WAS:What to do about septemeber birthday

[jojo]

After much soul searching, we have begun to submit applications for private
schools.
Looks like that may not be an option for us after all.

99% of the private schools here are Christian, half of those
non-denominational.
Although we are Christian and active members in our church, the fact that we
are same-sex
parents is blowing it for our son. Seems we do not live a conservative
Christian lifestyle.

still trying to figure it all out.......

jojo

[Stephanie]

"jojo" > wrote in message
m...
> After much soul searching, we have begun to submit applications for
private
> schools.
> Looks like that may not be an option for us after all.
>
> 99% of the private schools here are Christian, half of those
> non-denominational.
> Although we are Christian and active members in our church, the fact that
we
> are same-sex
> parents is blowing it for our son. Seems we do not live a conservative
> Christian lifestyle.
>

Does that mean that they won't let you in, or that it would be too
conflicting/troublesome for your son? Anyway, I am sorry to hear that. What
a drag.

> still trying to figure it all out.......
>
> jojo
>
>

[jojo]

no, they won't let us in.
in masse, they do not consider us "morally responsible" role models, and
therefore
we do not meet the criteria of living a Christian Lifestyle. The parent's
qualifications seem to
mean as much or more than the child's.

Let me just add that although I hate it, I understand it. Private schools
may include or exclude
whomever they want based on whatever published creed they follow as far as I
know...

I'm just bummed because there are not more non-religious private schools
here. The ones that are here,
lean far over to the artistic approach. That's fine, but not what I'm
looking for.
The only College Preparatory private school here pre-k through 12, is also
Christian based.

Again, I am NOT "Christian bashing"...I just wish more of them had an
interreligious theme I guess...

jojo


"Stephanie" > wrote in message
...
>
> "jojo" > wrote in message
> m...
> > After much soul searching, we have begun to submit applications for
> private
> > schools.
> > Looks like that may not be an option for us after all.
> >
> > 99% of the private schools here are Christian, half of those
> > non-denominational.
> > Although we are Christian and active members in our church, the fact
that
> we
> > are same-sex
> > parents is blowing it for our son. Seems we do not live a conservative
> > Christian lifestyle.
> >
>
> Does that mean that they won't let you in, or that it would be too
> conflicting/troublesome for your son? Anyway, I am sorry to hear that.
What
> a drag.
>
> > still trying to figure it all out.......
> >
> > jojo
> >
> >
>
>

[Marie]

On Tue, 15 Mar 2005 17:48:02 GMT, "jojo" >
wrote:
>no, they won't let us in.
>in masse, they do not consider us "morally responsible" role models, and
>therefore
>we do not meet the criteria of living a Christian Lifestyle. The parent's
>qualifications seem to
>mean as much or more than the child's.
>Let me just add that although I hate it, I understand it. Private schools
>may include or exclude
>whomever they want based on whatever published creed they follow as far as I
>know...

Just because they can exclude doesn't make it right to do so.

Have you looked into Montessori, or is that one of the artsy schools
you weren't into that you mentioned?
Marie

[jojo]

> Just because they can exclude doesn't make it right to do so.

Then we open a whole can of worms about right, fair and allowed.
;-(


> Have you looked into Montessori, or is that one of the artsy schools
> you weren't into that you mentioned?
> Marie

My partner and I are both geared more toward formal education (strong math,
science, language and computer
for the basics, uniforms, routine, ect.) for at least pre-k through 3. Our
public school get good marks
(as far as I understand the testing scores) but he will have to go through 2
years of preK. The cut off is september st, and he is the 9th.
;-(

[Stephanie]

"jojo" > wrote in message
m...
> no, they won't let us in.
> in masse, they do not consider us "morally responsible" role models, and
> therefore
> we do not meet the criteria of living a Christian Lifestyle. The parent's
> qualifications seem to
> mean as much or more than the child's.
>
> Let me just add that although I hate it, I understand it. Private schools
> may include or exclude
> whomever they want based on whatever published creed they follow as far as
I
> know...
>
> I'm just bummed because there are not more non-religious private schools
> here. The ones that are here,
> lean far over to the artistic approach. That's fine, but not what I'm
> looking for.
> The only College Preparatory private school here pre-k through 12, is also
> Christian based.
>
> Again, I am NOT "Christian bashing"...I just wish more of them had an
> interreligious theme I guess...
>

I hear you. From where I am, I wish there was a church that was Christian
doctrine a la Carte, if you know what I mean. Christ was *the* role model.
But some church's take on Christianity and what it means to follow Christ
has like 85% on and 15% off. (I have a cold, did I do that right?)

