The rules have been the same since the 9/1 deadline was in place. This child is a 4th grader so they were already supposedly enforced. I would definitely contact your principal if you are interested regardless of the stated rules. They might say no but then again if you live in my neighborhood..who knows!

Anonymous wrote:The child is in an upper grade now..not in a HGC..don't think of them as part of the top groups..but I guess that is hard to predict when evaluating a 4 year old. They are not btw behind in any academic or social way that I can see though.

That explains how he/she got in. The regulations were different a few years back.

At our school if you do k and 1st in private school then you can be assessed for admissions to 2nd grade. Of course you have to find a private school that will admit a 4 year old.

The child is in an upper grade now..not in a HGC..don't think of them as part of the top groups..but I guess that is hard to predict when evaluating a 4 year old. They are not btw behind in any academic or social way that I can see though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a November birthday that was allowed to start K early. Policy and reality sometimes differ.

Maybe the kid was one of those freakishly genius type kids.

My advice to you: Never say it to your friends and acquintances. They think you are a jealous monster, which you really are.

Anonymous wrote:I know a November birthday that was allowed to start K early. Policy and reality sometimes differ.

Maybe the kid was one of those freakishly genius type kids.

I know a November birthday that was allowed to start K early. Policy and reality sometimes differ.

"Children who will turn five years old between September 2 and October 15, 2011 are eligible for consideration for the early entrance to kindergarten process. To be recommended for early entrance to kindergarten, children will need to demonstrate above average performance and development in academic skills as well as social/emotional and physical development. The standards for early entrance are very high to ensure that students are not frustrated by their advanced grade placement. There will be no consideration, including an appeals process, for children with birthdates beyond October 15th."

From the MCPSMD website.

If you are outside of the six-week window it becomes school dependent. I haven't heard of a school starting a 4 year old in K outside of the six-week cutoff but I have heard of people applying for early entrance 1st grade and getting it or school suggesting a skip (again this is school dependent and may be more rare in the schools with kids typically 1-2 years ahead in reading and math). Also people go private K and 1 and enter for grade 2. No guarantee there because it is tough to find any private schools with late cutoff and some principles may still insist on either testing in or starting in lower grade unless the kid transferred from another state.

MCPS no longer skips grades. However, if your child attends private school, for example Montessori or a mixed age/grade class you may transfer to a public school in a higher grade.

If your child's birthday is in the first 6 weeks of the school year (September 1-October 15th), you can test in. Other than that you can go to private school for K and 1 and then be admitted to 2nd without an age cutoff. I am not aware of skipping beyond maybe attending math or reading in a different class.

Is there a process for getting your child into Kindergarten 1 year early in Montgomery County? Notwithstanding the various debates about whether this is traumatic or not and how it affects timing for other things in your child's life (driving, getting beat up, athletics, dexterity, etc), I am simply interested in knowing whether it's even possible.

Alternatively - as a child in Montgomery County schools in the 70s, I recall 2 kids in my class that skipped from Kindergarten directly into 2nd grade. Does this still happen?

Thank you.