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Is There A Way To Appeal Transitional Kindergarten In Fcusd?


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#16 BuffaloRon

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Posted 29 October 2013 - 11:07 AM

FCUSD has changed the cut-off for kindergarten to Sept.1 for 2014.  My child's bday is in September and she is more than ready for kindergarten (even her preschool thinks tranitional k will be a step back).  I've gone to the school to see if there's a way to appeal the cut-off for her, can they test her readiness, make an exception, etc.  I've been told no by the staff, the principal has yet to respond to my request for an appointment.

If she wasn't ready, I wouldn't push.  Does anyone know of a process I can try to get her into kindergarten for 2014 and not transitional?

If she goes to private kindergarten next year, will they have to take her into 1st the following?

 

Thanks!

 

If I were you, I would be bugging the principal if he has the authority to make the decision to allow your child into school.  If he is not the decision maker, find out who is and petition that person.



#17 cw68

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Posted 29 October 2013 - 11:16 AM

It seems the opposite now, that people are waiting to send their kids, trying to red-shirt them and/or give them an edge over their peers. In my hometown the cut-off date has been Sept 1 for 20 years so that everyone is the same age when they start school. My BFF's son's birthday is Jan 31. He is consistently one of the youngest kids in class. His Mom was surprised by this when he was in first grade and started asking around about it. She knows a large number of kids born in April that were held back! Where does one draw the line?

#18 SacKen

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Posted 29 October 2013 - 12:50 PM

I, too, was a Dec 1 kid and started early because I was brilliant ;)  I also went away to college when I was 17. The only age/maturity related problem I really experienced was when I was participating in a scavenger hunt and couldn't buy the "Hustler magazine from the 70s" because I was under 18 :) As for the social maturity aspects, it typically wasn't a problem. It's not like hanging out and dating were restricted to your class. A lot of that maturity is developed from experiences

 

The consistent points being made in this thread are that it is about the individual child and their maturity level. My oldest turned 5 in September. He has always been mature and articulate. People always thought he was older than he was, even when he was not even 2 yet and was speaking clearly, using logic and reason, knew a lot of the preschool things (numbers, letters, colors, shapes), was shooting baskets, hitting a pitched baseball and throwing spirals after making me run routes!  He had outgrown preschool and the disinterest was showing, so we decided not to wait a year. So far, he is doing well in Kindergarten and has learned more than I expected in the last two months (yes, they actually do learn a lot in Kindergarten!) He actually sits down and works on his homework without us asking (too bad that won't last the next 12 years ;) So far, we don't regret the move.

 

I don't "get" all the sports related concerns with starting early. For the most part, teams are based on age groups, not what grade you are in.

 

I'm curious to see how schools deal with having the entire senior class be 18 throughout their entire senior year, not just some being 18 for the final semester as it was in the past. Considering the actions of the kids I knew that were 18 during the last semester when I was in school, I think there's going to be a lot more "excused" absences than before!


"Just think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are even stupider!" -- George Carlin

#19 sat

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Posted 29 October 2013 - 02:21 PM

My daughter began kindergarten as a 4-year-old.  At the time, I did not even give a thought of waiting another year.  However, in hindsight, it might have been wise. Academically, she has been fine, but most of her friends are up to a year older than her, and there can be a maturity age difference. Most of the time it has been OK, but sometimes she gets frustrated that she can't do what many of her friends were able to do, such as driving.  She now has her license, but it was a long year to constantly hear about how she can't stand it that she is the only one not driving (though I'm sure she was't the last person!).  

 

Also, the thought of sending her off to college when she is only 17 is worrisome.



#20 Revolutionist

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Posted 29 October 2013 - 07:03 PM

2 of my four daughters have January birthdays.  Both were very ready for kindergarten, even though they missed the age cut-off by a few weeks.  Because of their readiness (among other factors) we decided to put them into private Kindergarten, and all of my daughters attended that private school until we moved to Folsom when my oldest stared 5th grade at NSE.

Now that I have 2 daughters in college (and the second January baby is now a senior at FHS), I would say that we made the right decision.  The hardest part was Dad letting go when Daughter #1 decided she was ready for college, and Dad wasn't quite there yet :)   Dad would have preferred that extra year at home... /sob

We didn't really experience any of the maturity mis-matches some have mentioned -- maybe a little bit around driver's licensing.. but for the most part it was very natural.
I would also say that my perspective is completely from a daughter-point-of-view.  I cannot comment on how the experience might be for a boy.



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#21 newfamtofolsom

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Posted 30 October 2013 - 11:47 AM

Sorry, I wasn't clear that I wasn't looking for opinions.  I appreciate the feedback, but I have thought plenty about this.  I was looking for facts on appeals or ways around the cut-off that will be in September for my September child.  Thank you to the person who posted the educational code!



#22 MikeinFolsom

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Posted 03 November 2013 - 04:18 PM

On the other hand.....some people do use it as free day care.

#23 SacKen

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Posted 04 November 2013 - 01:36 PM

On the other hand.....some people do use it as free day care.

 

How's that? Do you believe that Kindergarten is unnecessary and kids should start off at 1st Grade?

 

(Hint: Unless your answer is "yes", your statement is quite ignorant for more than one reason.)


"Just think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are even stupider!" -- George Carlin

#24 Carl G

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Posted 04 November 2013 - 04:32 PM

 

How's that? Do you believe that Kindergarten is unnecessary and kids should start off at 1st Grade?

 

(Hint: Unless your answer is "yes", your statement is quite ignorant for more than one reason.)

 

I know this isn't address to me, but I can tell you of a circumstance where a child did not meet the minimum criteria (didn't know the ABCs), but still was allowed to go to kindergarten. As a result, that child spent two years in kindergarten.  Is this day care?  Not exactly, but the mother did use the school resource to teach the child things the previous day care didn't.



#25 Chris

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Posted 04 November 2013 - 04:58 PM

Well, you may not have wanted opinions but that is what you will get around here...   Having been where you are at now many years ago and with kids in high school, junior college, and graduated from college I would really reconsider what you are trying to do.   Regards    


1A - 2A = -1A


#26 mac_convert

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Posted 04 November 2013 - 05:59 PM

 

How's that? Do you believe that Kindergarten is unnecessary and kids should start off at 1st Grade?

 

(Hint: Unless your answer is "yes", your statement is quite ignorant for more than one reason.)

Some parents enter their child in Kindergarten early and know they'll repeat . . . free daycare! :)



#27 MikeinFolsom

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Posted 10 November 2013 - 06:48 PM

Exactly. We have two kindergarten teachers that live on our street. The stories every year is there is one or two children who just aren't ready for kindergarten. And to make matters worse, the parents actually email them on a semi-regularly basis to ask if they can be 'a few minutes late' picking their child up on certain days as they have to 'take time off work' to get their children. The capper to that is, during parent conferences the parents will actually admit they knew their children weren't ready for kindergarten and are planning on having them repeat the year. So free child care? yeah.

#28 SacKen

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Posted 12 November 2013 - 02:22 PM

Exactly. We have two kindergarten teachers that live on our street. The stories every year is there is one or two children who just aren't ready for kindergarten. And to make matters worse, the parents actually email them on a semi-regularly basis to ask if they can be 'a few minutes late' picking their child up on certain days as they have to 'take time off work' to get their children. The capper to that is, during parent conferences the parents will actually admit they knew their children weren't ready for kindergarten and are planning on having them repeat the year. So free child care? yeah.

 

The "free" part of Kindergarten is only about 3 hours a day (ignoring the taxes paid to cover it). You still have to pay for the rest of the day to cover a full work day, not to mention all of the days when there is no school, so it's not exactly "free". If I total everything up for a year, I doubt I'm saving much money.

 

If the kid hasn't learned their ABCs yet, then they (and in the long run, probably all of us) are better off getting into Kindergarten early. That kid probably won't be much better off a year later. Their day care provider, and/or possibly the parents, are failing that child. Kids are so impressionable at that age that you really have no idea how they will react once they are exposed to a Kindergarten curriculum. Kids that wait have had to repeat and kids that started early do just fine. You really don't know until they get in there and the longer you wait if they aren't being exposed to the basics, the worse it will be.

 

So, I say again, classifying even those cases you mentioned as simply being "free day care" is ignorant, in my opinion.


"Just think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are even stupider!" -- George Carlin

#29 Carl G

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Posted 12 November 2013 - 02:44 PM

 

The "free" part of Kindergarten is only about 3 hours a day (ignoring the taxes paid to cover it). You still have to pay for the rest of the day to cover a full work day, not to mention all of the days when there is no school, so it's not exactly "free". If I total everything up for a year, I doubt I'm saving much money.

 

If the kid hasn't learned their ABCs yet, then they (and in the long run, probably all of us) are better off getting into Kindergarten early. That kid probably won't be much better off a year later. Their day care provider, and/or possibly the parents, are failing that child. Kids are so impressionable at that age that you really have no idea how they will react once they are exposed to a Kindergarten curriculum. Kids that wait have had to repeat and kids that started early do just fine. You really don't know until they get in there and the longer you wait if they aren't being exposed to the basics, the worse it will be.

 

So, I say again, classifying even those cases you mentioned as simply being "free day care" is ignorant, in my opinion.

 

I know many full time, at-home parents would crave three hours of uninterrupted time to get tasks done.  Yes, it still be can "free day care" even if it is only three hours.



#30 olivia

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Posted 12 November 2013 - 06:29 PM

 

I know this isn't address to me, but I can tell you of a circumstance where a child did not meet the minimum criteria (didn't know the ABCs), but still was allowed to go to kindergarten. As a result, that child spent two years in kindergarten.  Is this day care?  Not exactly, but the mother did use the school resource to teach the child things the previous day care didn't.

There is no criteria, save age, for starting Kindergarten (eg. knowing ABCs, numbers, name, colors, shapes,etc).  Nor is there any requirement that any must attend Kindergarten.  Mandatory schooling begins with 1st grade.  A parents decision to have a child remain in Kinder a 2nd yr is  more often than not an issue of maturity and readiness for 1st grade.  Oh, and there are some parents who do see having their child in kinder as convenient "day-care",  but not the majority






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