DS1 is May birthday and already planned to go to transitional kindergarten. It looks to be primarily boys with summer birthdays. We were back and forth as added expense vs. public kindergarten but VERY happy now this is plan.
Ours meets kindergarten requirements - there are usually 14-16 children, 2 teachers, and 1-2 that go on to first grade with rest going to either public kindergarten or a different private kindergarten (at “real” school not preschool). 80+% of students have sah parent so really hoping they are not pushed to open in unsafe circumstances. We are in a metro area that opened early and live in the city.
In full disclosure - he had been in OT for 7 months and PT for 4 months working on core strength and fine motor skills when everything shut down. In January his pre-k teachers felt he would be successful with either approach so depending on how things go might move to first grade.
We talked about this yesterday. If it is online we will be sending him back to preschool/daycare. He has OCD induced anxiety and sensory processing. Online is not going to work for him. We are already seeing some behaviors from lack of true routine. We are trying to replicate a normal day, but it’s not the same as actually leaving the house. He gets services we cannot provide at home.
Exactly this. I might do daycare regardless. I love his teacher and he has a small class size. Kindergarten is optional in Illinois.
These discussions are making me very nervous for July/August babies who will start in the fall of 2021. With the number of people who are going to redshirt their kids this year they will be SOOO much younger than everyone else with the high number of redshirts that are bound to happen this fall.
UGH. I mean, it sucks and I'd be hesitant to start my kid this fall too, but this is going to affect kids for several years if so many are held back.
Thankfully I guess my November baby isn't starting K until 2022.
Yes! My triplets are April birthdays and start K fall 2021 and I'm starting to get a little nervous about class sizes and age gaps.
Here class sizes are set by law, so they would sooner add an additional class than up the class size. Granted that is how we wound up with 6 kinder classes lol.
zarapipe here in California I expect that each district will be allowed to make their own decisions for fall - at least that’s what has been indicated so far. I think private elementaries that are affiliated with daycares/preschools may be more likely to be open. A lot of the private schools already have smaller class sizes so it may be easier to distance. Definitely no guarantee but I want to keep options open.
Also, all of the kids will be in the same boat in September. Teachers and admin know this, even in Spanish immersion (my son is in 1st grade bilingual).
We, as a collective, also need to think about our schools and the district not just our own children.
If you wait a year, as do other parents, the strain on the school could be really bad.
How will they accommodate 5/10/25 more kindergarteners than expected?
When school budget projects an enrollment of 100 this year but only 85 enroll, they lose money for the subsequent years. So now they have to make next year’s planned budget stretch to accommodate more students than originally planned, in a time when budgets have already been slashed.
Well, our school is a lottery school so the class size isn't changing and our neighborhood school vastly under enrolled, so that particular aspect won't impact things for us individually (but know we aren't in a bubble), but I see what you are saying about funding. The current school budget was already slashed to eliminate all things (including foreign language in elementary schools) that we fought and won for this year. Which really sucks.
I am just concerned because the district has provided zero support for immersion during this entire process.
It just feels like both options suck.
Same re class size. It's been a lottery to get in for years and they've actually reduced the number of kinder classes at an attempt to downsize the school as a whole going forward, as well as probably closing the lottery system altogether.
I've also spoken to administration and teachers about what online instruction for kinders will look like this fall and it's been a resounding "Not sure. Let's wait and see." That won't work for me for a full immersion program. If he were going to traditional kinder (non immersion) I'd go ahead and send him because he's socially/emotionally ready. I've seen what full immersion kinder is like because of my older son and it's work intensive and a lot of it relies on peer to peer interaction. I don't know how they plan to replicate that if distance learning is instituted but I don't want to be the test case.
Post by steamboat185 on May 26, 2020 13:34:18 GMT -5
We have an August birthday for the 2021 school year and had planned to send her on time, but I’m a bit worried everyone is going to hold their kids back. My oldest is a June birthday in 1st grade and she is already on the younger end and our school doesn’t do much redshirting (they have held several kids back). We’re going to wait and see, but I’m pretty sure she’s going end up super young and in a very large cohort or held back.
Post by underwaterrhymes on May 26, 2020 13:34:25 GMT -5
N turns 5 on August 10 and he will be starting K as planned. We are also in a dual language program.
