Redshirting a March birthday boy

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a way for the school to guarantee an extra year of (unnecessary) tuition from your family.

I would push back and say he is starting kindergarten in the fall - either with you (and possibly other services in addition to such therapy) or at a different school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. What should I do then? Public? I don’t think we have a choice. Should I fight the school about this? I don’t think I want to get on their bad side…

I would find another school rather than redshirt him. However, since you have a relationship with the school and like it enough to send your other kids there, I would talk with the school about why they feel redshirting is appropriate. If the school has a specific developmental concern, maybe you could address that in some other way (e.g. speech therapy, OT, etc.).

I will definitely say that we are willing to hire tutors or whatever is needed. I am not sure it will change their mind. Son is doing speech therapy already for some mild issues

What’s the harm in redshirting? DS has two spring redshirts in his class.

This kid will turn 18 during his junior year of HS. That sounds really old to me. If there were some reason he isn’t ready for K then it is worth redshirting but not just so a school can maximize its profits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a way for the school to guarantee an extra year of (unnecessary) tuition from your family.

I would push back and say he is starting kindergarten in the fall - either with you (and possibly other services in addition to such therapy) or at a different school.

Acceptance rates are low across the board. Schools can lose their entire class and fill it again with great families. The school can get all the tuition it wants

The school is trying to create good class experiences for every grade. If the school feels the child is immature it could be better for all including you if the child is in a younger class. The elementary forum is filled with stories of immature kids having problems making or keeping friends.

Many children develop slower in kinder and catch up developmentally later. Just as frequently children who are immature and need speech are later diagnosed with ADHD. Those children have difficulty making same-aged friends for years.

[Anonymous]

I think some schools will only give sibling preference for pre-k. It might be as simple as that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. What should I do then? Public? I don’t think we have a choice. Should I fight the school about this? I don’t think I want to get on their bad side…

I would find another school rather than redshirt him. However, since you have a relationship with the school and like it enough to send your other kids there, I would talk with the school about why they feel redshirting is appropriate. If the school has a specific developmental concern, maybe you could address that in some other way (e.g. speech therapy, OT, etc.).

I will definitely say that we are willing to hire tutors or whatever is needed. I am not sure it will change their mind. Son is doing speech therapy already for some mild issues

Mild speech issues is not a reason to hold back.

That’s not why they suggested it. They mentioned some immaturity and ability to focus on some tasks. I really don’t know and I never considered redshirting him (I am not opposed to it, but never thought of doing it given my kids’ birthdays)

Four and five years are not supposed to be mature. Sounds like an excuse.

I'm sure the school knows what 4 and 5 year olds look like, this isn't their first rodeo. Sounds like they know OPs kid won't be as successful the first year and will require extra resources that after another year he may not need. And why would the school need an "excuse"? Most schools have more applications than they need to fill the class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. What should I do then? Public? I don’t think we have a choice. Should I fight the school about this? I don’t think I want to get on their bad side…

I would find another school rather than redshirt him. However, since you have a relationship with the school and like it enough to send your other kids there, I would talk with the school about why they feel redshirting is appropriate. If the school has a specific developmental concern, maybe you could address that in some other way (e.g. speech therapy, OT, etc.).

I will definitely say that we are willing to hire tutors or whatever is needed. I am not sure it will change their mind. Son is doing speech therapy already for some mild issues

What’s the harm in redshirting? DS has two spring redshirts in his class.

This kid will turn 18 during his junior year of HS. That sounds really old to me. If there were some reason he isn’t ready for K then it is worth redshirting but not just so a school can maximize its profits.

Sounds like reasons were provided. They deemed him not ready.

[Anonymous]

My March bday son was admitted to K on target, but then asked to repeat and we thought the same thing, this seems crazy, no way... but after seeing the maturity and social dynamics play out over many years of elementary, we wish we would have done it. Even as a March bday, he was the almost the youngest in the class because May and onwards had been redshirted and he was in a class where 50% of the boys had been redshirted, so his immaturity stood out even more. You sometimes see posts from people like me who say they regret not holding him back, but you never see a post where the parents say they regret holding him back. That extra time always seems to work out well for the child.

[Anonymous]

I would not redshirt a March birthday boy unless there is a developmental delay. Do public K this year, or look for a preschool with a K class so that you can keep your son there this year and then apply to 1st grade in private schools next year. Lots of kids move on from preschool's K classes to private schools.

Note: I researched redshirting a lot because of my mid-summer born child with documented social-emotional delays (child had an IEP for this during preschool).

[Anonymous]

Send him to public K and find a new school that cares about the students' well being rather than the profit they can make off of you.

[Anonymous]

Some schools that offer both pre-K and K only give preferential treatment to siblings in pre-K. Make a black and white rule not necessarily a gray area. And that might be what they are saying to her.

[Anonymous]

I'm always amazed at how gullible wealthy (presumably smart) parents are. Privates want to redshirt your spring born kids because it gives them an extra year of tuition and probably brings up their stats when they are in high school. That's it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t do it. It’s a money grab by the school. Redshirting a March birthday is utterly ridiculous. Your kid deserves better. He’ll be bored to tears.

+1. This is not a good sign from the school

+2 unless they can identify specific delays, there’s no way I’d red shirt him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t do it. It’s a money grab by the school. Redshirting a March birthday is utterly ridiculous. Your kid deserves better. He’ll be bored to tears.

+1. This is not a good sign from the school

+2 unless they can identify specific delays, there’s no way I’d red shirt him.

Completely agree. Even with specific delays, I’d consider other options that are most likely better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm always amazed at how gullible wealthy (presumably smart) parents are. Privates want to redshirt your spring born kids because it gives them an extra year of tuition and probably brings up their stats when they are in high school. That's it.

How does it give them an extra year of tuition?

DS's Pre-K class has 17 kids. Next year it will also have 17 kids. The year after that, it will have 17 kids.

It's an in-demand school. It will always fill its class. The tuition will be the same whether OP's kids is one of the 17 kids or if OP's kid isn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t do it. It’s a money grab by the school. Redshirting a March birthday is utterly ridiculous. Your kid deserves better. He’ll be bored to tears.

+1. This is not a good sign from the school

+2 unless they can identify specific delays, there’s no way I’d red shirt him.

Completely agree. Even with specific delays, I’d consider other options that are most likely better.

Better for who? We redshirted our child, and now seeing the difference between his class and the one above, we think he's in a better in the lower grade. He doesn't have to spend free time on speech, counseling and tutoring. He spends his free time on play dates with kids who like him.