Why don’t schools have stronger policies about redshirting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in a very heavy redshirt area. We moved from DC right before kinder. My son is June and his grade is very old. I just found out two more friends are now being held back. He’s incoming first. One has a Feb bday and the other March. Our cut off date is Sep1. They are struggling with reading but the gap is just becoming very large for the kids on time. This is a public school. Right now even with June he’s the youngest boy in the grade. When we started I actually asked admin these questions and they weren’t honest about it and said most went on time born in summer. Once we started I realized almost everyone from March on redshirted so he’s significantly younger. He’s doing fine but I wish the school was honest about it prior to starting as he’s made friends now so it would be a big transition to do it now.

Going back to MARCH?! I have never heard of such a thing barring a strong academic or social reason.

My second grader is a June, started on time, and has at least 4-5 classmates with summer birthdays.

yes. it tends to be hyperactive obnoxious boys with behavioral issues. sometimes the extra time helps and sometimes it doesn't. occasionally its a tiger parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in a very heavy redshirt area. We moved from DC right before kinder. My son is June and his grade is very old. I just found out two more friends are now being held back. He’s incoming first. One has a Feb bday and the other March. Our cut off date is Sep1. They are struggling with reading but the gap is just becoming very large for the kids on time. This is a public school. Right now even with June he’s the youngest boy in the grade. When we started I actually asked admin these questions and they weren’t honest about it and said most went on time born in summer. Once we started I realized almost everyone from March on redshirted so he’s significantly younger. He’s doing fine but I wish the school was honest about it prior to starting as he’s made friends now so it would be a big transition to do it now.

Going back to MARCH?! I have never heard of such a thing barring a strong academic or social reason.

My second grader is a June, started on time, and has at least 4-5 classmates with summer birthdays.

yes. it tends to be hyperactive obnoxious boys with behavioral issues. sometimes the extra time helps and sometimes it doesn't. occasionally its a tiger parent.

Holding those boys back is a favor to the class. Instead of redirecting them all day the teacher can deal with a calmer, ready to learn boy who is a little older, and not take away so much time from the rest of the class. Also that boy can get much more out of the school day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids with selective mutism who are redshirted have parents who are working with EI and private therapists, not asking DCUM in August whether they should redshirt their kids. I’m sure they’re deeply worried that in the opinion of non-experts they’re doing the wrong thing.

Are you saying EI and private therapists are actually recommending this?

I only know two cases personally, but in both of those cases the professionals recommended delaying kindergarten while the kid continued to do a supportive PreK program and get more therapy than would have been available in a public kindergarten schedule. I have no idea if that’s the “standard” recommendation. But the idea that the parents are sitting by idly just waiting for their kid to get older is a DCUM fiction.

Was this for selective mutism? Genuinely curious.

Many parents with kids with selective mutism don't recognize it. We thought our kid was just shy. When we realized what it was we definitely considered switching preschools and we talked to the therapist and she explained what our kid needed was treatment and that would not help.

Many people believe kids will outgrow SM and many kids do (with potential mental health consequences if the SM went on for many years). The treatment for SM is hard to access (most therapists don't take insurance) and requires extensive participation from parents as well as supportive teachers. I hear that you know of two whole cases (of SM? Or something totally different?) but I have absolutely no doubt many families in this situation are acting without qualified support. They are in a really stressful situation and I have nothing but empathy for them but it's simply not true everyone is making these decisions because their therapist suggested it.

In the case I know better (family member) the PreK 3 referred for EI because they suspected ASD. It was ultimately diagnosed as SM— and kid is a thriving 8 y/o now— but the amount of intervention they recommended was not going to be available to the child in public kindergarten, and by a huge margin (think, the child would get 5+ hours per week in PreK and 1-2 hours in K).

The second child my total body of knowledge is that “Dr. ______ says we’re better off starting him in 2027” so I’m sorry no more data there.

But none of these parents are just lazily deciding to wait out SM and the implication that they don’t know what they’re doing is pretty rude.

I didn't say or imply this. Let me repeat since you are clearly just here to fight and bash people: I have nothing but empathy for parents in this situation.

I will also say it sounds like you actually know of zero cases of a child whose therapists recommended redshirting for SM.

Kindly please stop using other people's kids to advance your own agenda you POS

DP who didn’t redshirt and who has kids with an SN where redshirting is sometimes recommended. You are truly an awful person. This is a shocking post. Please back off. You are making SN parents look awful.