Honestly, I’m nervous about what the school year will look like for everyone next year, but the playing field is so uneven right now, I have to believe they will need to play catch-up for the majority of kids when things do finally get back to normal.
DD is a 4 yo rising kindergartener, will be 5 in mid-November. She barely made our 12/1 cutoff.
Our district did registration in Jan/Feb, so DD is registered, but they pushed in person readiness assessments from May to August. That... was not encouraging re: starting in the fall. Not much breathing room on the start of the school year. A lot of the official stuff that was supposed to be handled at the same time as the readiness assessment, is now being handled remotely and piecemeal, e.g. the school nurse is calling all of the rising kindergarten families in the school to go over all the medical and vax paperwork needs. We had that call last week. She emailed on Friday to say she was calling within a couple hour window on Monday, and I'm like great this is the remote work version of waiting for the cable company, while WFH, juggling the baby's naps, work calls, the pre-k kiddo's needs...
Basically it is all a hot mess. We're doing all the steps in tiny, iterative pieces, and trying to figure out requirements, busing, before/after care, etc. with partial information at every step. A shitty way to do this for the first time/with an oldest. I just keep telling myself any school at all will be easier to juggle than what we are doing right now.
I did think for a bit about whether we should actually send her this year. I've always been anti-red shirt even though she is kind of a close call age-wise. But I've always been of the opinion that somebody has to be the youngest, and she seems pretty self-assured and academically ready for it to be her. She's been in group care since she was 5m and in a pre-k classroom since she was 3.5, so I think she's well prepared, she's ready, and she's aware she's supposed to be going... so I don't feel like I can keep her in the same pre-k for another year without her being aware she's been held back. I haven't even looked into what we'd have to do to hold her back until 2021 if we wanted to. So we're proceeding as if she's going, I have deposits down for Y before/after care, and we'll figure it all out as we go along.
ETA: I'm also not sure what option I would have. I did not register her for a 2020-21 spot at her current pre-k (or anywhere else) because she was supposed to move on this year. So I am not sure if there would even be a spot for her if we wanted to hold her back, and she needs to be enrolled somewhere, in pre-k or k.
Post by karinothing on May 26, 2020 13:49:38 GMT -5
I mean it just sucks. Sure he is prepared from Pre K but by the time K would start he would have been out of PreK for almost 7 months.
ETA: I am still 99% sure we will send him on time. Largely because Private K is 2100 a month and I REALLY want to have money back. But I am just angry about the entire situation.
I plan to send DD on time unless they start out fully distance learning. If that's the case, I'll probably just have her stay at her daycare. It is purely selfish reasons, though. I just won't be able to work with two kids at home who have distance learning obligations. It has been hard enough this spring with one school age kid at home doing schoolwork and my other daughter going to daycare every day.
If they do any of the hybrid models they've shared via survey monkey (alternating day or half days) then we'll send her on time. At least with those, she'll start to get used to the classroom and I'll have some guaranteed dedicated work time.
Post by edwardo123 on May 26, 2020 14:21:45 GMT -5
My youngest has an October birthday and is registered for all day kindergarten at a private school. I am a teacher in our public school, but they only offer half day. I may pull both my kids (6th grade and kindergartener) and homeschool. I have friends that homeschool and feel like it would be great to try for a year. Our district will have some teachers do remote classrooms no matter what for kids that are immune compromised or by family request. I have volunteered for this and will hear back sometime in July if I’ll be at home.
I plan to send DD on time unless they start out fully distance learning. If that's the case, I'll probably just have her stay at her daycare. It is purely selfish reasons, though. I just won't be able to work with two kids at home who have distance learning obligations. It has been hard enough this spring with one school age kid at home doing schoolwork and my other daughter going to daycare every day.
If they do any of the hybrid models they've shared via survey monkey (alternating day or half days) then we'll send her on time. At least with those, she'll start to get used to the classroom and I'll have some guaranteed dedicated work time.
I worry about this a lot though I'm trying not to since there isn't much to control!
My son turned 5 in April. He's definitely ready for kinder, but the main thing he needs is social interactions as he can be a little immature. He's fine academically.
