Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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

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.

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

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

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

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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

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.

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

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

Anonymous wrote:Everyone piling on OP needs to check themselves. The magic birthday cutoff used to be Dec. 31 not all that long ago, recently enough that there are students still in the DCPS system who enrolled before the change - and it still is in plenty of places, like New York City. It was moved up pretty recently because - can we be real about this? - raising the average age in each class a few years ago goosed test scores, making schools look like their students were getting smarter and better educated (as opposed to just, you know - older on average than they used to be, with the smartest and most advanced students most likely to be affected.) There's nothing magic about the new cutoff that makes it holy writ that should not be questioned.

Thanks to this change, my own kid is currently on track to be two full years older than I was when she graduates high school. And so far, it quite literally appears to be wasted time. He's already completed all the learning and social benchmarks for not only his currently assigned grade, but the next one as well. Yet by law, he can't even be considered for advancement for several more years - and DC has no G&T track, for reasons - meaning he's very likely to lose his current love of learning in several state-mandated years of mediocrity and boredom designed to drag him down to the average, since that's the only student the system is interested in accommodating.

The public school system doesn't seem to think the goal of supporting and retaining the small fraction of its brightest students to whom this situation applies should be anywhere at all on the priority list. Maybe you think that fact isn't your problem. I can assure you that, regardless of whether you think this description applies to your child, it most certainly is.

Anonymous wrote:Everyone piling on OP needs to check themselves. The magic birthday cutoff used to be Dec. 31 not all that long ago, recently enough that there are students still in the DCPS system who enrolled before the change - and it still is in plenty of places, like New York City. It was moved up pretty recently because - can we be real about this? - raising the average age in each class a few years ago goosed test scores, making schools look like their students were getting smarter and better educated (as opposed to just, you know - older on average than they used to be, with the smartest and most advanced students most likely to be affected.) There's nothing magic about the new cutoff that makes it holy writ that should not be questioned.

Thanks to this change, my own kid is currently on track to be two full years older than I was when she graduates high school. And so far, it quite literally appears to be wasted time. He's already completed all the learning and social benchmarks for not only his currently assigned grade, but the next one as well. Yet by law, he can't even be considered for advancement for several more years - and DC has no G&T track, for reasons - meaning he's very likely to lose his current love of learning in several state-mandated years of mediocrity and boredom designed to drag him down to the average, since that's the only student the system is interested in accommodating.

The public school system doesn't seem to think the goal of supporting and retaining the small fraction of its brightest students to whom this situation applies should be anywhere at all on the priority list. Maybe you think that fact isn't your problem. I can assure you that, regardless of whether you think this description applies to your child, it most certainly is.

Anonymous wrote:

And I’ll add that my kid is not necessarily the biggest, or smartest, or more mature just because she is 3 week older than another kid! Kids are all sizes, with all kinds of abilities, in the 3-5 age range. They also do joint activities with the younger class frequently, which is good for mixing up the ages. We’ve been really happy with DCPS preschool, even if we had to wait another year to start!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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

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.

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

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

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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

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.

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

Anonymous wrote:In so old I remember when people used to fight the Sept 30th deadline claiming “gifted” or “advanced” child. Then the next year they would demand that their child be allowed to repeat the grade, so they could be the oldest and biggest kid in the class. Usually boys. Good times.