No but you tell yourself that to justify misinforming people on here. This goes right up with with the folks who think it's ok to make deceptive statements about SN they don't know about because they think nobody with kids in that situation is reading this right now or making decisions based on it.

It’s equally (or greater) misinformation to tell people that public kindergarten will provide therapies and intervention to the degree needed for a SN child. That’s not universally true, and many parents need the flexibility of having their child treated in school.

Agreed. It is situationally dependent.

This conversation was originally about whether schools should have stricter limits on redshirting, because OP is in a place where redshirting kids who have no delays and winter and spring birthdays is happening.

But somehow now people are being yelled at for suggesting that a child with a diagnosed SN *and* a summer or September birthdays might do better if redshirted.

That's nuts. Of course there are situations where a young for the grade child with SNs should be redshirted, or at least where it's an understandable choice. Saying otherwise makes you sound like you just hate redshirting no matter what. That's not a rational position.

Exactly.

And? The opposite is also true— there are some circumstances where a September birthday kid with SN DESPERATELY needs to be in school! Again, kids need to go for all different reasons and not all of them are obvious to outsiders.

The bottom line is the parents need to make this choice. Not random angry people on the internet.

Your choices impact others. 5 year olds in k with 6-7 year olds creates inappropriate expectations as expectations are set for older kids when it should be set for a five year old. It’s not healthy for any of the kids to be with a huge age range.

My choices are intended to be best for *my kid*. I trust that you will also be making the best choice for your kid. It may be that means redshirting, it may mean supplemental material so your kid doesn’t fall behind, it may just mean talking to your kid about how all through school we will meet people of different ages and we always have to do *our* best.

The point of having grades is to have kids with same age peers. If your kid needs extra help, you get it vs. holding back. You cannot say how smart and mature your child is when they are not in the proper grade and with kids 1-2 years younger. They are less mature if you base it appropriately on age. And, if you have a 3 year age gap in a class of kids taking algebra, for example and yours is the oldest, but in the same grade, they are not the smartest as they are older, the youngest would be the smartest. You cannot change IQ.

My kid is barely two weeks older than a “on time” kid.

That two weeks bothers you more than the idea of sending a four year old to be in a developmentally inappropriate environment. That? Is why you don’t get to make decisions for my kid, and I do.

I sent mine. The two weeks makes no difference. The year or two between the kids does.

Ok can we please do the public math and end this “or two” nonsense?

In Virginia, the youngest kid is a Sept 30 “on time”. The oldest possible kid is an Oct 1 redshirt. The oldest possible kid is still less than two years older than the youngest possible kid. Unless you’re alleging widespread breaking of laws, there are no two year age differences.

This is calculus beyond the math skills of the average DCUM anti-redshirter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in a very heavy redshirt area. We moved from DC right before kinder. My son is June and his grade is very old. I just found out two more friends are now being held back. He’s incoming first. One has a Feb bday and the other March. Our cut off date is Sep1. They are struggling with reading but the gap is just becoming very large for the kids on time. This is a public school. Right now even with June he’s the youngest boy in the grade. When we started I actually asked admin these questions and they weren’t honest about it and said most went on time born in summer. Once we started I realized almost everyone from March on redshirted so he’s significantly younger. He’s doing fine but I wish the school was honest about it prior to starting as he’s made friends now so it would be a big transition to do it now.

Going back to MARCH?! I have never heard of such a thing barring a strong academic or social reason.

My second grader is a June, started on time, and has at least 4-5 classmates with summer birthdays.

Yes, it’s a thing in some places. I didn’t realize it until my early April birthday kids had classmates over a year older than them. The parents shared that it’s because they wanted their kids to be the oldest in the class for academic and athletic advantages.

I call BS on their sharing those reasons since those reasons are what DCUM lunatics always claim are the reasons. We redshirted our son since he was born 6 weeks early and we didn't believe elementary school is well suited for active boys. Our son will be a junior this year, no regrets with redshirting him. He does travel soccer, no advantage in sports and we've always supplented public school with tutors if/when needed - so no academic advantage with the redshirting.

Bottom line is they are cloaking all this unasked for advice under the guise of “do what’s best for me, not for you”. It’s very disingenuous. So long as their kid is not the youngest, regardless of readiness.

It’s bizzare to say elementary school is not suited for boys. Of course it is and most kids are active.

