Anonymous wrote:What about girls? Holding this conversation and it's so stressful.

SSSAS suggested we redshirt our late August birthday daughter. "Give her the gift of time". We agonized over it for a weekend, then came to the should have been obvious realization that she was well ahead of her older brother at a similar age who had thrived at the lower school and never looked back. Trust your instincts - it will be fine.

I have twins born in June and we were accepted everywhere we applied and no one even hinted at redshirting. My kids started kindergarten at 5 year olds and when we applied to private they were entering second grade and has taken the WISC. I don’t know what schools want to see now but again, it was never even discussed. Mainstream privates.

What about girls? Holding this conversation and it's so stressful.

Needless to say this is alarming for parents of public school boys. Any ideas about how many summer boys are in the correct grade level in privates besides GDS?

GDS does not redshirt kids at all. Summer birthdays are in the correct grades, boys and girls. I hear that it used to be different some years ago. The school will allow a few parents to red shirt but you will need to be loud about it and also sure of your place in the admissions totem pole. Since hardly any children are red shirted, you won't want to hold back at GDS. It will make the kid feel out of place.

St. Patrick's did not red shirt my July b-day son.

I have a non-redshirted late summer b-day boy. What exactly do parents "fear" about HS? I have never been able to figure that out.
BTW, I have a relative who is a child psychologist. She says the kids who are held back generally feel their accomplishments are less b/c they "really should be a junior, but I repeated 4th grade."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about boys who were not redshirted for K, went to public, and then try to transfer into public for the 4-6th grade years? Do the schools want them to repeat in many cases?

I think you mean boys who went public and then transfer to private. At our DC public, the younger (not red-shirted) boys who enter privates in 4th grade do so after completing 4th grade at our public school. Very strange. You have a boy repeating 4th grade just so he can be "older" like the rest of the boys in his new cohort. Very odd system here. I should say this happens with girls also but not as often as with the boys.

So they need to take 4th grade twice to keep up with private school students? Maybe their public school 4th grade experience is not rigorous enough?

It seems mostly to do with the social piece as a young summer bday boy who does not repeat if he transfers in is going to be an outlier in terms of age at most privates. I work at a private school and there is only 1 non-redshirted summer bday boy in the grade I work with. So even if you have a kid who could do the work, they are going to be the youngest by several months--this can be a disadvantage socially once you reach HS and parents fear this. It is a messed-up system...

Yes, Baltimore privates are hypocrites because if you start out at them then they will ask you to repeat or do pre-first. About 1/2 of a k class goes to prefirst at most schools. If you transfer from public or private some ask to repeat for various reason (academics usually isn't one of the reasons).

Did you transfer from public and did your kids transfer o the top boys or girls school in the area? I would think Gilman and Bryn Mawr are the ones that would ask you to repeat. Girls are less likely to repeat.

We applied to Baltimore privates from out of state and our summer and early fall birthday boys were not asked to repeat their grade at the schools they where were accepted. (coming in late elementary school)

Anonymous wrote:What about boys who were not redshirted for K, went to public, and then try to transfer into public for the 4-6th grade years? Do the schools want them to repeat in many cases?

It is the choice of the parent. If the parent did not think the child was doing well and would profit from another year they repeat. (without the stigma of being held back) If they are really smart and can easily go to the next grade they do. If they are somewhere inbetween there is a summer class offered to help the child enter the next grade.

(This is what the one school we looked at told us.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about boys who were not redshirted for K, went to public, and then try to transfer into public for the 4-6th grade years? Do the schools want them to repeat in many cases?

I think you mean boys who went public and then transfer to private. At our DC public, the younger (not red-shirted) boys who enter privates in 4th grade do so after completing 4th grade at our public school. Very strange. You have a boy repeating 4th grade just so he can be "older" like the rest of the boys in his new cohort. Very odd system here. I should say this happens with girls also but not as often as with the boys.

So they need to take 4th grade twice to keep up with private school students? Maybe their public school 4th grade experience is not rigorous enough?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about boys who were not redshirted for K, went to public, and then try to transfer into public for the 4-6th grade years? Do the schools want them to repeat in many cases?

I think you mean boys who went public and then transfer to private. At our DC public, the younger (not red-shirted) boys who enter privates in 4th grade do so after completing 4th grade at our public school. Very strange. You have a boy repeating 4th grade just so he can be "older" like the rest of the boys in his new cohort. Very odd system here. I should say this happens with girls also but not as often as with the boys.

Yes, that is what I meant--thanks for the info.

Anonymous wrote:What about boys who were not redshirted for K, went to public, and then try to transfer into public for the 4-6th grade years? Do the schools want them to repeat in many cases?

I think you mean boys who went public and then transfer to private. At our DC public, the younger (not red-shirted) boys who enter privates in 4th grade do so after completing 4th grade at our public school. Very strange. You have a boy repeating 4th grade just so he can be "older" like the rest of the boys in his new cohort. Very odd system here. I should say this happens with girls also but not as often as with the boys.

What about boys who were not redshirted for K, went to public, and then try to transfer into public for the 4-6th grade years? Do the schools want them to repeat in many cases?