Repeat K or enter 1st? Moving to Fairfax County in the summer.

[Anonymous]

The state I'm from has a cutoff of Jan 1 for kindergarten entry, so my kid is in kindergarten right now. We're moving to Fairfax County in July and I'm seeing that the cutoff here is September 30. My kid was born October 1, so we miss the cutoff here for kindergarten by 1 day. Will FCPS make my kid repeat kindergarten or will kid be able to start 1st grade in the fall? Thanks all.

[Anonymous]

Since you are coming from a different state, I am not sure. I believe they will tell you to repeat kindergarten.

However, note that the child will be the youngest if he goes to first (which is not the best in MS and HS in my opinion). In this area it is very common to hold August and September birthdays.

[Anonymous]

They won’t make him repeat but I would think long and hard about your choice. He will be the youngest, probably by a lot, since many people hold their August/September birthdays back here. Do you have full day kindergarten? I know most schools do these days. If you were at 1/2 day it would make sense to repeat here at full day. However, if he’s mature (not smart- mature) you might just continue forward to first. It’s a great question for a spring conference with his teacher.

[Anonymous]

He can enter 1st grade. My daughter was born the first week in October, and we moved from a place with a later cutoff. She entered first grade without issue. Just needed to show kindergarten transcripts. She is in middle school now.

[Anonymous]

FCPS is not a difficult school curriculum so I would be worried about boredom in doing K again. I would start 1st.

[Anonymous]

You ( and teachers perhaps) know your child best. My b/g twins with October 10 bday went to mcps kindergarten before they turned five. They were ready But eventually my son needed another year to mature. He ultimately did ninth grade twice (during the pandemic!) ( and by going to boarding school ) and do both kids wound up being exactly where they needed to be at every stage. However, I never considered that any placement decision beginning in k was permanent—I constantly watched academic and social development and informed my decision each year

[Anonymous]

Please know that not only will your kid be the youngest in the grade for sure, there will be kids well over a year older, as most boys and some girls hold back July-Sep birthdays esp in the more affluent areas off FFX. My child is an October who went on time and had 5 kids born before Oct in her k class. I am so thankful she is on the older side so she can be on the more mature side.

If you think this kid boy or girl will be sporty, it would also be a consideration. You will severely impact them in this area, especially if they are male.

[Anonymous]

I teach middle school. I have a few students who are 11, almost 12, because they came from other states or countries that have different timelines. Most turn 13 between October and April. A few are already 13 when they begin 7th grade.

Occasionally, that age difference is obvious, but I usually cannot tell the difference between the differently aged students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I teach middle school. I have a few students who are 11, almost 12, because they came from other states or countries that have different timelines. Most turn 13 between October and April. A few are already 13 when they begin 7th grade.

Occasionally, that age difference is obvious, but I usually cannot tell the difference between the differently aged students.

This is my DS... he turned 12 in September of 7th grade. A couple of his friends have already turned 13... he hangs with them just fine.

[Anonymous]

Call and ask.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FCPS is not a difficult school curriculum so I would be worried about boredom in doing K again. I would start 1st.

Unless your child is just going to be impossible because it’s not a challenge, the academics has very little to do with it. The problem is maturity and being so much younger than everyone else. If you’re military and will only be here a little while I would look into other likely school systems. The more you go south the earlier they start and the earlier the cut off date.

[Anonymous]

It really depends on your kid. If she is solid with academic skills and socially adept, move her on. If she is young for her age socially or physically, then repeat. I’d ask the advice of the current teacher.

[Anonymous]

Our October birthday kid did private kindergarten, and they gave her the option to go to first or stay on typical track with kindergarten. We ended up talking with a kindergarten teacher and first grade teacher and ultimately had our kid meet with the reading specialist at the school for a quick evaluation. We chose to keep her in kindergarten and have not regretted the decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our October birthday kid did private kindergarten, and they gave her the option to go to first or stay on typical track with kindergarten. We ended up talking with a kindergarten teacher and first grade teacher and ultimately had our kid meet with the reading specialist at the school for a quick evaluation. We chose to keep her in kindergarten and have not regretted the decision.

OP here. What did the reading specialist say? My kid is reading already so that's why I'm thinking of just putting kid in 1st.

[Anonymous]

I think it's a matter of risk management. There is more risk, IMHO, of putting them "ahead" than in "holding them back" in the long-run.

I rarely see parents that say, oh gosh, my kid is just too mature for their school grade, I wish we had put them ahead!

Give your kid the gift of time.