To the PP who wonders how the younger kids do in admissions at Gilman, I can tell you there were a fair number of "young fives" with spring and summer birthdays in my son's kindergarten class there. There were also some boys who were six before kindergarten started because their parents opted for an extra year of preschool before starting kindergarten, so if your son doesn't get in this year, that's always an option (and cheaper than pre-first!).

To the PP who was upset that her son who is reading at a second grade will likely be recommended for pre-first, as PPs in this thread have already noted, pre-first has little to do with academics and much more to do with maturity, which tends to be very closely aligned with age.

To the PP looking at Gilman K admissions - I agree with earlier PP - save some money and go to redeemer for K and pre-1 then come to Gilman for first. There is a noticeable difference in kids who did not do pre first and those who did in terms of greater maturity etc.
if you don't want to go that route, try friends (which has a pre first that is for really academically challenged kids) or Park, which doesn't do pre first

Anonymous wrote:I toured Gilman years ago and talked to a few teachers and admin folks and was completely turned off by the fact that they used my son's April birthday solely as a reason for recommending pre-first. I asked about pre-first since I didn't know much about it and the first question they asked me was, "When is his birthday?" I told them and they said he would most likely go to pre-first. At that point (fall prior to kindergarten), he was already reading on a beginning second grade level. It seemed like when the boy's birthday was mattered most which is ridiculous.

Then private school in Baltimore probably isn't for you. It isn't just a Gilman thing here.

Anonymous wrote:I'm a DC parent. What is pre-first? I get that it's a grade between K and First --but why? Do Baltimore kids go to PreK, K, Pre First, First and then Second?

Is it built in delayed red shirting?

Yes, it is the same as an extra year of preschool. Op, keep your kid on time and work with them. K. Is easy.

I toured Gilman years ago and talked to a few teachers and admin folks and was completely turned off by the fact that they used my son's April birthday solely as a reason for recommending pre-first. I asked about pre-first since I didn't know much about it and the first question they asked me was, "When is his birthday?" I told them and they said he would most likely go to pre-first. At that point (fall prior to kindergarten), he was already reading on a beginning second grade level. It seemed like when the boy's birthday was mattered most which is ridiculous.

I spoke to Gilman admissions recently, and was told that my son (who has a summer birthday) would most likely be placed in pre-first ("Prep 1" is the title they like to use).

Based on what was said, I also wondered if being on the younger end for one's grade is also a problem for doing well on the K assessment interviews during the application year. The representative explained that some kids do well, and others are not yet ready to sit still for the whole thing.

Anyone have insight into this? Should I try but expect the assessment to be too much for a summer birthday to test well.

It sounds like Gilman wants them tracking a grade ahead from the beginning, which is of course harder if you are on the younger end of a year.

I'll add to the above post to say that red-shirting seems to be parents holding back kids who are ready for the next grade with the thought of gaining some kind of competitive advantage.

In Baltimore, a lot of parents seem to fight the pre-first recommendation, not least because it means another year of paying tuition, but also because of the implication that their kid is somehow not ready to move on.

Anonymous wrote:I'm a DC parent. What is pre-first? I get that it's a grade between K and First --but why? Do Baltimore kids go to PreK, K, Pre First, First and then Second?

Is it built in delayed red shirting?

Pre-first is a grade between kindergarten and first grade. The idea is that some children, particularly the youngest for grade children, aren't quite ready for first grade. Not all children attend pre-first, but at my children's school, about 30% of the kindergarteners were recommended for pre-first, and some new entries started in pre-first. It is a standard progression and there is no stigma for having gone to pre-first and no reward for having skipped it. It does extend the age range in later grades, but so do repeat-year kids who enter in middle or upper school.

Because the children are in school and following along a school-recommended progression, I'm not sure how many people see it as red-shirting.

I'm a DC parent. What is pre-first? I get that it's a grade between K and First --but why? Do Baltimore kids go to PreK, K, Pre First, First and then Second?

Is it built in delayed red shirting?

quick edit: I meant to say, talk to the parents of seniors whose sons went to pre-first.

I've said it here before and I'll say it again. My wife and I weren't crazy about a year of pre-first for our son. But we trusted the school, bit the bullet, and did it.

He just graduated from high school and is now headed for the Ivy League. Not only was he more successful during school because of the pre-first year, we now feel he's so much better prepared to be successful in college than he would have been a year ago (from a maturity and confidence point of view).

Also, selfishly, now that we're 12 or 13 years farther down the line than you, we are so grateful to have had that extra year with him. I'm feeling nostalgic as he gets ready to leave home, and am very thankful that we had him home for this past year and got to spend so much time with the great guy he has grown into being.

After 18 or 19 years of child-rearing, it's very hard to point at a single decision as making a big difference. But my wife and I point to that pre-first year as the best decision we made. If you believe in your son's school - and I assume you do or he wouldn't be going there - believe in whatever they tell you about pre-first vs. first. If you still have doubts, ask if you can talk to some seniors whose parents went to pre-first. I think you will find their perspective enlightening.

Good luck and enjoy these wonderful years!

Anonymous wrote:This must be Gilman. Been thru it multiple times. End of February- more likely to do prefirst. The prefirst at Gilman is, in my opinion, the absolute worst grade in lower school. We endured it. But rest of grades are much better. As other PPs have said, reading is small part. Mostly being able to follow multi step directions, being able to focus on your morning work without needing redirection, etc

My summer-birthday son did pre first at Gilman and it was a fantastic year for him so YMMV.

I wouldn't worry, OP. Reading levels vary widely and change quickly, so don't factor that in at all. A tutor is absolutely not necessary. Previous posters are right that it's not about intelligence or even achievement -- they're all smart kids. It's about emotional and social maturity. And after doing this for so long the teachers are pretty good at picking out the kids who will benefit from an extra year.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. You all make a good point about not wanting to have my kid struggle to keep up forever. I was just thinking that there's a really small window before they make decisions about pre first and I didn't want reading to be the thing that was the deciding factor. It sounds like it won't be either way, so I'll work on being more relaxed about the whole thing. Part of wanting to avoid pre first is money and part is being weirded out by having a 19-year-old high school senior. Doesn't sound like there's much I can do about it though. Thanks for the perspectives.

There are a lot of 19 year old seniors. And not just boys. Being a year behind is normal.

I get feeling it's weird, I'm not from the area and the whole concept of pre-first and being ok with holding children back as a matter of course blew my mind. Having children in that environment, though, the kids don't see it as strange. Reading also isn't the only metric. With a February birthday, your child will be looked at on an individual level (I don't think most spring/summer birthdays are considered individually).

If you end up getting notice that pre-first is recommended, ask all the questions you need. The private I am familiar with was willing to answer any questions, and included discussing options for leaving the school and returning in a later grade (including what expectations they would have so that they would not require a repeated grade when the child re-entered the school).

OP here. You all make a good point about not wanting to have my kid struggle to keep up forever. I was just thinking that there's a really small window before they make decisions about pre first and I didn't want reading to be the thing that was the deciding factor. It sounds like it won't be either way, so I'll work on being more relaxed about the whole thing. Part of wanting to avoid pre first is money and part is being weirded out by having a 19-year-old high school senior. Doesn't sound like there's much I can do about it though. Thanks for the perspectives.

Anonymous wrote:too late for op, but some people do k and pre-first at Redeemer or Good Shepherd and then move to Gilman in order to pay significantly less for those first two years. The pre-first at Redeemer is particularly good. Both are feeders for Gilman.

Pp, correcting myself, only Redeemer has pre-first, Good Shepherd has K.