How much pressure is there in MCPS to red shirt spring/summer boys?

[Anonymous]

First, I am not asking about whether you think red shirting is good or bad. I'm not making or intending to make comments that would judge your choices.

My DS has a late spring birthday and a speech delay that is mostly articulation at this point. His expressive and receptive is very good it is just his intelligability when he speaks. He is very tall for age. He has very good social skills and is used to playing with kids his age and older. He has great cognitive, math, fine motor, gross motor, and concentration skills. At 3, he has no problem paying attention in classes or preschool.

It 2 years away but I am hearing about all the growing pressure to red shirt boys who have no delays if they have spring or summer birthdays. My preference would be to not hold him back. He loves playing with his older sibling and her friends. They are very close and I'm not sure how adding a 3 yr school difference would affect their relationship. He will also be very big for his class and probably bored in some areas. I know MCPS has a preference to keep kids back and then accelerate them but this just sounds off to me. I'm worried that if he is not beyond his articulation issues and ahead in reading, they will knee jerk recommend holding him back.

We're also thinking of moving to a different part of the country that has public schools ranked just as high if not higher than MCPS but they do not have this red shirting thing going on. They also have half day K not full day and less focus on the early elementary school testing. It would be very odd for him to a year older without any developmental issues than the other kids here.

I don't want him to hate K and learn to hate school but I don't want to red shirt him just because this area has this particular approach.

[Anonymous]

There is no pressure from MCPS. You might get a little encouragement from a private to do it but none from the public schools.

[Anonymous]

We have a July kid and she did really well in K, just turned 10 and going into 1st grade. That redshirting was a godsend

ha ha she is 6 going into 1st grade and is doing really well.

[Anonymous]

Agree with 1st reposnder..no pressure from MCPS...I have a July and an August and both went just after they turned 5...everything is fine!

[Anonymous]

We felt zero pressure.

That said, I know one summer birthday boy who started K and then was told he wasn't ready. The parents pulled him out after two weeks. I think MCPS would have had to accomodate him though if the parents had resisted. I also know two boys who didn't seem ready at all (twins who were held back in preschool) but their parents sent them on time anyway and they did fine.

[Anonymous]

No pressure. We did redshirt our son, who met the cutoff by one week (late August birthday).

With a spring birthday, absent major issues, I wouldn't consider redshirting.

[Anonymous]

No pressure from MCPS at all. Our oldest has a mid-September birthday so he just missed the K cut-off. Our second has a late summer birthday and we plan to start him right on time. FWIW, I think 3 is too soon to tell anything. His pre-K teacher (when he's 4) will probably be best equipped to give you a recommendation (as well as reassurance). I have friends and relatives who are teachers (including a sister who teaches for MCPS) and the consensus is that you have a wide range of ages and abilities in kindergarten and perhaps even 1st grade, but by 2nd grade everything seems to even out.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the above poster who said you can consult with your Pre-K teacher next year. I also think it's one thing if you son has a late August birthday, but since you are "late spring" (is that May?), I would see no reason to hold him back based on a speech issue.

[Anonymous]

Zero pressure from MCPS to redshirt. In fact, I think the reverse -- if you wanted to redshirt him you would have to go thru a process, present evidence/reasons why he should be redshirted and school would have to assent. For a birthday so far from the cutoff date (Sept.), you would have to show pretty serious evidence that holding back was necessary and addressed his needs.

[Anonymous]

Our kids have June and July birthdays. There was zero pressure to red shirt and we didn't. Both kids are doing great. If you wanted to do it you could probably make the decision on your own.

[Anonymous]

If you red shirted in private, then went to public a few years later, does the county give you a hard time about it?

[Anonymous]

My friend wanted to red shirt her son who had a summer birthday and language delays. He went to Pre-K and MCPS staff discouraged her from doing so, and he's done just fine without being red-shirted (now going into 2nd).

[Anonymous]

The cutoff in most private schools is June 1. That is why you will find some april and may birthdays being held back in private.

As far as MCPS, if you redshirt in private, until 3rd grade, you have to petition to stay with grade you started with if you enter MCPS. After that, it is not an issue.

[Anonymous]

PP, Do you mean MCPS would expect you to skip the next grade? I don't think that is correct since they do not force you to start on time for Kindergarten if the parent prefer to wait.

[Anonymous]

yes- I do mean they would make you skip. we were considering public for fourth and it was a concern as I did redshirt him. I checked with the front office of the school and they told me that since he was going into 4th it was not an issue.

If he had been coming in for example 1st grade but should be in 2nd then he would be based in the grade for his age.

However if you start in Kindergarten ahead, they don't move you ahead.


http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/policy/pdf/jec.pdf