off day by 24 hours...
We live in the atlanta norcross area...

[DawgPark]

Originally Posted by Maman2

Hi,Does anyone know of any private schools in the Atlanta area that have cutoff dates AFTER Sept. 1?
My baby is born on september 2nd and i really don't want her to repeat pre-k just because she miss the cut off day by 24 hours...
We live in the atlanta norcross area...

I'm sure there is one somewhere that will make an exception if your child is bright and tests well, but most have earlier cutoffs than Sept. 1.

The school our daughter attends cuts off at July 1, thus our son w/ an August BD will likely repeat Pre-K.

[yankeegirl73]

Look for a school with a "young fives" program to help bridge that year. If you decide to go ahead with the Sept. 2 bday, your child will probably be very young. Many with summer birthdays hold back a year, not just those with birth days after September 1. Depending on your child, being so young may cause no problems, but it is something to consider.

[SW30303]

I would focus on contacting private schools that are Christian-oriented relatively close to where you live, and in particular, the lower-tiered private church schools where there may be a Kindergarten opening right now.

Some lesser known private schools are willing to make exceptions if they have spaces open and right now with a downward economy, those type of church schools may be more open to accepting a younger child.

I would make a lot of phone calls right now before visiting any place to save you time.I would ask them first if they even have open Kindergarten spots before asking more questions. Good luck!

[thbrewst]

FYI, for the more sought after private schools the 'cut-off' is the line where they won't accept your application, but realistically they will be VERY hesitant to accept your child if they are that 'young' compared to the other kids. If you want to go the private school route you should go ahead and plan to wait a year. The exception to this is if your child tests off the charts, then they may accept them anyway.

[Vlias]

Maman2, I had the same challenge as you... I have TWO late birthday children... October and December. I found 4 schools in my local area (I'm in S. Fulton) that would take them into K early. As someone else already mentioned, 3 of them are small, Christian schools. 1 is a secular school but it's further away than the Christian one's and the religious education is important to me.

I would check into churches in your local area (that is, if you don't object to that) and call them up. Some will at least do an assessment to see where your child is and whether or not they can handle it.

The "common wisdom" these days is to let chlidren be older rather than the younger one's in school. My oldest is going to bored out of her mind if I do that. Even at 4, she is already doing K level work and even some 1st grade stuff. So to hold her back, I think, would be torture. I sure was thankful my mom moved me up. My oldest is a December child, so you're better off than me with a Sept. 2.

Go to schooldigger.com and use the left hand navigation bar to select "Private schools". It then allows you to search for private schools within a 5 - 20 mile radius from whatever address you choose to use. But also be willing to just drive around and look; some of the best places aren't advertised.. and talk to lots of people. The school we ended up moving our girls to is GREAT.... FANTASTIC! But I would have never found about it apart from talking to people; it wasn't even on schooldigger and I couldn't find it on Google right now if I tried. It's just that new and just that small.

Sorry I don't know the Norcross area to be able to help you more.

Also, the other poster is right... most of the "big name" schools have a strict Sept 1 cutoff so most of those will have to be crossed off the list.

[Vlias]

Sorry, I misspoke on how to use schooldigger. There's a link that says "Near an address". From there, in the drop-down menu, you can choose "private schools" and then put in your address and choose how far away you are looking.

I just used it to find some private schools in Norcross. There are 2 that I just found that you may want to look into.
1. Landmark Christian School of P'Tree Corners
2. Hopewell Christian Academy

Landmark states that they have Sept. 1 as a cutoff date; exceptions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. That at least gives you a chance.

Hopewell accepts children into K4 or K5 as long as the child has a birthday by Nov 1.

[saakhi]

can anyone help me in finding school which takes late birthday (september 5) in candler park or surrounding neighborhood.

[LovelySummer]

I would call the local public school and see what ideas they have. they probably have been asked this question before. I would also see if there is a state waiver or a way to test in for kids with birthdays so close to the cutoff.

[AtlJan]

Near Candler Park, I would try the various Decatur montessori schools and the Waldorf School of Atlanta. Waldorf has a new preschool campus opening this Fall in Inman Park. If they aren't full yet, they might take your child into their kindergarten.