Age Cutoff for Kindergarten
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Anonymous
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Our DD's birthday is October 16, but we've been wondering about the possibility of her starting kindergarten at age 4. Does anyone know of private schools in the DC area that do not have a September 1 cutoff? Also -- I know Montgomery County has a process that can push back the entry date "six weeks," which the MCPS website describes as October 15. Is anyone familiar with that process, including whether they've ever made an exception where it's only a day later? |
Anonymous
| There are several kids in my DD's K class (in MoCo) whose birthdays are after the cut-off, but all of them were at the school the previous year, so I don't know if they'd automatically start a 4 year old in K. Nevertheless, if you want to check with them, the school is Winchester School and it's in Silver Spring (near Rockville). |
Anonymous
| I'd follow the guidelines OP. There will be kids a full year older in the class. In terms of size, fine motor, interests, it all makes a difference, especially when kids hit 6th grade. Can you send her to a nice preschool for a year instead? Some even have a jk or prek program for kids with fall bdays. |
Anonymous
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I have a daughter born October 23rd, so we're facing this possibility as well. We're going to have her in a preschool that has a kindergarten class. If her teachers think she's ready, she'll do kindergarten at almost-5 and then public school 1st grade. If not, she'll do pre-K at almost-5 and start public school kindergarten at almost-6. Depending on the district, it's not automatic that they have to let the almost-6's into 1st grade - some have testing.
my daughter is bright, social and big for her age, so it's possible she'd be totally fine with being the youngest in her class by 3 weeks. But we'll wait and see. Either way we're paying for private school till she's almost 6, so it's no biggie either way. |
Anonymous
| Second the rec for a Junior Kindergarten program. |
Anonymous
| Can you really think of advantages to being possibly the youngest and/or smallest child in a class? IMHO as a long-time educator, it's not usually in the best interests of a child--even an extremely gifted child. |
Anonymous
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I have a 7th grader who eeked in when the age cutoff was in the process of rolling back. Let me just tell you that things can be mighty different when you are looking at a 12 year old compared to a 3 year old.
Don't rush her if you don't need to. Middle school is giving my child an education in many things she (and I) weren't ready for at her age. |
Anonymous
| I believe MCPS has requires you to be 6 for 1st grade as well as 5 for kindergarten..then after that you can be a late birthday and they will let you in.. |
Anonymous
Yes: you're working at your ability all through high school and college and are not crushed by the stultifying boredom of being a year behind where you should be academically. Many kids (myself included) started in a school with a December 30th cutoff and moved to other school systems with earlier dates, guaranteeing that I was the youngest all the way through. It was never a problem, and my best friend in high school was someone who'd been held back in 1st grade (for legitimate reasons) and was therefore 14 months older than I was. It wasn't a problem. Instead of concern-trolling all these posts on the assumption that no child could possibly be ready for kindergarten three (or six or ten) weeks earlier than another child, why not just answer the questions about the actual school options. To quote an old favorite poster: sheesh! |
Anonymous
| I think Congressional Schools of Virginia has an end-of-October cutoff. |
Anonymous
A top quality school can provide all that you've said without "stultifying boredom." Also, your statement about an assumption regarding three, six, or ten weeks earlier than another child is incorrect. So many children are held back with even May/June birthdays that it can be a 16 month difference or more. (Unlike you, I'll ignore the opportunity here to list my own academic accomplishments or those of family members who also had late birthdays.) |
Anonymous
| My daughter has an early November birthday and is in her right grade. But she is one of the oldest in her class and she is developing physically (in 3rd grade). If she were in 4th grade, it would be less of a big deal. If we moved to New York, many of the schools' cut-offs are December 1 or 31 and she would be in 4th grade legitimally. I never considered pushing her ahead in NoVA. But sometimes I wish she was among the youngest rather than the oldest. |
Anonymous
Perhaps in her case, but there are other issues to consider as well as growth--fine-motor skills, ability to sustain focus, social skills, self-confidence in new situations, etc. Sometimes the choice is tough, but in general, those extra months of developmental maturity are an asset. |
Anonymous
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22:12, we are in a similar situation. I have an August girl that I ultimately chose (after much angst) not to redshirt. One of our big concerns was that girls in my family tend to go through puberty and get their periods early. We have had no issues, and now she is 9 and definitely starting puberty! So glad we did not wait.
But I also have an October birthday girl and now I am really torn what to do about her. Ugh. |
Anonymous
Wouldn't an Oct bday kid start K at 5 and turn 6 shortly thereafter? I thought that the cutoffs in the area were Sept 1 or Sept 30? |