Age cut-off rules if your child already completed K in NYC? archived

You would need to call the Board of Ed - but I believe the 10/1 date is set in stone.

They do offer an eval of sorts - your son would go into K, the teachers would observe and make a reco about moving/not moving him into 1st.
Had a friend try this - but didn't get her daughter moved into 1st.

Welcome to Maplewood!

I am 99 percent certain that if your son completed kindergarten from another public school with a different age cut-off he would be enrolled without question into the first grade. I'm assuming he's coming from a NYC public school where the age cut-off is I presume still 12/31. If it's a private school, might be a different story. As far as direct experience, my son was best friends with a boy who began here in 1st grade who was the youngest in his class because he had/has a December 26 birthday and had moved here after completing kindergarten in NYC. Now that's a few years ago (son is now 19) but rules didn't change even if cut-offs did.

Wendy, yes, he will have completed kindergarten. I'll contact the district, of course... I don't want it to be a reason not to move to Maplewood, but he's bright and engaged and loves school... if he gets bored, he goofs off and I'm worried about that if he had to repeat... plus he's already tall for his age (while being worried a bit about him being the youngest in a class, too). Moving with kids in school is, wow... hard!

I think Wendy is right--that's my memory of how things work, too.

Board policy 5112 - "Entrance Age" is what you need.

http://www.somsd.k12.nj.us/189610121793241930/lib/189610121793241930/se5000_-_5-18-2011.pdf

I'm not sure how to link directly to the page you need. (am on an iPad).

The Board just changed the policy this spring. My understanding is there is now a strict age cut-off for First Grade in addition to Kindergarten. After reading the policy, I was concerned about your exact issue, because it has the potential to force children moving into the district to repeat Kindergarten, even if they are academically prepared for First Grade. My understanding from the BOE meeting is that the district had been investing a lot of resources evaluating kids who had gone to private K's locally (and some moving from public schools) to determine if they should go to K or 1st, and they had to conduct all of these evals right before school started. I emailed Superintendent Osborne, and asked him to clarify the policy. He said that once a student is in district (that is, has started Kindergarten), the parents/teacher/principal could request the skip up to 1st, and it would be addressed at that point.

I understand the reasons for the new policy, but I still have concerns about it. I can imagine how hard it might be for a new child in the district to start in one classroom and then move to another after 2-6 weeks. Still, this is where things stand. I would suggest you 1) contact the BOE and the Superintendent's office to confirm that this is the policy and to put them on notice that you may be requesting such an assessment once school begins, and 2) stay on top of it -- in other words, don't expect the teacher(s) or the principal to move this forward quickly on their own.

BTW, we have a great school district and these are great towns, so don't let this keep you away! And welcome to you and your family.

I will check the exact wording of this new board policy as I am not aware of it. But all I can say is that if I had a child who successfully completed kindergarten in public school with a different age cut-off and that child was "promoted" to first grade by the prior public school district and our new board policy still did not admit that child straight into first grade I would strongly consider bringing an action against our school board for my child to be enrolled directly into first grade since any other action by our school board new policy or not would seem to be an arbitrary and capricious policy. Just sayin......:wink:

Wendy, my friend, you’re putting yourself at a distinct disadvantage. You’re expecting school administrators to act rationally and to apply thought to nuanced situations.

I am with Wendy on this one. If a child has already attended public K and been promoted, they should be placed in 1st grade. I will say, however, that locally there has been an issue with parents pushing their kids ahead. Kid misses deadline, so parents enroll kid in private K, then move child back to public 1st grade. This decision can be successful or not for the child, but either way, creates a situation where kids must be tested quickly right before school..or within the first few days of school. I'm sure it creates a nightmare. It makes sens that there has been a crackdown on the policy.

True Tom. But that is the way they acted in the past. And any so-called tweaks in their policy shouldn't cause them to suddenly turn more irrational. It's not like we're talking about leveling right? :wink:

Posted By: wendyTrue Tom. But that is the way they acted in the past. And any so-called tweaks in their policy shouldn't cause them to suddenly turn more irrational. It's not like we're talking about leveling right?

:rolling::rolling::rolling:

we moved here last year when my daughter had completed first grade (also from ny) and she has a dec birthday. it was no problem with her being put into second grade, but as k is not required not sure if the same rules apply.

gl and let me know if i can answer any more specific questions having just done this myself i'm happy to elaborate!

There seems to be three parts to the age policy -- entering K , entering grade 1, and entering grades 2-12.

Posted By: wendyI would strongly consider bringing an action against our school board for my child to be enrolled directly into first grade since

Bringing action? Really? and in Bold Face? Wendy, perhaps there are intermediate steps that could be taken before litigation?

I didn't really mean bringing litigation as a first step and I'm sure it would never come to that.

this topic is very popular - front page of the NYT online today:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/28/education/28kindergarten.html?_r=1&hp

It is my general understanding, as a private school K teacher, that if your child doesn't meet the cut-off for K or 1st grade they don't generally let you in (some districts will meet with you and let you plead your case, but even then, it is difficult to convince them. Other districts just say no over the phone - case unheard.

It is also my understanding that if your child has already completed first grade, then they are generally allowed to enter their next grade even if they miss the cut-off.

Also, it tends to be a trend to hold boy back a year if they are near the cut-off and if there is a question in the parents mind if they are academically or socially/emotionally ready for K or 1st. It sounds like you feel yours is ready, but it may turn out that he is one of the oldest in his class.

All being said, if you want your child to continue on his current course and the school district wont allow him in at first grade, another option my be one year of private schooling and get him in public in 2nd grade. There is a local Montessori school, The Montessori Children's Academy in Short Hills, that has an elementary program moving to it's campus (from their Chatham campus). If you are interested, it may be an option.

Actually, our experience is the policy is done in a very fair and reasoned way. We had one of our sons attend a private half-day K (he has a Nov bday) and it was the recommendation of his K teacher that he go into 1st grade. We were on the fence. Thus, once he entered the district, he was enrolled in K, but we requested an evaluation for placement. They then took a month to evaluate, which included the district's K teacher's assessment, which was very positive. He was given a series of evaluative tests, which included a social worker's assessment. We then met with the principal, who gave us a very full and thoughtful report, that boiled down to promoting him. (there were a few areas he did not know, which had to do with coverage in his private K class, but they felt he could quickly catch up). It was a little bumpy in the very beginning, but the promotion proved to be dead-on right for him. I was very, very pleased with how the placement was handled. Some people complain that it's disruptive to have a child spend one month in K and then be moved, and while it was a bit of an adjustment in the beginning, I think it's a considered way--especially since when kids come from private K, there is no other way to figure out what they have covered in the curriculum. In addition, the social worker's 'weigh in' is really an important component on figuring out if a child is ready socially.

As mtam said, my child had a classmate who had attended full day kindergarten at the Y (this was before MSO had full day kindergarten). Because of a November birthday, the child had to start the year in kindergarten again in public school. Within two weeks, an assessment had been made, the student was moved to 1st grade, and had a successful year.