Good luck!

> jojo
>
>
> "Stephanie" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > "jojo" > wrote in message
> > m...
> > > After much soul searching, we have begun to submit applications for
> > private
> > > schools.
> > > Looks like that may not be an option for us after all.
> > >
> > > 99% of the private schools here are Christian, half of those
> > > non-denominational.
> > > Although we are Christian and active members in our church, the fact
> that
> > we
> > > are same-sex
> > > parents is blowing it for our son. Seems we do not live a conservative
> > > Christian lifestyle.
> > >
> >
> > Does that mean that they won't let you in, or that it would be too
> > conflicting/troublesome for your son? Anyway, I am sorry to hear that.
> What
> > a drag.
> >
> > > still trying to figure it all out.......
> > >
> > > jojo
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>

[Nikki]

jojo wrote:

> My partner and I are both geared more toward formal education (strong
> math, science, language and computer
> for the basics, uniforms, routine, ect.) for at least pre-k through
> 3. Our public school get good marks
> (as far as I understand the testing scores) but he will have to go
> through 2 years of preK. The cut off is september st, and he is the
> 9th. ;-(

I'm a bit confused about this line of thinking. If your son stays on this
projectory he'll know all the kindergarten and most of the first grade
academic stuff before he even starts kindergarten - regardless of what age
he is. I would think the formal education would be more important in second
grade on up when he'll actually be learning something new. If that is the
case a more artsy Kindergarten would be better for him IMO. He'll get
exposure to fun and interesting things - get to follow his personal
interests more intently, etc. Public kindergarten, regardless of what year
you start, isn't going to teach him anything new at all if he continues
learning the academic stuff like he is. What would he loose by doing an
artsy kindy (starting at 4y11mo) and then moving to the public school for
1st grade (at 5y11mo)? Certainly not any academics as he nearly knows
everything a public kindy is going to teach him and he isn't even 3yo! I
also can't think of any reason waiting until 1st grade with the structure,
routines, uniform atmosphere would be a problem.....actually it might be
better to wait until at least first grade with that stuff since he'll be
young...and younger then the rest. In my area more and more kids are being
redshirted. There are a few kids that are 5 and turn 6 during their kindy
year but more will be turning 7. If that is true in your area he'll be a
full two years younger then a significant number of his classmates. So in
first grade a significant number of his classmates we be 7/8 and the
classroom expectations with regards to structure will match accordingly and
he'll be a newly minted 6yo.

I know from experience that the 2 or 3yo that seems to sit for hours not
causing any trouble can turn into a wandering fidgety 5yo :-)


It is a tough decision....I can empathize. I really struggled about sending
Hunter to Kindy but I was at the other end of the equation :-)

It also sucks that some options are blocked for ridiculous reasons :-(
--
Nikki

[Hillary Israeli]

In >,
jojo > wrote:

*(as far as I understand the testing scores) but he will have to go through 2
*years of preK. The cut off is september st, and he is the 9th.

Well, my son (9/9/00) is doing 2 yrs of preK because we chose private
school for him! He did preK this year, and could start K next year in
public school (cut off date 9/15) but instead is going to private school
(cut off date 9/1), hence repeating preK. Don't sweat it. It will all come
out in the wash :)

--
Hillary Israeli, VMD
Lafayette Hill/PA/USA/Earth
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it is
too dark to read." --Groucho Marx

[Sue]

"jojo" > wrote in message
> My partner and I are both geared more toward formal education (strong
math,
> science, language and computer for the basics, uniforms, routine, ect.)
for at least >pre-k through 3.

