https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 08 Apr 2026 12:19:43 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2804116 Wed, 14 Feb 2018 08:48:24 +0000 cat620 2804116@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@irene: My son has been in preschool since he turned 3, and he currently goes to Pre-K 5 mornings a week, so he definitely has school experience. I think they based the TK decision purely on his age and current academic ability. The other schools said pretty much the same thing, unfortunately, </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2801162 Wed, 31 Jan 2018 20:08:02 +0000 irene 2801162@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ahh. I am so sorry you are going through this, reading this makes me mad. I don't have anything to contribute but just want to let you know that I hate this for you! </p> <p>We are fortunate that we have a winter birthday and our private school never discussed that we needed to hold back. I do want to point out though, that in our school there are quite a few people holding back their children. There were at least 3 children I know who turned 6 in our pre-K class last year! If your school is anything like ours, I can see how it was "designed for 5.5-6 years old" because there are potentially kids who are 6.5-7 in that class. That is unfair.</p> <p>Another thought is, did your son go to daycare/preschool when he was younger? I was talking to one of our pre-k parents last year. Their son was older (turned 6 during the pre-k school year while DS was still 4.5). I asked why did they decide to hold back, and they told me they originally started in kindergarten, but after a few weeks they got summoned in. The school suggested they should hold back to do a year of pre-K. This was because their child has always been home, and he lacked experience in a classroom environment where you are required to sit down and work with your classmates and follow the teacher's lead as a team, rather than getting up and do whatever you want. I wonder if that could be the reason your school suggested for you to hold back?</p> <p>In response to some suggestions on going to a public elementary then private high school -- I was told that once you were "raised" in a public school environment, it could be harder to go back to private. That's just what I heard I don't know how valid it is across the country.</p> <p>You mentioned there are 3 private schools in your area, what does the other 2 say? </p> <p>On the bright side for a summer birthday: You have the freedom to throw an indoor OR outdoor party however you want, and you don't need to worry about snow and flu season like we do! Haha!</p> <p>Hugs and I hope you figure it out soon...! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796805 Sat, 13 Jan 2018 13:55:47 +0000 Mrs Green Grass 2796805@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>That’s really annoying IMO. Especially saying they can really differentiate between 1/2 a year’s worth of academic skill or readiness. I’m sure it’s all about keeping scores up to look good. That being said the TK won’t hurt in any way, but it’s an extra year of tuition... I also hate the term academically rigorous! I sure hope the curriculum isn’t all workbooks and worksheets. That’s what I would look into if I were you. (I work in secondary education.) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796541 Fri, 12 Jan 2018 09:50:30 +0000 yin 2796541@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My LO attends a charter school that has a rigorous program, and assessments were done in the summer prior to the start of the school year. From there teachers gave advice to the parents on areas that their child may need to work on over the summer to be better prepared, but it was basic stuff like knowing the alphabet, numbers, and writing names properly. Even with kids of all backgrounds, the teachers provide the resources for kids to "catch up." </p> <p>If these private schools are as academically rigorous as advertised, there should be no issues providing the appropriate resources to help these students. It sounds like more of an excuse to me. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796217 Thu, 11 Jan 2018 08:20:01 +0000 Adira 2796217@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@honeybear: Yeah, definitely agree with this! Plus if all the kids are essentially a year older in each grade, it'll skew the school's test scores and make them seem better than they maybe should be if they actually were placing kids in the correct grades. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796215 Thu, 11 Jan 2018 08:11:59 +0000 Mrs. Yoyo 2796215@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have a late-summer-birthday kid in what is probably the most rigorous private school in the area and they didn't bat an eye. One of the things I liked about this school is that they seem to have a much better grasp on what's developmentally appropriate for the kids and use more creative/hands-on teaching methods. </p> <p>Agree that the whole idea of TK, especially in a pricey private school, sounds more like a combo of them wanting $$$ and not wanting to deal with a range of abilities in any given class. That would make me wary. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796147 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 16:40:18 +0000 pinkcupcake 2796147@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Can you ask how many summer birthday students are in K? Like, are all children in their K class born in Oct - May (assuming Sept is the cutoff), or are there a fair mix of birthdays ? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796131 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 15:55:27 +0000 honeybear 2796131@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>That seems like a load of horse doody coupled with a money grab to me. Maybe K should be for 6 year olds instead of 5 year olds, but in your area it isn't, so they force kids into an extra year of school (and parents into paying for it...how convenient!) by upping the K entrance 'requirements' to get an older class (that will also, conveniently, probably goose whatever test scores they have...). I dunno. I'd be pretty turned off by that. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796089 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 13:41:27 +0000 MrsLonghorn 2796089@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This is completely standard in my city - pretty much every private school has either "developmental kinder" "transitional kinder" or "primer". BUT the big difference is that everyone applies for regular kinder and the school chooses whether or not place you into TK. That said, pretty much every late spring or summer birthday is routed into TK. Down here, it isn't really an academic argument, but a social-emotional one. Unfortunately, it sounds like the way your school is doing it is making things unnecessarily complicated.</p> <p>So, from my point of view this doesn't phase me at all. It seem totally normal to put a June birthday in TK.<br /> I am a June birthday and did Primer at my private school 30 years ago. It served me incredibly well, not from an academic standpoint (I was always at the top of my class and believe that I would have been without Primer), but definitely was a huge benefit from a social/maturity standpoint. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796087 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 13:40:28 +0000 Foodnerd81 2796087@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I’m not looking at private schools but I share your frustration over summer birthdays. In general the automatic red shirting bothers the hell out of me- but now my late summer birthday kid’s teachers recommended I hold her and do TK for her. There is no public transitional K so I’ll probably be doing another year of private for her then start public K the next year, a month after she turns six. </p> <p>If this is what the school recommends for just about all summer birthdays, I imagine he will be in good company. I don’t think you would have to worry about him being bored since all twenty kids from the TK would be in the same boat. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796083 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 13:29:26 +0000 looch 2796083@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>How is the school defining academically rigorous? This would be the deciding factor for me, as I expect that in Kindergarten, students are taught basic literacy. I wouldn't expect that they have the tools to sound out words, for example, but I would expect that they knew the letters and the sounds they made. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796082 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 13:29:03 +0000 MaryM 2796082@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My brother and SIL ran into this. They live in an area with not many private schools, so there was only one they were considering. And the area is really rural with a lot of underprivileged kids, so public schools aren't especially challenging (they were fine once I got to high school, but I literally quite doing anything for a week in elementary school because I was so freaking bored because the teachers had to teach down to the lowest level). </p> <p>My oldest nephew wasn't ready for the private school the year they considered applying for him to enter school, so the school suggested they hold him back. Instead of doing that and him not learning anything, my SIL started home schooling him and has continued with all her kids. The oldest two just started the private school last year in like 6th and 8th grade. My niece loves it, the oldest would rather still be home where he can get school work out of the way on his own time! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796067 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 12:41:28 +0000 Becky 2796067@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I’d be kind of nervous to send my 5 year old to an academically rigorous program so that would put me off to begin with. Did they say he wasn’t in, or did they just say he’s not as ready as they like the kids to be (so he’s in, but maybe “behind”—of course he’s not really, but according to them), but he can still go? In that case I’d just send him if he wants to go. We were going to hold DD1 back this fall (she turns 5 on Halloweenand) but have recently 95% decided not to because she really wants to go, and is academically very ready. But if she didn’t want to go or didn’t seem ready, we’d hold her back. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796059 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 11:58:46 +0000 hilsy85 2796059@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Is this the case at all the private schools or one in particular? I would see if you can talk to current parents and find out their experience/what they did. Seems a little ridiculous that they wouldn't have any late spring/early summer birthdays, they must let in some of those kids. Generally schools want to balance the classrooms. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796045 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 10:57:26 +0000 gotkimchi 2796045@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would not hold back a developmentally normal child just to go to private school. Even if your husband thinks private school is a better experience I would imagine your child might be very bored and it might not be better for him. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796041 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 10:47:24 +0000 mrsjd 2796041@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think it comes down to a long term assessment of how you compare the private to the public school - not just during the kindergarten year. If you think that the private school offers a significant academic/social advantage to the public school over the course of your child's future academic education, then I would prioritize getting your child there. In your case, as I understand your concerns that may mean holding your child back (or may not). However, if you don't think that the private school is really all that much better, then it may not make sense to prioritize going there - given the other potential negatives. As a general matter, I'm anti-redshirting just for its own sake - I think its beneficial to certain kids but I prefer for it to be made on an individual basis (because the younger child genuinely needs time to develop, etc) rather than just to get into certain schools/classes. </p> <p>I hope that made sense! These are such tough choices. It sounds at least like you have two acceptable options. Where I live, we are not so lucky. Our public schools are abysmal. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796039 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 10:33:34 +0000 cat620 2796039@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Beehive: Our area doesn't offer public TK programs. The only public preschool options are for kids with developmental delays, so if we went the TK route, we would have to pay for it somewhere. My son's current preschool offers a TK class, but I'm not sure I would want to send him there over kindergarten. If we enroll him in kindergarten, he would have to apply to 1st grade next year at the private school. It's a different admission process once you're in elementary school, since they require transcripts and a different type of cognitive assessment. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796037 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 10:32:35 +0000 Adira 2796037@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@aprild: Our public school is also pretty much average, but I'm inclined to at least try it, so that's where my advice comes from. Hopefully you're able to figure out something that works for your family! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796036 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 10:31:11 +0000 cat620 2796036@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Adira: Our public school we're zoned for is considered average for the area. I'm sure it would be fine, but my husband is really pushing for private school. He went to private school, and he thinks it is a better experience than the public schools offer. I went to public school, but I grew up in a small town, so I'm assuming there would be differences between my small town public school and a city school. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796035 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 10:23:12 +0000 Beehive 2796035@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@aprild: Could you do a public TK (or even public K, maybe that would make more sense) program this year and private K the year after? There would probably be some overlap, but that way you would likely get into the private school? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796034 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 10:21:11 +0000 Adira 2796034@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Honestly, unless there's something really wrong with your public school, I'd just apply to the private school for Kindergarten and then if you don't get in, send him to public school on time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796033 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 10:18:48 +0000 cat620 2796033@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@avivoca: I'm starting to question the "academically rigorous" claim too. If your students are 6 months to a year older than kids at a public school in the same grade, of course the private school kids will perform better. They are increasing the age of the students to inflate the test scores. I'm considering sending him to public school for elementary and switching over in middle school. It's hard to decide what to do though, since the schools are so competitive and kindergarten has the largest number of openings. </p> <p> @Mamaof2: No, they don't count TK as equal to kindergarten. He would still have to do kindergarten next year if he does TK this year.<br /> They will only let us apply to one grade, so either TK or K. The admissions counselor strongly suggested we apply to TK, so I'm almost certain we would not be accepted if we applied to K </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796031 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 10:11:42 +0000 Mamaof2 2796031@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@aprild: can he do TK this year and 1st grade next year at the private school?</p> <p>Can you apply to both TK and regular K this year? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796030 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 10:09:59 +0000 avivoca 2796030@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@aprild: Unfortunately, we are seeing this more and more with the private schools in my area. Kinder cutoff is August 1 for public and now private schools are saying theirs is June 1, especially because they claim the program is "academically rigorous" (only in quotes because I'm not sure it is at this point) compared to the public school program. </p> <p>Honestly, I'd send to the public schools and maybe do private for high school. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796028 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 10:02:14 +0000 cat620 2796028@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Adira: I could, but they would only have a few spots available dependent upon families moving, etc. The largest amount of open spots would be for kindergarten </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796021 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 09:33:39 +0000 Adira 2796021@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Could you send him to public Kindergarten at 5 and then apply for the private school's first grade the following year? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/private-school-and-summer-birthdays#post-2796019 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 09:13:17 +0000 cat620 2796019@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm feeling frustrated right now with the private school system, and I was wondering if anyone else has gone through this or has any advice. We have three top private schools in our city that are very competitive when it comes to admissions. My son has a late June birthday, so he will be 5 years and 2 months when he starts school in the fall. Part of the private school admissions process includes cognitive assessments, which they did and found my son to be developmentally at his current age. That sounds like it would be a good thing, but then I was told that their kindergarten is academically rigorous, so it's designed for students who are developmentally at 5.5 to 6 year range when they start school. That doesn't seem fair to me, since our public schools accept kids who are 5 before the start of school. The private schools are telling us we need to apply for their TK (transitional kindergarten) program, which is designed for the younger 5s. However, their TK program only has between 15 and 20 spots (depending on the school) compared to 100 or more for kindergarten. Our chances of getting into TK are even less than kindergarten. The admissions counselor told us that if we don't get in this year, we should hold our son back and enroll him in another TK program at a preschool and then apply for kindergarten next year. </p> <p>I'm so conflicted about this. I feel like kids with summer birthdays are at a disadvantage when it comes to applying to private schools. I'm not sure I want to enroll him in a preschool TK program and have him be 6 when he enters kindergarten. I know some people are pro redshirting, but I've always been on the fence about it. And then even if we do that, there is no guarantee he would be accepted at the kindergarten entrance point, so we could still not get in. Our back-up option would be to send him to public school, but if he will ultimately end up there, I would rather send him at 5 vs 6. We won't find out if he's accepted to the private school's TK program until the end of Feb, but in the meantime I'm feeling stressed about this whole thing. </p>