We had three choices for kinder: staying at his current Montessori school, which goes age 2-kinder, going to our neighborhood public school, or to the district where I work. We chose our neighborhood school for various reasons. Now I'm having second thoughts if it goes online. I may keep him at his Montessori school for K instead if the local school. I basically feel like I have to find the perfect balance of safe + works for the family, which is all so unknown now.
I've got an August birthday with a September 30 cut off and I will send her to K on time. Our situation is not typical because she was at her school for PK3 and PK4 (until everything went to shit) and she has an existing relationship with her likely K teacher (who did aftercare for PK3 and PK4), so it's not like she will be new to a) school b) distance learning or c) her teacher. The choice is an easy one for me. I don't know what I would do if this was her very first school year (or if she was starting an immersion program), but probably keep in daycare and plan on starting 1st grade in 2021.
My guess is that many districts will likely have no choice but to really crack down on red shirting and enroll by age, absent extenuating circumstances, going forward. Our district already does this and I'd imagine more will start to do the same.
Post by VeryViolet on May 26, 2020 14:47:26 GMT -5
So in general I am pretty anti-redshirting with some leeway for those really close to the cutoff. I don’t judge anyone who does it and honestly I was really glad DS1 missed the cutoff by a week and I didn’t have to worry about it. However, after “homeschooling” a Kindergartner for a few months (with a toddler at home and working what is supposed to be full time) I would absolutely redshirt this year in your case. If my kid had an end of year bday and would be closer to 7 when they started I probably wouldn’t redshirt but even then I would want to.
Kindergarten is not meant to be taught online in the best case and this is far from it. DS’s teachers are amazing and have done so great. Expectations for K have been more than reasonable and doable and it is still a nightmare. My kid has some emotional delays that are causing some extra stress but even friends with usually “easy” kids K age are really struggling.
Post by morecoffeeplease on May 26, 2020 15:02:39 GMT -5
Will your districts allow you to redshirt? What if they have a huge group that wants to? Our district will enroll the child into their age appropriate grade. I just don't see how this will work if so many kids in the same district wait a year.
I have a soon to be K student (March birthday) and we enrolled like normal.
Send them. If they do poorly, repeat kindergarten next year.
Our district doesn't really do that (apparently it is near impossible to get a kid to repeat) but who knows if that will change with what is going on. Also, the evaluation for whether they can repeat or not is only in English (since it is state parameters not school specific) so not very applicable to Spanish.
Our district doesn't do it either. The only way to repeat K is if you do the first one in private, then you can go to public kinder the next year. The district will generally not pay for kids to repeat Kindergarten.
Our district doesn't really do that (apparently it is near impossible to get a kid to repeat) but who knows if that will change with what is going on. Also, the evaluation for whether they can repeat or not is only in English (since it is state parameters not school specific) so not very applicable to Spanish.
Our district doesn't do it either. The only way to repeat K is if you do the first one in private, then you can go to public kinder the next year. The district will generally not pay for kids to repeat Kindergarten.
Same with every district I have worked in (TX.) It's just not that easy to get the state to pay for an additional year of schooling, nor should it be IMO.
Our son turned 5 in March. He is going as scheduled, but if the Catholic school he goes to for preschool resumes in person in fall and the public school does not, we may keep him there instead of switching to public as planned. Class sizes are pretty small and the rooms are pretty spacious.
These discussions are making me very nervous for July/August babies who will start in the fall of 2021. With the number of people who are going to redshirt their kids this year they will be SOOO much younger than everyone else with the high number of redshirts that are bound to happen this fall.
UGH. I mean, it sucks and I'd be hesitant to start my kid this fall too, but this is going to affect kids for several years if so many are held back.
Thankfully I guess my November baby isn't starting K until 2022.
Yup, I'm here. I have previously been annoyed that my November baby missed the cut off but I am SO GLAD he will not be entering K in fall 2021.
Same - I was annoyed about DD1 missing the cutoff by 2 weeks but now I am OK with it. I do think the class that starts in 2021 is going to be very overcrowded though due to more than usual red-shirting due to covid. Not ideal for class sizes but I get why people would be nervous about starting K virtually.
