mechanics of holding child back for kindergarten in DC

[Anonymous]

Hi - I have a child who's birthday is 2 days before the cutoff for kindergarten in DC (sept. 30). I am interested in hearing from anyone who has held their child back from starting school when they were eligible about what mechanics were involved. My thought is to enroll my child in a private pre-k or K program and then decide whether to repeat K in public school the next year. Does the school just respect your wishes? Do you need a letter from a pediatrician or some other specialist? Trying to get a sense of what hoops might be involved. I realize this has already been a topic of debate on this forum and I am not interested in reopening that debate--just the mechanics. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

My sense is that you need to have the support of the principal. Some are more disposed than others to doing this. I know a student with a New Year's Eve birthday when the cutoff date was December 31 (her birthday!) and the principal refused.

I would contact the principal's office and discuss, ideally in person but over the phone would also work. As for your plan, when the time comes, the school may not agree to let your child repeat K from private -- especially if your child had a solid year in private pre-K or K!

FYI: The only DCPS instances I know of students being held back at kindergarten involved language, English was their second language. Obviously this is a small universe, my child's classmates and teammates.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I did it for my son who is now in 5th grade. The principal at the time was not a shoo-in to approve it, so I wrote a very persuasive letter- citing current literature that supported my wanting to do it. I had the agreement of my ped and his teachers that it would be a good thing, so I wrote that and offered to get written recommendations from them.
The principal called me and said it was fine- she did not need to meet my son yet- if all these people who knew him better recommended that, she would agree.
I suggest you see if you can find out where the principal stands on it (by asking around if possible) and write a very strong letter supporting your request. we were also applying to K instead of 1st-- I figured it would be harder to get them to offer him a coveted preK slot so we kept him in his preschool for that year. Good Luck.

[Anonymous]

OP: Is your child currently enrolled in a program? If not, who besides the pediatrician would support your request. Also if not, maybe it would make sense to deal with this after a year of private pre-K or K instead of this summer (or maybe that was your plan). I agree w/12:30, getting reconn on the principal's philosophy is smart. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I am not sure I understand why this is a problem. If your child attends a private pre-K (and most privateshave a September 1 cutoff so he would be on scheduole for pre-K) and therefore has not attended kindergarten, what right does the DC school have to refuse to allow him entry into kindergarten?

[Anonymous]

We did it years ago for our son who was born in December (back then the DC cutoff was 12/31). His current kindergarten teacher was supportive, and she took care of it. We didn't have to make a request of the principal or anything. We're very glad we did it early.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thanks for the feedback and suggestions. Sounds like there is no regular "process" to follow -- you just have to make your case and hope the principal is open to persuasion. I did have the chance to chat briefly with the principle on an informal/theoretical basis (I have an older child at the school) and she struck me as kind of by-the-book and a hard sell. DC is currently in private Pre-K. Have to make a decision soon about whether to keep him in Pre-K, enroll in DC K, or do a private K program and reevaluate next year for public school the next year. Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

Sincere question -- why would any DCPS employee (principal or teacher) have the power to block this? Put another way, why would a parent need permission? Not a philosophical question, a mechanics question.

If the regs say a student 'must be 5 by Sept. 30 in the year entering kindergarten' (I'm making that up, but they must say that somewhere), is it really the case that they also say 'AND the child cannot turn 6 before Sept. 30 in the year entering kindergarten' ??