To the clueless poster - I'm PP who called out the BS: YouTube is full of stories about modern school is not appropriate for boys. Redshirting boys helps even the playing field:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFpYj0E-yb4
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adN3T11AHck
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ur1nDXRT6k
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-FNMpejd10
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjclKI1NyCU
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJpXG5IuBy8
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qloY4OJxBoQ

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in a very heavy redshirt area. We moved from DC right before kinder. My son is June and his grade is very old. I just found out two more friends are now being held back. He’s incoming first. One has a Feb bday and the other March. Our cut off date is Sep1. They are struggling with reading but the gap is just becoming very large for the kids on time. This is a public school. Right now even with June he’s the youngest boy in the grade. When we started I actually asked admin these questions and they weren’t honest about it and said most went on time born in summer. Once we started I realized almost everyone from March on redshirted so he’s significantly younger. He’s doing fine but I wish the school was honest about it prior to starting as he’s made friends now so it would be a big transition to do it now.

Going back to MARCH?! I have never heard of such a thing barring a strong academic or social reason.

My second grader is a June, started on time, and has at least 4-5 classmates with summer birthdays.

Yes, it’s a thing in some places. I didn’t realize it until my early April birthday kids had classmates over a year older than them. The parents shared that it’s because they wanted their kids to be the oldest in the class for academic and athletic advantages.

I call BS on their sharing those reasons since those reasons are what DCUM lunatics always claim are the reasons. We redshirted our son since he was born 6 weeks early and we didn't believe elementary school is well suited for active boys. Our son will be a junior this year, no regrets with redshirting him. He does travel soccer, no advantage in sports and we've always supplented public school with tutors if/when needed - so no academic advantage with the redshirting.

Like PP, I've had parents admit to me that they go on message boards to complain about Redshirting since they deeply regret their decision not to redshirt their son.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in a very heavy redshirt area. We moved from DC right before kinder. My son is June and his grade is very old. I just found out two more friends are now being held back. He’s incoming first. One has a Feb bday and the other March. Our cut off date is Sep1. They are struggling with reading but the gap is just becoming very large for the kids on time. This is a public school. Right now even with June he’s the youngest boy in the grade. When we started I actually asked admin these questions and they weren’t honest about it and said most went on time born in summer. Once we started I realized almost everyone from March on redshirted so he’s significantly younger. He’s doing fine but I wish the school was honest about it prior to starting as he’s made friends now so it would be a big transition to do it now.

Going back to MARCH?! I have never heard of such a thing barring a strong academic or social reason.

My second grader is a June, started on time, and has at least 4-5 classmates with summer birthdays.

Yes, it’s a thing in some places. I didn’t realize it until my early April birthday kids had classmates over a year older than them. The parents shared that it’s because they wanted their kids to be the oldest in the class for academic and athletic advantages.

I call BS on their sharing those reasons since those reasons are what DCUM lunatics always claim are the reasons. We redshirted our son since he was born 6 weeks early and we didn't believe elementary school is well suited for active boys. Our son will be a junior this year, no regrets with redshirting him. He does travel soccer, no advantage in sports and we've always supplented public school with tutors if/when needed - so no academic advantage with the redshirting.

Bottom line is they are cloaking all this unasked for advice under the guise of “do what’s best for me, not for you”. It’s very disingenuous. So long as their kid is not the youngest, regardless of readiness.

It’s bizzare to say elementary school is not suited for boys. Of course it is and most kids are active.

It’s more bizarre (to me) to say public kindergarten as it’s done now is suited to *any* child, and all children *should* be active. You really think any four year old (or even a five year old) should be getting less than two hours of outdoor time per day?

But public kindergarten is a common good that must serve a lot of social ends— kids need food, kids need social services, kids need AI and for many families the only place to get that is public school. So schools have to let kids in at 4 even if it developmentally inappropriate because it meets other needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids with selective mutism who are redshirted have parents who are working with EI and private therapists, not asking DCUM in August whether they should redshirt their kids. I’m sure they’re deeply worried that in the opinion of non-experts they’re doing the wrong thing.

Are you saying EI and private therapists are actually recommending this?

I only know two cases personally, but in both of those cases the professionals recommended delaying kindergarten while the kid continued to do a supportive PreK program and get more therapy than would have been available in a public kindergarten schedule. I have no idea if that’s the “standard” recommendation. But the idea that the parents are sitting by idly just waiting for their kid to get older is a DCUM fiction.