Sorry, but that type of education doesn't sound appropriate for your son's
age. It really is in the best interest of the child to have a play centered
preschool and learning through play than a formal education. Your son is
going to be burnt out before he hits 1st grade. If it were me, just sign him
up for a public preschool and worry about the other stuff later.

--
Sue (mom to three girls)

[P. Tierney]

"Hillary Israeli" > wrote in message
...
> In >,
> jojo > wrote:
>
> *(as far as I understand the testing scores) but he will have to go
> through 2
> *years of preK. The cut off is september st, and he is the 9th.
>
> Well, my son (9/9/00) is doing 2 yrs of preK because we chose private
> school for him! He did preK this year, and could start K next year in
> public school (cut off date 9/15) but instead is going to private school
> (cut off date 9/1),

I'm wondering, in this case and others, why on earth can't they
get together to come up with a common date? 9/1, 9/15, or a 9/8
compromise. Phase it in over a year or two. Or is there some
advantage to having a different date? It just seems to pointlessly
muddy things.


P. Tierney

[toto]

On Wed, 16 Mar 2005 21:50:25 GMT, "P. Tierney"
> wrote:

>
>"Hillary Israeli" > wrote in message
...
>> In >,
>> jojo > wrote:
>>
>> *(as far as I understand the testing scores) but he will have to go
>> through 2
>> *years of preK. The cut off is september st, and he is the 9th.
>>
>> Well, my son (9/9/00) is doing 2 yrs of preK because we chose private
>> school for him! He did preK this year, and could start K next year in
>> public school (cut off date 9/15) but instead is going to private school
>> (cut off date 9/1),
>
> I'm wondering, in this case and others, why on earth can't they
>get together to come up with a common date? 9/1, 9/15, or a 9/8
>compromise. Phase it in over a year or two. Or is there some
>advantage to having a different date? It just seems to pointlessly
>muddy things.
>
>
> P. Tierney
>
Private schools go their own way. Different private schools may have
different dates depending on their experience of the population they
happen to serve.

Studies are mixed on the effects of K entrance age. Some find
a positive correlation achievement, but others don't find any
differences. Certainly a few weeks is not going to make a big
difference in academic achievement, imo.

There is no particular incentive for private schools to coordinate
their dates with public schools. In fact, there may be some
disincentive as they will serve a different segment of the population.

I would think that some private schools would want to retain
half-day K as an option as well if a significant percentage of their
parents are stay at home moms or dads who want to have
the kids in that kind of program instead of the full day one that
the public schools and other *daycare* oriented private schools
offer.


--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits

[Hillary Israeli]

In <BS1_d.75143$Ze3.23521@attbi_s51>,
P. Tierney > wrote:

* I'm wondering, in this case and others, why on earth can't they
*get together to come up with a common date? 9/1, 9/15, or a 9/8
*compromise. Phase it in over a year or two. Or is there some
*advantage to having a different date? It just seems to pointlessly
*muddy things.

"They" who? The feds? The states? Certain contiguous counties?? I mean,
our public school's cutoff date is 9/15, like I said. All of the
surrounding districts have earlier cutoff dates. The private school we
chose has a date of 9/1, like I said (which is what most but not all of
the public districts surrounding mine have), but a few of the private
schools we looked at have cutoff dates even earlier (like, in June or
July!). Our district's 9/15 date is I believe the latest in the state of
PA, though. Are you suggesting all schools in the state should have the
same cutoff date? OK, but what about the kids who come in from NJ and DE
(and there are kids from both of those neighboring states in our son's new
school!) - should they also have the same cutoff date? So you're saying
nationwide we need to have one cutoff date? The Republicans will have you
drawn and quartered :)

--
Hillary Israeli, VMD
Lafayette Hill/PA/USA/Earth
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it is
too dark to read." --Groucho Marx

[P. Tierney]

"Hillary Israeli" > wrote in message
...
> In <BS1_d.75143$Ze3.23521@attbi_s51>,
> P. Tierney > wrote:
>
> * I'm wondering, in this case and others, why on earth can't they
> *get together to come up with a common date? 9/1, 9/15, or a 9/8
> *compromise. Phase it in over a year or two. Or is there some
> *advantage to having a different date? It just seems to pointlessly
> *muddy things.
>
> "They" who? The feds? The states? Certain contiguous counties??