Post by sapphireblue on May 26, 2020 16:00:14 GMT -5
My son turns 5 at the end of July. We were planning to send him to kindergarten in the fall.
Now--we are probably going to start him in fall 2021. It just seems like this fall will be a shitshow and I feel fairly sure we will have a second peak for the virus(I hope I'm wrong) that will probably really hit in the fall and my son doesn't have a great immune system, he catches WAY more stuff than his younger sister.
I just don't know, I'm not happy with either way to go but my SO stays home so it doesn't create a child care issue for us and it just seems safer.
Post by karinothing on May 26, 2020 16:00:50 GMT -5
I think that I am although I am worried a out how he will handle it, I am mainly worried about how I can handle two kids distance learning while working full time. I am exhausted now.
Will your districts allow you to redshirt? What if they have a huge group that wants to? Our district will enroll the child into their age appropriate grade. I just don't see how this will work if so many kids in the same district wait a year.
I have a soon to be K student (March birthday) and we enrolled like normal.
I am wondering this too. My son’s in TK and will be going to K next year. If I were to keep him out and enroll him in 2021 his district would put him in 1st, not allow me to enroll him in K. It goes by age, not the amount of schooling he’s had. K is voluntary in our state anyway so it’s not a requirement that he has to accomplish before enrolling in 1st.
Will your districts allow you to redshirt? What if they have a huge group that wants to? Our district will enroll the child into their age appropriate grade. I just don't see how this will work if so many kids in the same district wait a year.
I have a soon to be K student (March birthday) and we enrolled like normal.
I am wondering this too. My son’s in TK and will be going to K next year. If I were to keep him out and enroll him in 2021 his district would put him in 1st, not allow me to enroll him in K. It goes by age, not the amount of schooling he’s had. K is voluntary in our state anyway so it’s not a requirement that he has to accomplish before enrolling in 1st.
Yup. This is for my district too. It would be a case by case basis and not many are approved.
Will your districts allow you to redshirt? What if they have a huge group that wants to? Our district will enroll the child into their age appropriate grade. I just don't see how this will work if so many kids in the same district wait a year.
I have a soon to be K student (March birthday) and we enrolled like normal.
I am wondering this too. My son’s in TK and will be going to K next year. If I were to keep him out and enroll him in 2021 his district would put him in 1st, not allow me to enroll him in K. It goes by age, not the amount of schooling he’s had. K is voluntary in our state anyway so it’s not a requirement that he has to accomplish before enrolling in 1st.
I am certain at some point it goes by age, but I am not sure when. K is voluntary but if not enrolling at 5 we must advise the state with written notice..kids have to be enrolled if they will be 6 by cut off but can start in K. I don't know any kids that turned 7 in K. My kid has always been the oldest due to an October vday, so he can be a year older then some kids.
We have an 8/1 cutoff in our district. G will be 6 on 9/29 and is fully reading, so redshirting isn’t an option for us.
I registered him for K back in Feb. They were planning to do a 3-half day program in June (Summer Success or something) where kids rode the bus, learn the building, meet the teachers, etc. That was postponed, and has now been rescheduled for August, a week or so before our scheduled start.
It all feels surreal and anxiety-inducing, but I’m trying *really* hard not to borrow trouble. Our district is coming up with their A, B, and C Plans, from which they will select the most prudent closer to the start of school (8/24). I don’t think they intend to share or announce those plans until June or July - which I think is the right move. I know this won’t go away, but we have two months to learn a lot more to influence how we proceed.
I have a new 5 yo as of this week and the plan is to do kindergarten in the fall. Since my oldest started Pre-K we haven’t had a school year yet that made sense when it started so this feels “normal”. (His daycare pre-k teacher left as the year started leaving no pre-k available so we scrambled for a spot at another daycare, the school was leveled during a natural disaster at the start of kindergarten so we made due for the rest of the year before we switched to another school with availability for first grade and a global pandemic.). The soon to be kindergartner has followed along with each of these moves—quick change to a new 2k, 3k at the disaster school, 4K that became distance—so we will muddle through this. The first grader reads and does math on a fourth grade level so it hasn’t hurt him academically but I get the worry—I have it with both kids. This was not what I envisioned for my children.