I wouldn't say I'm an "anti-redshirting" but as a teacher I can confirm it's not uncommon to have an 18 month age gap - a kid who started kindergarten at 6.5 (turning 7 in spring) and a kid turning 5 right as the school year begins. At that age, it can be a huge developmental difference. I know not everyone has this luxury, but I intentionally had my kids in winter/early spring to avoid this decision entirely.

Was this for selective mutism? Genuinely curious.

Many parents with kids with selective mutism don't recognize it. We thought our kid was just shy. When we realized what it was we definitely considered switching preschools and we talked to the therapist and she explained what our kid needed was treatment and that would not help.

Many people believe kids will outgrow SM and many kids do (with potential mental health consequences if the SM went on for many years). The treatment for SM is hard to access (most therapists don't take insurance) and requires extensive participation from parents as well as supportive teachers. I hear that you know of two whole cases (of SM? Or something totally different?) but I have absolutely no doubt many families in this situation are acting without qualified support. They are in a really stressful situation and I have nothing but empathy for them but it's simply not true everyone is making these decisions because their therapist suggested it.

In the case I know better (family member) the PreK 3 referred for EI because they suspected ASD. It was ultimately diagnosed as SM— and kid is a thriving 8 y/o now— but the amount of intervention they recommended was not going to be available to the child in public kindergarten, and by a huge margin (think, the child would get 5+ hours per week in PreK and 1-2 hours in K).

The second child my total body of knowledge is that “Dr. ______ says we’re better off starting him in 2027” so I’m sorry no more data there.

But none of these parents are just lazily deciding to wait out SM and the implication that they don’t know what they’re doing is pretty rude.

I didn't say or imply this. Let me repeat since you are clearly just here to fight and bash people: I have nothing but empathy for parents in this situation.

I will also say it sounds like you actually know of zero cases of a child whose therapists recommended redshirting for SM.

Kindly please stop using other people's kids to advance your own agenda you POS

DP who didn’t redshirt and who has kids with an SN where redshirting is sometimes recommended. You are truly an awful person. This is a shocking post. Please back off. You are making SN parents look awful.

No but you tell yourself that to justify misinforming people on here. This goes right up with with the folks who think it's ok to make deceptive statements about SN they don't know about because they think nobody with kids in that situation is reading this right now or making decisions based on it.

It’s equally (or greater) misinformation to tell people that public kindergarten will provide therapies and intervention to the degree needed for a SN child. That’s not universally true, and many parents need the flexibility of having their child treated in school.

Agreed. It is situationally dependent.

This conversation was originally about whether schools should have stricter limits on redshirting, because OP is in a place where redshirting kids who have no delays and winter and spring birthdays is happening.

But somehow now people are being yelled at for suggesting that a child with a diagnosed SN *and* a summer or September birthdays might do better if redshirted.

That's nuts. Of course there are situations where a young for the grade child with SNs should be redshirted, or at least where it's an understandable choice. Saying otherwise makes you sound like you just hate redshirting no matter what. That's not a rational position.

Exactly.

And? The opposite is also true— there are some circumstances where a September birthday kid with SN DESPERATELY needs to be in school! Again, kids need to go for all different reasons and not all of them are obvious to outsiders.

The bottom line is the parents need to make this choice. Not random angry people on the internet.

Your choices impact others. 5 year olds in k with 6-7 year olds creates inappropriate expectations as expectations are set for older kids when it should be set for a five year old. It’s not healthy for any of the kids to be with a huge age range.

My choices are intended to be best for *my kid*. I trust that you will also be making the best choice for your kid. It may be that means redshirting, it may mean supplemental material so your kid doesn’t fall behind, it may just mean talking to your kid about how all through school we will meet people of different ages and we always have to do *our* best.

The point of having grades is to have kids with same age peers. If your kid needs extra help, you get it vs. holding back. You cannot say how smart and mature your child is when they are not in the proper grade and with kids 1-2 years younger. They are less mature if you base it appropriately on age. And, if you have a 3 year age gap in a class of kids taking algebra, for example and yours is the oldest, but in the same grade, they are not the smartest as they are older, the youngest would be the smartest. You cannot change IQ.

My kid is barely two weeks older than a “on time” kid.

That two weeks bothers you more than the idea of sending a four year old to be in a developmentally inappropriate environment. That? Is why you don’t get to make decisions for my kid, and I do.