No, the schools themselves. If a private school opened tomorrow
across the street, then I would think that they would consider the cutoff
dates of the surrounding schools before choosing theirs.

The *large* Catholic school system does that here -- lines certain
policies (general start/end dates, winter and spring break, snow
day policies) up with the public schools most of the time, as
(I think, perhaps naively) to keep the community on the same
page, since the kids in each are all a part of the same community.

> Our district's 9/15 date is I believe the latest in the state of
> PA, though. Are you suggesting all schools in the state should have the
> same cutoff date? OK, but what about the kids who come in from NJ and DE
> (and there are kids from both of those neighboring states in our son's new
> school!) - should they also have the same cutoff date? So you're saying
> nationwide we need to have one cutoff date?

I said that? No, school systems are community-based.
Keep it in the community.

>The Republicans will have you drawn and quartered :)

Hey, don't diss them. That reply of yours was straight from the
school of Karl Rove. ;-)


P. Tierney

[P. Tierney]

"toto" > wrote in message
...
>
> There is no particular incentive for private schools to coordinate
> their dates with public schools. In fact, there may be some
> disincentive as they will serve a different segment of the population.

I think there is an incentive for the community to want to
keep certain things as common as possible. Spring Break dates,
for example, and maybe cut-off dates. Could be just me, though.


P. Tierney

[Bruce Bridgman and Jeanne Yang]

"P. Tierney" > wrote in message
news:n66_d.74291$r55.61239@attbi_s52...
>
> "toto" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> There is no particular incentive for private schools to coordinate
>> their dates with public schools. In fact, there may be some
>> disincentive as they will serve a different segment of the population.
>
> I think there is an incentive for the community to want to
> keep certain things as common as possible. Spring Break dates,
> for example, and maybe cut-off dates. Could be just me, though.
>
>
> P. Tierney

What's the incentive? If like Toto said the private school serves a
particular population- say, an urban Muslim community - why on earth would
they follow a school year that is based on a Christian agricultural society
(which is basically the traditional school calendar)? If a private school
promotes year-round schooling, then that calendar structure will prevent it
from having their start/end dates as well as breaks coincide with
traditional schools.

I can see why schools differ in cut-off dates. I've lived in two counties
now where the school system moved the cut-off dates. In both cases, they
moved incrementally from December 31st to September 1st or 30th. BUT,
long-time residents tell me that the school system has also moved the
cut-off (incrementally) in the opposite direction - depending on the
prevailing educational theory. One system changed in the late '80s/ early
90s and the other system is in the midst of its change (I think this year
the cut-off date is October 31st and next year it will be September 30th/1st
(?)).

Jeanne

[P. Tierney]

"Bruce Bridgman and Jeanne Yang" > wrote in
message ...
>
> "P. Tierney" > wrote in message
> news:n66_d.74291$r55.61239@attbi_s52...
>>
>> "toto" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>>
>>> There is no particular incentive for private schools to coordinate
>>> their dates with public schools. In fact, there may be some
>>> disincentive as they will serve a different segment of the population.
>>
>> I think there is an incentive for the community to want to
>> keep certain things as common as possible. Spring Break dates,
>> for example, and maybe cut-off dates. Could be just me, though.
>
> What's the incentive?

To me? To keep some commonality within the community,
especially if there isn't an educational/religious reason (like your
example below) to do otherwise. If I were starting a school in a
city and I wanted to determine the cutoff dates, and some other
dates, I would likely check with the other local schools and
align them with them, unless I had some reason to do otherwise.
I wouldn't change it by two weeks just because I could.

