Redshirting consequences at Lafayette

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I get that "grey area" can't be a law-- but I do think principles should have a right to review redshirts on a case by case bases -- example -- say you just moved in from a different state that had a sept 1 cut off (since most do) -- is DC really going to make said child skip a grade because they were born sept 2nd? OR say you have a child born on September 30th and you can already tell they aren't developmental ready for K (or to be with kids almost an entire year older then then). What I don't agree with is parents just thinking they can do whatever they want... especially when their kids birthday is in May/June/July....

And they do. I sent my kids to a Title 1 DCPS for years and the principal would occasionally suggest repeating PK4 to kids who didn't seem able to handle K. It was ALWAYS at the suggestion of the teachers and the decision of th principal. The problem here is parents thinking they can make this call themselves based on their (often faulty and sometimes shady -- like wanting a kid to be better at sports) reasoning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Because the previous principal allowed parents to do it at Lafayette so all the preschools told their parents it was fine? In many cases two kids in the same family? If they were going to change longstanding school policy they should have given people a years heads up at a minimum.

Also the law says to go to first grade to you have to be six on the first day of school and that’s in direct conflict with the cutoff for anyone born in September.

do you have a cite for that?

Not even sure how a new principal would know that private preschools were telling parents that their kids would be allowed to redshirt. Surely it's easier for the parents to identify the new principal (especially if they already had kids enrolled there) than for the new principal to identify the parents who thought they would be allowed to break the rules?

The mom who keeps posting that parents "should have been TOLD" is so deeply entitled. It's so informative about the kind of parent at Lafayette . "We should be allowed to break the rules whenever we want, and if we aren't we should somehow be proactively identified, out of a community of hundreds and hundreds of parents, and told way in advance. Being told onc we try to break the rules is offensive and WRONG."

If what she now wishes she did was enroll her kid in PK4 at Lafayette rather than private school for the 2024-5 school year, she would have had to enter the lottery in early 2024. I don't think Principal Prall had even been hired by then. So who would have told her, and when?

If I'm thinking about the dates right, she couldn't have enrolled her kid at Lafayette for PK4 at Lafayette for the 2024-25 school year -- that's when her kid should have been enrolled in kindergarten under DC law. Incidentally, her kid had a kindergarten spot by right (assuming in bound) and wouldn't have had to lottery.

Given this, the families could enroll their kids in Lafayette kindergarten right now (and could have as soon as they learned they couldn't redshirt) and get them started on adjusting. If the kids have special needs, they can work out an IEP and maybe even get extended school year to help them adjust by the time first grade starts.

[Anonymous]

I also have a dd with a late August birthday. She started when she was supposed to and was the second youngest in the grade. One thing I noticed was that the prek and K curriculums were aimed more at her level than the older kids. It seemed that the kids with early October birthdays sometimes seemed bored or uninterested it what the “younger” kids were doing. That leveled out by the end of K and the rest of elementary there were no real differences. It helps that my dd is tall for her age so there’s no physical difference between her and kids 11 months older.

She now in middle school and there were some bumps in early 6th as her executive functioning and maturity were lagging a bit. But we helped her work through that and she’s doing well now.

I guess my point is that as parents, we want what’s best for our kids but we can’t micromanage their lives and experiences to the extent that we want to. All we can do is help them find the tools to manage whatever situation they are in.

[Anonymous]

If K is foundational - there is a spot TODAY at Lafayette (the inbounds school) for these students.

Enroll them

[Anonymous]

Red shirting often is about the long term benefits in middle and high school. Focusing on the actual year in K or 1st is often not really the point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I get that "grey area" can't be a law-- but I do think principles should have a right to review redshirts on a case by case bases -- example -- say you just moved in from a different state that had a sept 1 cut off (since most do) -- is DC really going to make said child skip a grade because they were born sept 2nd? OR say you have a child born on September 30th and you can already tell they aren't developmental ready for K (or to be with kids almost an entire year older then then). What I don't agree with is parents just thinking they can do whatever they want... especially when their kids birthday is in May/June/July....

