Mid Year move to US from India (Hoboken, Madison: rentals, house)
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I am relocating back to US this Nov/ Dec. I have two kids aged, 9 and 5 (Turning 10 and 6) in Dec.
I wanted to know if my 5 yr old (turning 6 in Dec) can get admission in first grade instead of going through kindergarten. She is currently in grade 1 in India.
Are there any alternatives so that she does not loose a year. More than losing a year, I am worried about her getting bored in school if she has to go through kindergarten again.
She is already reading level 2 books and is able to do basic addition, subtraction and multiplication.
Also if some good public schools can be suggested in the northern NJ area, it will be appreciated.
Will the grade your 5 year old (turning 6 in Dec) gets into impact your decision to relocate or where to live once you arrive? If not, then don't worry about it now and discuss with the principal in the district where you intend to live.
If you feel she is bored at school, you could always enroll her in some after school math or science program to keep her engaged mentally.
I would highly recommend Berkeley Heights or New Providence as towns with excellent school districts and reasonable cost of living with access to trains to NYC or Hoboken. New Providence even has rentals near its two train stations (and I think Berkeley Heights may as well).
Most of the public schools will admit her in Kindergarden. I think NYC/Long island has Dec 31 has cut off date, if that is an option for you. Also you could consider Private schooling.
Like suggested by person above you could enroll her in after school program if needed. Also chances are likely that she would be enrolled as ESL (english second language). I have a lot of indian friends who moved while their kids were in kindergarden or elementry and they said the change from indian curriculum to US is not all that easy. For all you know that extra year might be useful to your child to get accustomed to the change.
Regarding good schools - Northern NJ is large and varies significantly in terms of cost of living. if your rental/buy budget for the house is flexible i would recommend New providence, Berkeley heights, Chatham, Madison. Again commute to work is another thing you need to consider. I am indian and live in Madison, there is hardly any indian population around but the pros of the city makes up for it.
You can PM me if you have any specific questions.
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