> If like Toto said the private school serves a particular population- say,
> an urban Muslim community - why on earth would they follow a school year
> that is based on a Christian agricultural society (which is basically the
> traditional school calendar)? If a private school promotes year-round
> schooling, then that calendar structure will prevent it from having their
> start/end dates as well as breaks coincide with traditional schools.

> I can see why schools differ in cut-off dates. I've lived in two counties
> now where the school system moved the cut-off dates. In both cases, they
> moved incrementally from December 31st to September 1st or 30th. BUT,
> long-time residents tell me that the school system has also moved the
> cut-off (incrementally) in the opposite direction - depending on the
> prevailing educational theory. One system changed in the late '80s/ early
> 90s and the other system is in the midst of its change (I think this year
> the cut-off date is October 31st and next year it will be September
> 30th/1st (?)).

If there is a different educational theory about cutoff dates (and
I don't know what those theories are), then that would be a sensible
reason. In the example that I responded to, the difference was only
15 days, which is too small to be an educational theory reason.


P.
Tierney

[toto]

On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 02:40:19 GMT, "P. Tierney"
> wrote:

>
>"toto" > wrote in message
...
>>
>> There is no particular incentive for private schools to coordinate
>> their dates with public schools. In fact, there may be some
>> disincentive as they will serve a different segment of the population.
>
> I think there is an incentive for the community to want to
>keep certain things as common as possible. Spring Break dates,
>for example, and maybe cut-off dates. Could be just me, though.
>
>
> P. Tierney

If all of your children go to a school with a given break, why would
you care if others were off at a different time? As long as all my
kids had the same breaks, it wouldn't make any difference to me
if others had different ones since most of their friends came from
the schools they went to anyway.



--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits

[toto]

On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 02:38:52 GMT, "P. Tierney"
> wrote:

> The *large* Catholic school system does that here -- lines certain
>policies (general start/end dates, winter and spring break, snow
>day policies) up with the public schools most of the time, as
>(I think, perhaps naively) to keep the community on the same
>page, since the kids in each are all a part of the same community.

Our Catholic Schools here had entirely different spring break from the
public schools. Winter break usually coincided, but spring break
often did not since the Catholic Schools always use Good Friday
and Easter and the public schools often did not take off that entire
week in order to spread the break more evenly into the year. Aside
from that our public schools also had the Jewish holidays off since
there was a large Jewish population.


--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits

[P. Tierney]

"toto" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 02:38:52 GMT, "P. Tierney"
> > wrote:
>
>> The *large* Catholic school system does that here -- lines certain
>>policies (general start/end dates, winter and spring break, snow
>>day policies) up with the public schools most of the time, as
>>(I think, perhaps naively) to keep the community on the same
>>page, since the kids in each are all a part of the same community.
>
> Our Catholic Schools here had entirely different spring break from the
> public schools. Winter break usually coincided, but spring break
> often did not since the Catholic Schools always use Good Friday
> and Easter and the public schools often did not take off that entire
> week in order to spread the break more evenly into the year.

I should've stated that our two systems used to do the same
thing, but then they stopped at some point and now have a
common Spring Break.


P. Tierney

[P. Tierney]

"toto" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 02:40:19 GMT, "P. Tierney"
> > wrote:
>
>>
>>"toto" > wrote in message
...
>>>
>>> There is no particular incentive for private schools to coordinate
>>> their dates with public schools. In fact, there may be some
>>> disincentive as they will serve a different segment of the population.
>>
>> I think there is an incentive for the community to want to
>>keep certain things as common as possible. Spring Break dates,
>>for example, and maybe cut-off dates. Could be just me, though.
>>>
> If all of your children go to a school with a given break, why would
> you care if others were off at a different time? As long as all my
> kids had the same breaks, it wouldn't make any difference to me
> if others had different ones since most of their friends came from
> the schools they went to anyway.

Probably because that wasn't the case for me (though my children
aren't old enough yet for me to say). The kids in private and Catholic
public schools often mixed, which is probably inevitable here since
the Catholic school population is a sizable percentage compared to
the public school population. The kids at the school where I taught
always seemed to have friends at other schools.