I sent mine. The two weeks makes no difference. The year or two between the kids does.

Ok can we please do the public math and end this “or two” nonsense?

In Virginia, the youngest kid is a Sept 30 “on time”. The oldest possible kid is an Oct 1 redshirt. The oldest possible kid is still less than two years older than the youngest possible kid. Unless you’re alleging widespread breaking of laws, there are no two year age differences.

This is calculus beyond the math skills of the average DCUM anti-redshirter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in a very heavy redshirt area. We moved from DC right before kinder. My son is June and his grade is very old. I just found out two more friends are now being held back. He’s incoming first. One has a Feb bday and the other March. Our cut off date is Sep1. They are struggling with reading but the gap is just becoming very large for the kids on time. This is a public school. Right now even with June he’s the youngest boy in the grade. When we started I actually asked admin these questions and they weren’t honest about it and said most went on time born in summer. Once we started I realized almost everyone from March on redshirted so he’s significantly younger. He’s doing fine but I wish the school was honest about it prior to starting as he’s made friends now so it would be a big transition to do it now.

Going back to MARCH?! I have never heard of such a thing barring a strong academic or social reason.

My second grader is a June, started on time, and has at least 4-5 classmates with summer birthdays.

Yes, it’s a thing in some places. I didn’t realize it until my early April birthday kids had classmates over a year older than them. The parents shared that it’s because they wanted their kids to be the oldest in the class for academic and athletic advantages.

I call BS on their sharing those reasons since those reasons are what DCUM lunatics always claim are the reasons. We redshirted our son since he was born 6 weeks early and we didn't believe elementary school is well suited for active boys. Our son will be a junior this year, no regrets with redshirting him. He does travel soccer, no advantage in sports and we've always supplented public school with tutors if/when needed - so no academic advantage with the redshirting.

Bottom line is they are cloaking all this unasked for advice under the guise of “do what’s best for me, not for you”. It’s very disingenuous. So long as their kid is not the youngest, regardless of readiness.

It’s bizzare to say elementary school is not suited for boys. Of course it is and most kids are active.

It’s more bizarre (to me) to say public kindergarten as it’s done now is suited to *any* child, and all children *should* be active. You really think any four year old (or even a five year old) should be getting less than two hours of outdoor time per day?

But public kindergarten is a common good that must serve a lot of social ends— kids need food, kids need social services, kids need AI and for many families the only place to get that is public school. So schools have to let kids in at 4 even if it developmentally inappropriate because it meets other needs.

+1

I think that the half-day, play-based Kindergartens were much more appropriate for 5 year olds. Current kindergartens are basically what first grade used to be, and it’s really too much for kids that young. Most kids may be able to adapt, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best program for them. I think we’d be better off if we introduced school more gently and focused more on behavior and socialization.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Feel bad for the kids of the parents on this thread. Redshirting screams "I don't accept my kid for the person they are." And those parents are going to be *so* disappointed when redshirting (inevitable) fails to transform their child into the child they hoped for.

I accept my son for who he was. I don't accept the public school system that demands 5 year old boys sit still for hours on end doing worksheets. The education system is the problem, not my kid. Hence he will repeat PreK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feel bad for the kids of the parents on this thread. Redshirting screams "I don't accept my kid for the person they are." And those parents are going to be *so* disappointed when redshirting (inevitable) fails to transform their child into the child they hoped for.

I accept my son for who he was. I don't accept the public school system that demands 5 year old boys sit still for hours on end doing worksheets. The education system is the problem, not my kid. Hence he will repeat PreK.

I'd encourage you to consider a Montessori. Many of the problems described on this thread that parents are trying to address through redshirting simply do not exist at Montessori schools. Go sit in on a class full of four or five year olds. It will blow your mind. The first time you see it, it is like a miracle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feel bad for the kids of the parents on this thread. Redshirting screams "I don't accept my kid for the person they are." And those parents are going to be *so* disappointed when redshirting (inevitable) fails to transform their child into the child they hoped for.

I accept my son for who he was. I don't accept the public school system that demands 5 year old boys sit still for hours on end doing worksheets. The education system is the problem, not my kid. Hence he will repeat PreK.

I'd encourage you to consider a Montessori. Many of the problems described on this thread that parents are trying to address through redshirting simply do not exist at Montessori schools. Go sit in on a class full of four or five year olds. It will blow your mind. The first time you see it, it is like a miracle.

