Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We also just lost a PK4 spot because the school told me there's a shadow waiting list of kids who are going to repeat the grade.

This sounds like a weird workaround to red shirt.

DCPS doesn’t allow redshirting. I would be really surprised if the district is giving an extra year of ECE to kids for no reason. We tried to have my son skipped up and they wouldn’t allow it.

This really varies by school. My oldest was offered a chance to skip ahead (we turned it down) and both of my kids (still in elementary) have peers with summer birthdays who repeated PK4.

DCPS has really cracked down on redshirting in the last 2-3 years. There was a very long thread about this last year after some Lafayette parents were unable to convince the school/DCPS to redshirt their kids.

I thought that was a result of a change in leadership, not necessarily pressure from above. I can only speak to our experience within the last 2-3 years to say that it has happened.

The only links on the main ECE DCPS page are for a 2022 PDF clarifying ECE retention policies. https://dcps.dc.gov/ece

I don't know about pressure, but it's pretty clearly discouraged and DCPS didn't cave when the Lafayette parents tried to go around the principal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We also just lost a PK4 spot because the school told me there's a shadow waiting list of kids who are going to repeat the grade.

This sounds like a weird workaround to red shirt.

DCPS doesn’t allow redshirting. I would be really surprised if the district is giving an extra year of ECE to kids for no reason. We tried to have my son skipped up and they wouldn’t allow it.

This really varies by school. My oldest was offered a chance to skip ahead (we turned it down) and both of my kids (still in elementary) have peers with summer birthdays who repeated PK4.

DCPS has really cracked down on redshirting in the last 2-3 years. There was a very long thread about this last year after some Lafayette parents were unable to convince the school/DCPS to redshirt their kids.

I thought that was a result of a change in leadership, not necessarily pressure from above. I can only speak to our experience within the last 2-3 years to say that it has happened.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We also just lost a PK4 spot because the school told me there's a shadow waiting list of kids who are going to repeat the grade.

This sounds like a weird workaround to red shirt.

DCPS doesn’t allow redshirting. I would be really surprised if the district is giving an extra year of ECE to kids for no reason. We tried to have my son skipped up and they wouldn’t allow it.

This really varies by school. My oldest was offered a chance to skip ahead (we turned it down) and both of my kids (still in elementary) have peers with summer birthdays who repeated PK4.

DCPS has really cracked down on redshirting in the last 2-3 years. There was a very long thread about this last year after some Lafayette parents were unable to convince the school/DCPS to redshirt their kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We also just lost a PK4 spot because the school told me there's a shadow waiting list of kids who are going to repeat the grade.

This sounds like a weird workaround to red shirt.

DCPS doesn’t allow redshirting. I would be really surprised if the district is giving an extra year of ECE to kids for no reason. We tried to have my son skipped up and they wouldn’t allow it.

This really varies by school. My oldest was offered a chance to skip ahead (we turned it down) and both of my kids (still in elementary) have peers with summer birthdays who repeated PK4.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We also just lost a PK4 spot because the school told me there's a shadow waiting list of kids who are going to repeat the grade.

Repeat the grade? This is in DCPS? These must be strong start students who have to stay in their grade according to where their birthday falls on the calendar.

That scenario would have to be repeating PK3 though, right? To have multiple kids repeating PK4 does sound like - as the next poster said - parents finding a workaround to the closing of the red shirt loophole. So instead of just starting your kid a year late in K and getting sign off then, you start them on time for PK4 and petition to the school they aren’t ready for K. Would be interested to know if this happened at a school that previously had a large number of late entries to K. Have never heard of a PK4 spot being rescinded for this reason in all of my DCPS years.

I’m the PP who came up with that hypothetical. Since pre-K isn’t compulsory, parents could theoretically have a four year-old start mid year? So let’s say a kid born in Oct. Kid starts in Oct and is there basically all year, but still repeats the year to stay with correct age cohort.

No, that is not how it works. If your four year old starts mid year due to your preference (assume they can find a seat) they will be placed in the correct grade based on their calendar age as soon as they start. If they turned four in October, then they would be put in PK3, as October birthday kids turn 4 in October of their PK3 year. If they turn five in October, they're going to PK4, and they're going to K the next year, no matter what month of the year they started PK. There are only two exceptions:

1) If a child is showing serious delays, a school may hold a kid back (in either PK3 or PK4) if they think the kid would benefit from that. "My kid is on the young side and missed most of PK" is not going to do it. Plenty of kids are walking into schools for the first time in K having never held a pencil. Schools will do this for outliers ONLY, it's very rare, and it usually comes along with an IEP or a 504 plan, and is often the precursor to a diagnosis. This literally never happened with anyone in either of my two kids grades, at a fairly large school.

2) Strong Start kids. Strong Start allows 3 year olds who are delayed to start PK3 as soon as they turn three. If they turn three in March, they start PK3 in March. In those cases (we had two in our school last year) those kids DO repeat PK3 the next year to stay with their age cohort but that is a known fact the second they walk into the classroom. It gives kids who need it essentially some extra time in PK3.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We also just lost a PK4 spot because the school told me there's a shadow waiting list of kids who are going to repeat the grade.

Repeat the grade? This is in DCPS? These must be strong start students who have to stay in their grade according to where their birthday falls on the calendar.

That scenario would have to be repeating PK3 though, right? To have multiple kids repeating PK4 does sound like - as the next poster said - parents finding a workaround to the closing of the red shirt loophole. So instead of just starting your kid a year late in K and getting sign off then, you start them on time for PK4 and petition to the school they aren’t ready for K. Would be interested to know if this happened at a school that previously had a large number of late entries to K. Have never heard of a PK4 spot being rescinded for this reason in all of my DCPS years.

I’m the PP who came up with that hypothetical. Since pre-K isn’t compulsory, parents could theoretically have a four year-old start mid year? So let’s say a kid born in Oct. Kid starts in Oct and is there basically all year, but still repeats the year to stay with correct age cohort.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We also just lost a PK4 spot because the school told me there's a shadow waiting list of kids who are going to repeat the grade.

Repeat the grade? This is in DCPS? These must be strong start students who have to stay in their grade according to where their birthday falls on the calendar.

That scenario would have to be repeating PK3 though, right? To have multiple kids repeating PK4 does sound like - as the next poster said - parents finding a workaround to the closing of the red shirt loophole. So instead of just starting your kid a year late in K and getting sign off then, you start them on time for PK4 and petition to the school they aren’t ready for K. Would be interested to know if this happened at a school that previously had a large number of late entries to K. Have never heard of a PK4 spot being rescinded for this reason in all of my DCPS years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We also just lost a PK4 spot because the school told me there's a shadow waiting list of kids who are going to repeat the grade.

This sounds like a weird workaround to red shirt.

DCPS doesn’t allow redshirting. I would be really surprised if the district is giving an extra year of ECE to kids for no reason. We tried to have my son skipped up and they wouldn’t allow it.

Anonymous wrote:We also just lost a PK4 spot because the school told me there's a shadow waiting list of kids who are going to repeat the grade.

This sounds like a weird workaround to red shirt.