Reply to Exceptions to the Prek3 Sept 30 cut off date?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My kid has a late October birthday. We were told there are no exceptions. It ended up being the right grade for her, and she actually liked being one of the oldest. In early school, she was often a “helper” for the teacher for the younger kids.

Btw, there will be many “borderline” kids like your daughter in preqchool. There were at least 6 or so kids with October and November birthdays in her preschool class, and they kept them all together so that there was an older pre-k 3 class and a younger pre-k class. So everyone was with the right group, developmentally. She will not stand out. [/quote]

I wonder if this is a typical practice across schools? Seems like a great idea.[/quote]

I don't think it sounds like a great idea because there is actually a lot of data on the benefits for preschool age kids of being in a mixed age range classroom. It's part of the reason Montessori education is so popular for this age group. Kids benefit greatly from both being able to see older kids performing tasks they are still learning, and in being able to demonstrate tasks for younger kids. Peer-to-peer learning is one of the best ways for young children to learn classroom behaviors. So by separating the oldest and youngest kids, you may actually stunt development in both sets by depriving them of opportunities to both learn from and teach to each other.

A number of DCPS schools actually have at least one combined PK3/PK4 classroom (in a regular DCPS, not Montessori) and there are good pedagogical reasons for doing it this way.[/quote]

Right but will they still like it when she's the oldest of the combined group in PK4?[/quote]

I toured a ton of schools (nearly 20... yes, it was like a second full-time job) looking at PK programs last year and this is not how schools tend to use combined PK3/4 classes*. All of the DCPS schools I toured that have a combined PK3/PK4 class (usually it's just one class per school and the other PK3s and 4s are separate) see it as a class for older PK3s and PK4s who are younger, need a little more time to learn some of the PK3 skills, and/or new to the school and coming from a program that may not have taught some of the PK3 academic skills (e.g., structured phonics lessons). So a kid who is old for their grade level might be placed in the mixed class for their PK3 year, but wouldn't remain in that class for PK4 unless they were struggling in some way.

*yes, there are a few exceptions at charters, but I found no exceptions at DCPS schools I visited
[/quote]

I can tell you Miner is an exception then. Kids do 2 years in the PK3/4 classroom there.[/quote]

Miner is not PK 3/4 mixed age. They may spend 2 years with the same teacher but that is NOT mixed age.[/quote]

My kid is literally in the mixed PK3/PK4 class at Miner. Why do people confidently assert things when they have no idea?[/quote]

Not that hard for you to lie. Especially when their website doesn’t state they have mixed age, unlike Brent. [/quote]

Have you lost your mind? Why would PP be lying about her child being in a PK3/4 class at Miner? She’s not complimenting or insulting the program, she’s literally just saying that it exists and kids spend 2 years in it. Another poster also said it existed. Anyway, my DD was in that class a few years ago and the teachers were Ms Jones and Ms Loving, in case that helps.[/quote]

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