Montessori isn’t a fair comparison. There is work available in a Montessori classroom for a very wide variety of abilities and children largely are expected to work independently at whatever their ability level is. You may have a 3 year old washing and hanging cloths and a 5 yr old working on cursive and long division. But that classroom is equipped for this. A kindergartner classroom (and teacher) is not

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in a very heavy redshirt area. We moved from DC right before kinder. My son is June and his grade is very old. I just found out two more friends are now being held back. He’s incoming first. One has a Feb bday and the other March. Our cut off date is Sep1. They are struggling with reading but the gap is just becoming very large for the kids on time. This is a public school. Right now even with June he’s the youngest boy in the grade. When we started I actually asked admin these questions and they weren’t honest about it and said most went on time born in summer. Once we started I realized almost everyone from March on redshirted so he’s significantly younger. He’s doing fine but I wish the school was honest about it prior to starting as he’s made friends now so it would be a big transition to do it now.

Going back to MARCH?! I have never heard of such a thing barring a strong academic or social reason.

My second grader is a June, started on time, and has at least 4-5 classmates with summer birthdays.

yes. it tends to be hyperactive obnoxious boys with behavioral issues. sometimes the extra time helps and sometimes it doesn't. occasionally its a tiger parent.

The boys who are hyperactive obnoxious and have behavioral issues will still have them a year later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feel bad for the kids of the parents on this thread. Redshirting screams "I don't accept my kid for the person they are." And those parents are going to be *so* disappointed when redshirting (inevitable) fails to transform their child into the child they hoped for.

I accept my son for who he was. I don't accept the public school system that demands 5 year old boys sit still for hours on end doing worksheets. The education system is the problem, not my kid. Hence he will repeat PreK.

I'd encourage you to consider a Montessori. Many of the problems described on this thread that parents are trying to address through redshirting simply do not exist at Montessori schools. Go sit in on a class full of four or five year olds. It will blow your mind. The first time you see it, it is like a miracle.

A private Montessori will kick out kids that are unable to work independently and are disruptive to the work of others. They will say the child isn’t suited for Montessori education. Public school can’t do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feel bad for the kids of the parents on this thread. Redshirting screams "I don't accept my kid for the person they are." And those parents are going to be *so* disappointed when redshirting (inevitable) fails to transform their child into the child they hoped for.

I accept my son for who he was. I don't accept the public school system that demands 5 year old boys sit still for hours on end doing worksheets. The education system is the problem, not my kid. Hence he will repeat PreK.

No kindergarten class sits for hours doing worksheets, that’s ridiculous. Repeating pre-k will bore a bright kid and kindergarten will happen, just a year later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in a very heavy redshirt area. We moved from DC right before kinder. My son is June and his grade is very old. I just found out two more friends are now being held back. He’s incoming first. One has a Feb bday and the other March. Our cut off date is Sep1. They are struggling with reading but the gap is just becoming very large for the kids on time. This is a public school. Right now even with June he’s the youngest boy in the grade. When we started I actually asked admin these questions and they weren’t honest about it and said most went on time born in summer. Once we started I realized almost everyone from March on redshirted so he’s significantly younger. He’s doing fine but I wish the school was honest about it prior to starting as he’s made friends now so it would be a big transition to do it now.

Going back to MARCH?! I have never heard of such a thing barring a strong academic or social reason.

My second grader is a June, started on time, and has at least 4-5 classmates with summer birthdays.

Yes, it’s a thing in some places. I didn’t realize it until my early April birthday kids had classmates over a year older than them. The parents shared that it’s because they wanted their kids to be the oldest in the class for academic and athletic advantages.

I call BS on their sharing those reasons since those reasons are what DCUM lunatics always claim are the reasons. We redshirted our son since he was born 6 weeks early and we didn't believe elementary school is well suited for active boys. Our son will be a junior this year, no regrets with redshirting him. He does travel soccer, no advantage in sports and we've always supplented public school with tutors if/when needed - so no academic advantage with the redshirting.

Like PP, I've had parents admit to me that they go on message boards to complain about Redshirting since they deeply regret their decision not to redshirt their son.

I didn’t redshirt and this rings true to me. The anti-redshirt lunatics that post here often sound like they have a lot of regrets once you peel back the first, admittedly thick, layer of lunacy.