P. Tierney

[Penny Gaines]

P. Tierney wrote:

>
> "toto" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> There is no particular incentive for private schools to coordinate
>> their dates with public schools. In fact, there may be some
>> disincentive as they will serve a different segment of the population.
>
> I think there is an incentive for the community to want to
> keep certain things as common as possible. Spring Break dates,
> for example, and maybe cut-off dates. Could be just me, though.

I'm probably missing some vital cultural referance here, but I would
have thought private schools would be more flexible on the exact entry
age, as they might catch some "bright but just missed cutoff" and some
"thick, but just made cutoff" kids.

--
Penny Gaines
UK mum to three

[Cathy Kearns]

"toto" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 02:40:19 GMT, "P. Tierney"
> If all of your children go to a school with a given break, why would
> you care if others were off at a different time? As long as all my
> kids had the same breaks, it wouldn't make any difference to me
> if others had different ones since most of their friends came from
> the schools they went to anyway.

To make it easier on your families for extra curricular activities. For
instance, if you have a different spring break than the local public
schools, and most kids go to the public schools, it is very likely all
little league baseball will be called off or scaled back for their spring
break, while big games or playoffs would be during your spring break.
Around here music lessons at the local music institute are cancelled for the
week of spring break, while they offer camps instead. And camps are another
reason. If you have lots of working parents (not unlikely for a high
tuition school) it would be conveinent if they could find full day camps
during your breaks. If your breaks are the same time as many other schools
it is likely there will be camps available.

[Banty]

In article >, Cathy Kearns
says...
>
>
>"toto" > wrote in message
...
>> On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 02:40:19 GMT, "P. Tierney"
>> If all of your children go to a school with a given break, why would
>> you care if others were off at a different time? As long as all my
>> kids had the same breaks, it wouldn't make any difference to me
>> if others had different ones since most of their friends came from
>> the schools they went to anyway.
>
>To make it easier on your families for extra curricular activities. For
>instance, if you have a different spring break than the local public
>schools, and most kids go to the public schools, it is very likely all
>little league baseball will be called off or scaled back for their spring
>break, while big games or playoffs would be during your spring break.
>Around here music lessons at the local music institute are cancelled for the
>week of spring break, while they offer camps instead. And camps are another
>reason. If you have lots of working parents (not unlikely for a high
>tuition school) it would be conveinent if they could find full day camps
>during your breaks. If your breaks are the same time as many other schools
>it is likely there will be camps available.
>
>

And there are families who may one child in a private school, another in a
public school. My family did that - my brother went to a Catholic school for a
while becaue he wasn't doing well at all in the public school system we had just
moved to.

Banty

[P. Tierney]

"Penny Gaines" > wrote in message
...
> P. Tierney wrote:
>
>>
>> "toto" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>>
>>> There is no particular incentive for private schools to coordinate
>>> their dates with public schools. In fact, there may be some
>>> disincentive as they will serve a different segment of the population.
>>
>> I think there is an incentive for the community to want to
>> keep certain things as common as possible. Spring Break dates,
>> for example, and maybe cut-off dates. Could be just me, though.
>
> I'm probably missing some vital cultural referance here, but I would
> have thought private schools would be more flexible on the exact entry
> age, as they might catch some "bright but just missed cutoff" and some
> "thick, but just made cutoff" kids.

I would think so too. The size of the private school mioght matter,
and some are a part of a larger system in which they need to adhere to
uniform policies. But I would imagine that they would be more flexible,
though I've got no experience or direct knowledge about it, beyond
the few posts that I've read here.


P.
Tierney

[Hillary Israeli]

In <cKn_d.145368$tl3.68820@attbi_s02>,
P. Tierney > wrote:

* If there is a different educational theory about cutoff dates (and
*I don't know what those theories are), then that would be a sensible
*reason. In the example that I responded to, the difference was only
*15 days, which is too small to be an educational theory reason.

