School cutoff dates

[mrswillie]

We'll have a few years to worry about, but a post on my home board got me wondering how my other December mommas feel about it. 

What's the cutoff date for school entrance where you live? I'm assuming it's somewhere between August - October for most of us. The only state I know of where it's December 31st is Connecticut. Are you yay or nay on your LO having to wait until the following year to attend?

[mrswillie]

I'll start. The cutoff here is September 1st. I'm a December baby myself and school had an end of the year cutoff. There were a lot of kids born after September 1st. No matter what the cutoff date is, you still have some kids who are almost a full year older or younger than the others in the class.

I found some articles on pros and cons of earlier cutoff dates and am annoyed by some of the cons. One said the child will be smaller than the rest. DS1 is an April baby and is just small in size and will likely will be one of the smallest, if not the smallest in his class. Another said early admission has negative effects on a child's life in high school that can lead to them feeling like an outcast and a misfit and that s/he will be the last to be eligible to drive. Yeah, I was one of the last to be eligible to get my license, but I didn't feel like an outcast. I grew up in a city where most kids didn't have cars and rode the bus or train. Although I was the youngest of my friends, I was the first to get my license.

Anywho, that's just my thoughts....

[mrsp121308]

Our cutoff date is 9/1, so this baby will start Kindergarten at 5 1/2. Both older DDs are young ones for their classes. DD1's birthday is 8/29, so she is literally THE youngest one in her grade, she actually started Kindergarten as a 4 year old because of when the first day of school fell. DD2's birthday is 7/25, so she is a young 5. Her cousin is in her class as well and he is almost exactly a full year older than her.

All that said, I think it depends so much on the kid and the school district you are in. Some kids are mature enough to handle all day schooling (where they are expected to sit and learn almost all day) and some aren't. Preschool is a really good indicator of that readiness. Kindergarten is also much harder now than it was when we were their age. Most kindergarten classes are reading before Christmas break now. Also, the school is such a big factor. DD1 went to a preschool that prepped kids for a top district, so she was learning sight words in preschool; however, we don't live in that district, we live a poorer district where many kids come into K not even able to write their names or recognize any letters. So she was BEYOND ahead of her class and had we held her back another year, it would have been so boring for her.

[requiressnacks]

I'm in CT and the cutoff is 12/31. I was a 12/22 baby who started kindergarten at 4, I have no qualms about starting my kids at 4, if they are ready. I was a huge kid - off the growth charts for height/weight - who was pretty advanced for a 4 year old. I always towered over my peers in school pictures, which is kind of funny since the articles claim 4 year olds will be "small."

Also, did not care about being the last to drive or turn 21. I don't remember this having any effect on my life. I just bummed rides from friends a little longer. Who cares?

I do worry that with B/G twins, we may have one who is ready and one who isn't. In that case, we'd hold them back.

[Deleted]

It's September where I live. As a teacher I will tell you that there is nothing wrong with having a kid be the older one in a class. I was also on the older side being a January baby. I find that older kids tend to just be overall better prepared and better equipped to handle school(I'm at the middle school level). In preschool and kindergarten it might not stand out as much, but come middle and high school those young kids stand out real easily compared to the slightly older and more mature kids who had to wait. The early September dates are one of the reasons California has a universal Pre-K now for those kids who are ready to be out of pre-school but not quite ready for full day kindergarten.

[tbonequeen13]

Since DD #1 is also a Dec baby, this is something we've already been looking into and discussing. Aug 1 is our cutoff. We have elected not to try and get early admission for DD#1. On the one hand, I think she'd be ready (she's in a great MDO program that's really getting her ready for school) but we don't really see any advantage to starting her early. We'll see how things go for DD#1 but it will probably be the same for DD#2 where we'll just wait and have her be one of the oldest in the class- DH and I were both some of the oldest in our class and it was never an issue.

[Becca]

The cut off dates varies widely around me. It is anywhere from September 1 - December 31 based on the few towns we are considering moving to after the twins are born. I agree with many of the PP that is really does depend on your individual child as when to enroll them. Each child is different and there is no one size fits all answer here.

[fikafairy67]

I'm in PA, and the cutoff in my district is 9/1. This will affect DS the most, as his birthday is 9/20 and he will turn 6 within the first few weeks of kindergarten. He's already big for his age and smart for his age, but emotionally/socially he's still a little immature and shy.

