If you start out in private a year ahead, often you can transfer in a year ahead after an interview/testing.

They don't do it because they have $15,000 to drop, but because it's an option they can consider. For people without extra funds, there's really no option. Kids go to public school as soon as they are old enough.

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the boys I know with August and September birthdays have parents who are planning to red-shirt them. I think in my circle, the deciding factor is money. If you easily have the $15K to keep your kid in private preschool/pre-K for another year, you red-shirt. My single mom friends are all starting their kids on time.

my daughter misses the deadline for K by 3 weeks and it pisses me off. She'd be ready for Kindergarten this year (and I'd love to stop spending the tuition money), but no luck. Oh well.

That seems bizarre. We clearly travel in very different circles. I don't know anyone who's red-shirted a kid just because they had the extra $15K, and we certainly didn't, and don't plan to again.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Start on time. My DC was an early November birthday, and I actually started them in school very early (since they are past the usual September cutoff). It was the school's idea, and I have never had a moment's regret.

How dies this work? DS has a late October birthday. I would be interested in starting him early if I feel he is mature/ready (not going to lie largely so I can stop paying daycare earlier). Do they have to test to start early?

I can't imagine this is allowed. I know several families who missed the cutoff by not very much but couldn't start kindergarten until the following year. I would be interested to know if the early November kid mentioned above is actually in N. Arlington public schools.

Anonymous wrote:Start on time. My DC was an early November birthday, and I actually started them in school very early (since they are past the usual September cutoff). It was the school's idea, and I have never had a moment's regret.

How dies this work? DS has a late October birthday. I would be interested in starting him early if I feel he is mature/ready (not going to lie largely so I can stop paying daycare earlier). Do they have to test to start early?

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the boys I know with August and September birthdays have parents who are planning to red-shirt them. I think in my circle, the deciding factor is money. If you easily have the $15K to keep your kid in private preschool/pre-K for another year, you red-shirt. My single mom friends are all starting their kids on time.

my daughter misses the deadline for K by 3 weeks and it pisses me off. She'd be ready for Kindergarten this year (and I'd love to stop spending the tuition money), but no luck. Oh well.

Are you in Arlington?

We are sending our September boy on time to ASFS this fall. We have heard of 1 boy and 2 girls that will be starting at age 6 in Sept. But everyone else is on time.

Anonymous wrote:NP here, and I am also interested. My son has a September 1 birthday, and I have no idea what to do. He seems to be ahead academically, but not emotionally, especially since he is the baby of the family. Would it be considered a negative to hold him back?

My kid fell between the Sept 1 cut off for the school he attended first (in another school system), and the Arlington Sept 30 cut-off, so got redshirted by default by the time he shifted to APS. He doesn't seem out of place - he's only 2 weeks older than the October 1st kids after all.

I didn't think about this much when my kid was 5, but if you do send them at 4 years 11.5 months to kindergarten, they will be heading to college one year younger as well. Will it matter to you to be sending him away from home at 17?

In the long term I don't think it matters much - think of all the people you know who have shifted careers or changed degrees half way through or have taken gap years etc.

A lot of the boys I know with August and September birthdays have parents who are planning to red-shirt them. I think in my circle, the deciding factor is money. If you easily have the $15K to keep your kid in private preschool/pre-K for another year, you red-shirt. My single mom friends are all starting their kids on time.

my daughter misses the deadline for K by 3 weeks and it pisses me off. She'd be ready for Kindergarten this year (and I'd love to stop spending the tuition money), but no luck. Oh well.

Anonymous wrote:Our son's birthday is Sept. 30th and we plan to send him on time this fall.

Mine is close to that date as well and we will be sending him too.

Anonymous wrote:NP here, and I am also interested. My son has a September 1 birthday, and I have no idea what to do. He seems to be ahead academically, but not emotionally, especially since he is the baby of the family. Would it be considered a negative to hold him back?

Is he not ahead emotionally, or is he behind emotionally? And is that how he acts everywhere, or just at home?

My DS is an early September boy, and his brothers baby him. But we sent him to school on time, and he coped just fine, even if he sometimes regressed back home.

NP here, and I am also interested. My son has a September 1 birthday, and I have no idea what to do. He seems to be ahead academically, but not emotionally, especially since he is the baby of the family. Would it be considered a negative to hold him back?

I know a McKinley September boy starting K on time this fall and we are sending our September boy on time to ATS. That being said... I do know someone who red shirted a May birthday. So, just be prepared for some kids to be WAY older. Just the way it is. I am ready and expecting my son to be the youngest and will be pleasantly surprised if he is not.

Started my boys on time.

I knew who the redshirted kids were because they taunted one of my kids, saying he was a baby because he wasn't X years old yet.

ASFS--I know more that go on time with summer birthdays than get held back. I do not know anyone besides Sept/late August bdays (and even those are few) that didn't go on time.