Once you are enrolled in a school (any school), they follow the next grade.
Many families moving from out of state will schedule a meeting with the school to discuss enrollment.
BUT - I can imagine the situation you just painted where a child did not make the cut off for K in the state that they lived in and moved to DC and are caught - BUT in that case, the parent can meet and talk to the Principal. It would not be entitlement - like this case.

[Anonymous]

Yes, enroll those 3 kids in K TODAY in their in boundary school.

If there really is a developmental reason for them to repeat K, the professionals still have time to collect data and make the correct educational decisions.

Parents dont get to unilaterally make educational decisions in public schools (thank goodness).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, enroll those 3 kids in K TODAY in their in boundary school.

If there really is a developmental reason for them to repeat K, the professionals still have time to collect data and make the correct educational decisions.

Parents dont get to unilaterally make educational decisions in public schools (thank goodness).

For some reason these parent think they do -
I can not believe the entitlement - and the fact that they would share pictures of their kids!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also have a dd with a late August birthday. She started when she was supposed to and was the second youngest in the grade. One thing I noticed was that the prek and K curriculums were aimed more at her level than the older kids. It seemed that the kids with early October birthdays sometimes seemed bored or uninterested it what the “younger” kids were doing. That leveled out by the end of K and the rest of elementary there were no real differences. It helps that my dd is tall for her age so there’s no physical difference between her and kids 11 months older.

She now in middle school and there were some bumps in early 6th as her executive functioning and maturity were lagging a bit. But we helped her work through that and she’s doing well now.

I guess my point is that as parents, we want what’s best for our kids but we can’t micromanage their lives and experiences to the extent that we want to. All we can do is help them find the tools to manage whatever situation they are in.

You cannot compare her to kids a year older with maturity. Its not lacking because she's younger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, enroll those 3 kids in K TODAY in their in boundary school.

If there really is a developmental reason for them to repeat K, the professionals still have time to collect data and make the correct educational decisions.

Parents dont get to unilaterally make educational decisions in public schools (thank goodness).

There is rarely a reason. Get them an IEP and support.

[Anonymous]

they live in $2M homes in DC (based on their names in the interview and Zillow)
If it is so important for your child to attend K - cut a check.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:they live in $2M homes in DC (based on their names in the interview and Zillow)
If it is so important for your child to attend K - cut a check.

Lol I love that they opened themselves up to criticism like this.

I don't live in NW DC but it's amazing how some people over there in upper Caucasia have absolutely no clue what is happening in the rest of the city.

White people -- and I will bet all my money that you're white -- who think "Upper Caucasia" is anywhere close to clever always amuse me. It maybe was clever 20 years ago when people first started saying it. Now you just seem lame and jealous. Get new material.

What is the race of the families complaining?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:they live in $2M homes in DC (based on their names in the interview and Zillow)
If it is so important for your child to attend K - cut a check.

Lol I love that they opened themselves up to criticism like this.

I don't live in NW DC but it's amazing how some people over there in upper Caucasia have absolutely no clue what is happening in the rest of the city.

White people -- and I will bet all my money that you're white -- who think "Upper Caucasia" is anywhere close to clever always amuse me. It maybe was clever 20 years ago when people first started saying it. Now you just seem lame and jealous. Get new material.

What is the race of the families complaining?

3 white moms - Jen, Jen and Avra

[Anonymous]

There has to be a cut off for grade level no matter what. These seem like parents with enough time and resources to read DCPS policy on enrollment. No sympathy for them but not surprised by the entitlement. DCPS has lots of entitled parents.

[Anonymous]

How does this rule work for older kids? My child has a September birthday. He started school in Montgomery County, which has a 9/1 cut off. We moved to dcps after he finished 2nd grade and I am grateful that he wasn't required to skip 3rd grade and go into 4th (which is the grade he would have been in if he had started in DCPS).