oldest or youngest in class?

[Anonymous]

My daughter, supposed to start 2nd grade in DC, has a late November birthday. We can either keep her where she is, as the very youngest, or have her repeat 1st. Which is better, in the long run, do you think? She's academically strong but very sensititve.

[Anonymous]

I would put her in first if she is currently 6 and turning 7 in November.

This assumes it is at a good DCPS.

I have a very academically accellerated child with a November birthday. She has thrived being one of the oldest in the class, but she is at a excellent school that does well with differentiating.

[Anonymous]

November won't be anything close to the oldest.

[Anonymous]

I think it would be wiser to repeat first. I was always the youngest and while I survived, it didn't make life any easier.

Just think of middle school. Do you want your sensitive 11 year old trying to keep up socially with 13 year olds?

[Anonymous]

I entered K at age 4 and turned 5 before Sept. 30 (the school cut off). I've always been the youngest.

If she's 6, turning 7, she should go into first grade. If she's 7 turning 8, she should go into second grade. There's absolutely no reason for her to repeat first grade, though, if she's already been through it once. Repeating is not going to make her less sensitive (?!?!?). Girls already mature early, why go through the drama her being more mature physically than the other girls around her, especially in middle school? Keep her where she is.

[Anonymous]

I assume you are moving from a part of the country that has a late cut off.

How has the transition been so far for your child? Are there other things happening?

If your child is more sensitive, you may want to redo 1st grade. This part of the country red shirting is common. Your child may be the youngest by more than a year to some of the boys in the class.

[Anonymous]

THANK YOU 21:29!!!! I am so sick of this red-shirting/holding back one-upping. Sure your kid will know everything in first grade if THEY ARE 9!!!! They'll be the tallest in the class too!

UGH! So annoying!!!!

[Anonymous]

I have a late Nov birthday and started 2nd grade when I was 6. Excelled academically but my mother all through elementary school kept telling me I could be held back and repeat a grade so I could be one of the oldest instead of one of the youngest. Bugged the hell out of me and still irritates me even as an adult.

Since your DD does not have academic issues or any issues at all other than being sensitive, I'll let her go into 2nd and not make her repeat 1st.

[Anonymous]

Are you moving here, or has she already been in DC for school before this? I have 2 thoughts - 1. If she's already been in school in DC, would it be even harder for her to be held back and have to get acquainted with a whole new set of classmates?

Or, if you're moving here and know which school she'll be attending, are you able to meet the teachers ahead of time to get a sense of who might be a better fit for her?

[Anonymous]

I would not hold her back.

[Anonymous]

Unless she has a learning disability or special needs, please keep her with her age group and send her to the grade she should be in based on her age. When folks hold their kids back it skews the numbers for those kids who are already the youngest in their class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:THANK YOU 21:29!!!! I am so sick of this red-shirting/holding back one-upping. Sure your kid will know everything in first grade if THEY ARE 9!!!! They'll be the tallest in the class too!

UGH! So annoying!!!!

they would not be "red-shirting" they would be aligning their child with the age cut-off standards of their new school district.

the child would NEVER have been in 2nd grade in DC b/c they would have missed the cut-off by almost 2 months. The child will be the youngest by far if she starts 2nd grade here.

[Anonymous]

Somebody has to be the youngest. It can really be okay.

[Anonymous]

I was always the youngest and smallest in my class but I graduated near the top of my high school class and went to Harvard at 17, where I struggled. If I had it to do over again I wouldn't have repeated a year in primary school, but I would have taken a year off between high school and college.

My senior year in high school I had classmates who were 1-2 years older and they were miserable, they were clearly ready to move on.

[Anonymous]

Age is just a number. Have not said... "this kid is mature for his/her age or vice-a-versa.

It is public school...stop red-shirting children ain't like they are getting ready for the athletic draft.