Well, for what it's worth, as I believe I said, my district has the latest
cutoff date - 9/15. MOST of the surrounding districts use 9/1 (I haven't
checked them all this year or anything, but I know that all the districts
sharing boundaries with ours used 9/1 last year). We looked seriously at
four private schools - all within a ten mile radius from our home. Three
of them had cutoff dates of 9/1; one had one in either June or July, I
forget. So it does seem that MOST of the districts/schools do align
themselves....

--
Hillary Israeli, VMD
Lafayette Hill/PA/USA/Earth
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it is
too dark to read." --Groucho Marx

[Lesley]

Penny Gaines wrote:
> P. Tierney wrote:
>
>
>>"toto" > wrote in message
...
>>
>>>There is no particular incentive for private schools to coordinate
>>>their dates with public schools. In fact, there may be some
>>>disincentive as they will serve a different segment of the population.
>>
>> I think there is an incentive for the community to want to
>>keep certain things as common as possible. Spring Break dates,
>>for example, and maybe cut-off dates. Could be just me, though.
>
>
> I'm probably missing some vital cultural referance here, but I would
> have thought private schools would be more flexible on the exact entry
> age, as they might catch some "bright but just missed cutoff" and some
> "thick, but just made cutoff" kids.
>


My feeling has been that some private schools like to cherry pick the
brightest and feel that even older is even better. (So if the child is
bright and just missed the cutoff, s/he will be even stronger next year.)

Do any of the education folks (Dorothy?) know if there is any basis to
any cutoff date being better than any other? It seems that states just
draw them out of a hat and I have the feeling that there is anecdotal
evidence, but no real studies.

Lesley

[Penny Gaines]

Lesley wrote:

> Penny Gaines wrote:
[snip]
>> I'm probably missing some vital cultural referance here, but I would
>> have thought private schools would be more flexible on the exact entry
>> age, as they might catch some "bright but just missed cutoff" and some
>> "thick, but just made cutoff" kids.
>
> My feeling has been that some private schools like to cherry pick the
> brightest and feel that even older is even better. (So if the child is
> bright and just missed the cutoff, s/he will be even stronger next year.)

Surely if those schools want the brightest children, their best method
of getting them is to enroll them younger, so the parents couldn't send
them elsewhere? Or is it more that if the school wants to have its
Grade 1 class reading well at the end of the year, even though half the
class is quite old?

Admittedly, in Britain in state schools (English "public schools" are
the elite ones that charge high fees) there is a pretty rigid age
system when entering schools.

--
Penny Gaines
UK mum to three

[toto]

On Fri, 18 Mar 2005 21:23:30 GMT, Lesley >
wrote:

>Do any of the education folks (Dorothy?) know if there is any basis to
>any cutoff date being better than any other? It seems that states just
>draw them out of a hat and I have the feeling that there is anecdotal
>evidence, but no real studies.

Pdf summary of research here.

http://www.srcd.org/Documents/Publications/SPR/sprv16n2.pdf

Some findings suggest that relatively older children have a modest
academic advantage over younger children in school. OTOH, there
was no evidence to suggest that younger children gained less than
older children from their early school experiences and some evidence
to suggest that school experience produced greater gains on all
cognitive dimensions.

The author of this paper suggests that we should be focusing more on
making schools ready for children than on making children ready for
school.




--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits

[toto]

On Fri, 18 Mar 2005 21:23:30 GMT, Lesley >
wrote:

>Do any of the education folks (Dorothy?) know if there is any basis to
>any cutoff date being better than any other? It seems that states just
>draw them out of a hat and I have the feeling that there is anecdotal
>evidence, but no real studies.

Interesting conclusion here:

http://nieer.org/faq/index.php?TAid=83

An important policy recommendation made in this report is that
although no specific kindergarten entry age should be considered
best, policies setting entry ages are preferable to those mandating
kindergarten readiness testing. Any class of kindergartners will vary
in age regardless of which cutoff date is chosen. Therefore, in order
to help young children succeed, teachers and schools should place
an emphasis on tailoring educational programs to address children’s
diverse developmental needs.




--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits