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tsd33
Citizen
Username: Tsd33
Post Number: 100
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 5:56 am: | 
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As some of you may know, a group of parents with children at the Y preschool and kindergarten will be attending the school board meeting on Monday night March 21 to present a proposal to revise the process in which children who miss the cut-off for first grade are assessed. The parents involved in this have children who are or will be attending full day kindergarten at the Y and would like to find a solution that enables their children to be assessed in the spring prior to the school year rather than the current policy which has children assessed during the first few weeks. Attached below is a letter to the board that will be presented on Monday. If this issue affects you, please join us at the meeting to present your concerns.
Thanks.
Dear Members of the South Orange - Maplewood Board of Education:
The undersigned respectfully request that you review the District’s cut-off policy which requires that children who miss the cut-off date for enrollment in first grade -- and who wish to enroll in first grade -- enroll in kindergarten and be assessed for advancement by their kindergarten teacher.
While we recognize that only a small portion of the student population is affected by this policy, we believe all children suffer when an inequitable policy is in place – especially when it is one which can be so easily remedied.
Please note that we do not question whether the District should have a cut-off policy, nor do we question the date chosen by the District for its cut-off, or the fact that the District should retain the discretion to ascertain which children should be exempted from the cut-off policy. Most emphatically, we are not advocating for a particular child’s ability to commence first grade while missing the cut-off date. We recognize, as you do, that there may be exceptions to a cut-off policy, and we simply request a modest change to the current process by which children are evaluated for exemption from the policy – if only during the period while the new cut-off policy is being phased in.
Once you have reviewed the policy, we believe you will agree that the policy
* unfairly places children in limbo about which grade they will enter, when all their peers know exactly which class they will be in, well before September
* unfairly assesses children for advancement during the first days of a brand new educational setting when they are likely experiencing typical transition difficulties
* unfairly results in an inability to secure an aftercare program for the children because one cannot enroll for both a half-day (kindergarten) aftercare placement, as well as a full-day (first grade) aftercare placement
* unfairly results in the children who are in fact designated for advancement having to start first grade several weeks after their peers
We believe the inequities of the policy can easily be addressed by allowing the affected children to be assessed for first grade enrollment in the preceding Spring -- at the same time that all kindergarteners in the District are assessed for advancement to first grade. The assessments, which we understand are short in duration, can be done by the District at the child’s kindergarten location or at a District site. To the extent that a greater cost is incurred, it can be borne collectively by the parents of the affected children. Alternatively, the children can be assessed by the certified teachers of the kindergarten they attend, under the District’s direction, or by a private expert approved by the District.
We appreciate your immediate attention to this matter so that children who wish to enroll in first grade this fall can benefit from an amended policy.
Thank you on behalf of all of our children.
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dave23
Citizen
Username: Dave23
Post Number: 205
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 1:23 pm: |
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tsd,
I can't make it, but I may be facing this issue in a couple of years. It would be great if you could post the results of the meeting.
Thanks. |
extuscan
Citizen
Username: Extuscan
Post Number: 455
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 7:13 pm: |
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tsd,
thats damn reasonable! best of luck!
--John |
dave23
Citizen
Username: Dave23
Post Number: 206
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 18, 2005 - 9:28 am: |
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tsd, it turns out that my wife or I may be able to attend. What time and where does the board meet? Thanks. |
tsd33
Citizen
Username: Tsd33
Post Number: 101
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 18, 2005 - 4:54 pm: |
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It is 7:30 on Monday night at Columbia HS in the library. Enter through the front entrance. |
tom connelly
Citizen
Username: Brightontom
Post Number: 3
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, March 19, 2005 - 1:14 pm: |
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I would think that a child who has successfully finished a state accredited kindergarten course could not be denied entry into 1st grade.
Seth-Boyden will be offered to the brightest. |
silkcity
Citizen
Username: Silkcity
Post Number: 306
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, March 19, 2005 - 5:15 pm: |
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I would add that you are willing to register each kid before the testing -- helps to ensure that the testing isn't done for another district's benefit or just for the heck of it. |
CageyD
Citizen
Username: Cageyd
Post Number: 248
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, March 20, 2005 - 8:31 am: |
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In light of the fact that there are many kids who are ready for school even if they are born after the cut off and there are also MANY kids who are not ready to begin school even if they are born before the cut off it would be nice if our district took the approach of Scotch Plains/Fanwood district. Before children enter the district in Kindergarten they are interviewed by teachers. Parents are then advised if their children are ready for school or not. All children are welcomed to enroll but the district is apparently very candid about telling parents "your kids isn't ready (socially, academically, etc) and should wait a year." It would ensure that kids who are ready can go and discourage those who aren't ready from entering the system and being behind from the get go. |
sk8mom
Citizen
Username: Sk8mom
Post Number: 119
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Monday, March 21, 2005 - 12:51 pm: |
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Tom -- since kindergarten is not required in NJ, there is really no such thing as a state-accredited kindergarten course, and a child need not have gone to kindergarten in order to get into first grade. By the same token, I would think that a child's performance in kindergarten would be relevant to whether they are "ready" for first grade. |
juju's petals
Citizen
Username: Jujus_petals
Post Number: 42
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Monday, March 21, 2005 - 7:43 pm: |
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Cageyd, I may be in the position you described. My child just makes the cutoff by a few weeks but her preschool teacher thinks she may not be socially ready for kindergarten yet. I spoke with the registrar in MSO and learned that the approach we plan to take will be acceptable.
Our child will go to a private kindergarten this fall, then, when she is "due" to start first grade the following Sept., we will decide whether she is ready to move on to first grade or perhaps enroll her in public kindergarten instead. Truth is, I think she will be ready for 1st grade -- she just needs a more attentive situation to help her through the socialization stuff. But, time will tell . . .
So, while not quite the detailed interviewing process you described, MSO does offer the option for you to essentially hold your child back prior to entering first grade if, I think, the child is near the cutoff and you and the kindergarten teacher think it is a good idea.
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bookgal
Citizen
Username: Bookgal
Post Number: 611
Registered: 7-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 21, 2005 - 8:15 pm: |
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tsd33, it is possible that this new "assessment" may have a lot to do with "managing enrollment" and adequately ensuring that there is sufficient kindergarten enrollment to justify budgetary decisions regarding staffing/class size. It might be worth looking in to this as a possible reason behind this policy. |
tsd33
Citizen
Username: Tsd33
Post Number: 102
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 - 6:45 am: |
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Thanks to everyone who showed up last night. We had a good turnout and great presentations to the board. We are not tremendously optmistic as the result was that the superintendent will review the policy this week and get back to us. It appears that they were not entirely clear on what the policy was in regards to who actually makes the decision on whether a child can advance to first grade, etc. Nonetheless, we will wait to hear the results and decide what to do next.
To answer some of the questions raised here:
Kindergarten is not mandatory in NJ so there is no such thing as a state accredited K. The district can deny enrollment based on the Oct. 1st cutoff to children entering K and 1st grade. However, we do know that the policy allows for exceptions based on evaluations that are conducted during the first few weeks of school by the kindergarten teacher in the kindergarten classroom during the 2 1/2 hours of class. It seems a bit problematic since children tend to be finding their way during the first few weeks of a new school and will probably not be fairly assessed.
The Oct. 1 date was instituted for several reasons. First, they wanted to be consistent with most other school districts in the state and also, they wanted to manage enrollment and make sure that the children were truly ready for first grade. In my opinion, they really did not spend time thinking about the exceptions that might be made or thinking about those children who would be coming out of situations like private kindergarten, etc. Those kids might be more than ready for first grade and the assessment policy does not have a suitable way to evaluate them. With all due respect to the BOE, the policy seems gratuitous and is meant to discourage advancement rather than trying to adequately place children where they belong. My son misses the cutoff by several weeks and will have been in daycare since infancy, preschool and full day K. I do not see how half day K is going to appropriate for him. It appears that my only option is going to be another year of full day K at the Y.
We are planning to go back to the board with some more detailed solutions if the super comes back without a proposal for change. |
juju's petals
Citizen
Username: Jujus_petals
Post Number: 43
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 - 8:15 am: |
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tsd33, thank you for bringing this issue to light and taking the constructive step toward resolution.
My oldest child was born Sept. 1. I still remember speaking with one of my aunts on the phone while holding my not yet one day old baby because Aunt Betsy made what I thought was the strangest congratulatory remark, "And she's just going to make the cutoff for kindergarten!"
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slipknot
Citizen
Username: Zotts
Post Number: 35
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 - 10:19 am: |
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Actually you can send your child to a private first grade and then transfer in second grade since there is no cut off after first. I also believe it is cheaper to go to St. Rose of Lima or St. Josephs than sending to the Y. |
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