Personally, I'm okay with him staying back. I work in education/behavior, and kids who start before they are really ready tend to struggle quite a bit as time passes, especially if they aren't socially or emotionally ready. Academically I'm not worried about him at all. I'd rather him be on the older end of the grade than the younger end, personally.

I don't plan on fighting the early entry for him at all, so I definitely won't be for DD's December-ish birthday.

[kaydee0402]

I lived in Maryland until I was 16, and the cut off there was 12/31. We moved to Florida, where I finished high school and the cut off there was 9/1. Here in Virginia, the cut off is sometime in September, not sure when.

Honestly, I'm not a fan. When I lived in Maryland, I had a very good friend whose birthday was 12/31 and she was in no way, shape or form behind us in anyway. In fact, she was an honors student and consistently at the top of our class. I don't think she was at any type of disadvantage by being born three months after the school session had started.

I'm going to see where this child is developmentally. If s/he is on point and even a bit ahead, I will appeal for them to start school in September with everyone else that is their age. I don't want to hold them back and then have them not excel because they are bored. However, if they are lagging a bit, I'll start them when scheduled.

[legalbeagle]

NY public schools are 12/31 and private schools are anywhere from 9/1-9/30. DS was in a private school last year that ran on the public school calendar and was one of the youngest in his class in a mixed-age Montessori. The feedback from the teachers was consistently that he was smart and could do the work, but we had a lot of problems at the beginning of the school year with crying instead of expressing himself with words. We're in a new private school for this upcoming year (closer to our apartment and has a high school) with a 9/30 cutoff so he'll now be the oldest. I think for him that is perfect to work on all that social/emotional stuff like fikafairy67 mentioned. I probably wouldn't have petitioned to hold him back in a public school setting, but this works out best for us. Baby will go to the same school so she'll be among the oldest as well.

[sdgal]

It is 9/1 here now and they are very strict. Because it used to be 12/1, they have a public transitional kinder for kids from 9/1 to 12/1. So if little dude is born on time he wouldn't even qualify for the TK program.
I have no problem with him being on the older side for his class. Although we are assuming, based on DH height of 6'6", that he will be huge and tower over he classmates no matter his age. Even I was usually the tallest girl in my classes and I have a May birthday.

If he is born before 12/1, we would probably try for the TK program only because it would be so much cheaper than daycare. Then it is essentially a 2 year kinder program, because I've heard if there isn't enough TK kids for a whole class, they combine with a regular kinder class.

[emilie]

Most of the cutoff dates here are 9/1, so a December baby will be fine since she'll be right in the middle of her class. Like sdgal we have TK here too, but the cutoff is 12/1 so unless kiddo comes early she won't qualify.

I live in an area with a lot of over-privileged over-involved parents so there is a lot of redshirting talk. It's like, if your kid has a legit learning disability or developmental issues I get it, but it seems most people considering this just want to give their kids an advantage in academics or, FFS, sports (because they will be physically bigger than the other kids). When people start to bring stuff like this up I want to tell them to get a hobby.

[lastnamewithheld]

Our school says he has to be 5 by August 31st to enroll for kindergarten. There's no pre-k at the school. Is that new? I had pre-k at my elementary school 30 years ago...

I'm mostly bummed about having to pay an extra year for daycare. GRRR. At least they have (what looks like) a good pre-k program to get him ready for it.

[legalbeagle]

Aug 22, 2016 14:16:01 GMT -5 emilie said:

Most of the cutoff dates here are 9/1, so a December baby will be fine since she'll be right in the middle of her class. Like sdgal we have TK here too, but the cutoff is 12/1 so unless kiddo comes early she won't qualify.

I live in an area with a lot of over-privileged over-involved parents so there is a lot of redshirting talk. It's like, if your kid has a legit learning disability or developmental issues I get it, but it seems most people considering this just want to give their kids an advantage in academics or, FFS, sports (because they will be physically bigger than the other kids). When people start to bring stuff like this up I want to tell them to get a hobby.Agreed with the bolded 1000% percent.

[sdgal]

Aug 22, 2016 15:15:31 GMT -5 legalbeagle said:

Aug 22, 2016 14:16:01 GMT -5 emilie said:

Most of the cutoff dates here are 9/1, so a December baby will be fine since she'll be right in the middle of her class. Like sdgal we have TK here too, but the cutoff is 12/1 so unless kiddo comes early she won't qualify.

I live in an area with a lot of over-privileged over-involved parents so there is a lot of redshirting talk. It's like, if your kid has a legit learning disability or developmental issues I get it, but it seems most people considering this just want to give their kids an advantage in academics or, FFS, sports (because they will be physically bigger than the other kids). When people start to bring stuff like this up I want to tell them to get a hobby.Agreed with the bolded 1000% percent.

Plus +1
My friend's son qualifies for kinder this year with a July 27 birthday, but they redshirt him put him in the TK program. Mom says its for his lack of maturity and they would prefer 2 years between their kids in school, because big sister is a 9/11 baby that did TK so she is only going into 1st now, even though the kids are 22 months apart.

[lbonga1]

The cutoff here in CA is 9/1. DD2 was born 9/3. We're going to wait and see where she is developmentally by that time. So far she's been mentally and socially advanced for her age, but I wouldn't mind having her start with pre-K if she needs it. DS will be in the middle of the class if he's born on his due date (12/24), so I think waiting until he's 5 to start kindergarten will be fine.
I was born the beginning of October, and my mom decided to have me wait to start kindergarten. Within a month I was moved into 1st grade. I never had any problems and consistently had high grades and took AP classes.

[Lucy]

DS is a January baby. I really think he benefited from having the extra months to mature a little more before starting Pre-K (WI has public 4K).

DD2 came to us at 4 years old, severely neglected and really behind socially. I fought with the principal to have her repeat K after I could see how immature she was compared to classmates. I don't regret starting her when I did because she needed the jumpstart in socialization, but she was NOT ready for 1st grade when K ended her first go round. Holding her back that year was the best decision. She's about to start 2nd grade, and while she's still behind socially and somewhat academically (the 2 really go hand in hand, I don't care what anyone says), she has the ability to catch up and will not be falling too far behind. If she were starting 3rd grade this year, she'd be a hot mess.

[mrswillie]

I forgot to add they'll allow parents to apply for kindergarten for kids born after the cutoff but by October 15th. They will test them and have to be within a certain score to be allowed entrance.

It's not an issue for us for LO to be the oldest. I wouldn't want to send LO if they're not ready for it, but I'd still like the option.

kaydee0402 they changed it in Maryland to 9/1. Not sure when. I've been here 8 years.

sdgal that's weird the TK is only 9/1-12/1 and not the end of the year. I'm also assuming your baby boy will be tall!

emilie ugh to those parents!

lastnamewithheld not all of the schools in our district have PK. Most of the ones that do have 1/2 day. A handful are full day, but they're in the lower income areas. You can put your name in at any school for the PK program. It doesn't have to be your assigned school, but they'll only bus to your assigned school. They admit by tiers - low income, then IEPs and ESL and if there's still room, kids on a general wait list. We were completely shocked when DS1 got a spot. But then I found out they added a second class room so they could take more.

@kc295906 that's how DS1 was. Careful, he doesn't stop talking now for a minute. Haha! DS2 is a little behind from all the ear infections / fluid in his ears. Now that he can ear, he's definitely picking up some more words. I going to talk to the pedi about an evaluation for speech at his 18 month appointment in a few weeks.

requiressnacks that is funny that you were the tallest. Goes to show what the "experts" know. I didn't care about those either.

[lastnamewithheld]

@kc295905, mrswillie, that's interesting. I'll have to do some more research and see if there are any lotteries available around here for pre-k, or just keep DS at his daycare center for their pre-kindergarten program. Most likely the latter, since I'm hoping he'll have some friends and stuff from prior years.

[sdgal]

mrswillie, well 12/1 used to be the old cut off date. The phased the change to 9/1 over a couple years, so the 1st year TK was for kids born 11/1-12/1, then the next year 10/1-12/1, and finally 9/1-12/1.
I wonder if they will eventually phase the TK program out once everybody starts getting used to the new 9/1 cutoff?

I know my SIL is going to try and get my 12/31 niece into the TK program early to save on daycare costs, but my friend says that its really hard to push it since they know parents are most likely doing it for the free schooling vs. daycare.

[mrswillie]

@kc295905 yes, DS2 had tubes done and his adenoids removed a month ago. Already had another ear infection last week. But he hasn't had any bit of congestion in that month with the adenoids out, so that's something.

[kaydee0402]

mrswillie, I moved from there when I was 16 and I'm almost 30. So I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it changed over the last 14 years!

[kaydee0402]

JFC, has it really been 14 years? Damn, now I feel old.