Cuttoff Date to Attend Kindergarten

choi

本文通过一路BBS站telnet客户端发布

Winnie Hu, Too Young for Kindergarten? Tide Turning Against 4-Year-Olds; Connecticut, a holdout, considers changing its age rule. New York Times, May 28, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/28/education/28kindergarten.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=tide%20kindergarden&st=cse
("Connecticut, one of the last states to allow 4-year-olds to enter kindergarten, is considering changing its rules so that children would have to be 5 by Oct. 1, not Jan. 1")

My comment:
(a) Winnie is the pet form of Winifred (wynn joy + frid/fred peace)
(b) The online but not print versiojn has a graphic: "The Youngest Kindergartners[;] Connecticut is considering restricting kindergarten entry to children who turn 5 by Oct. 1, three months earlier than the current cutoff date. Many states have moved up their cutoff dates since the mid-1970s."

Absent in the table is Massachusetts, where I live.

(i) Kindergarten Entry Age. Office of Elementary School Services, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, undated.
http://www.doe.mass.edu/ess/kindergarten.aspx
(an overwhlming majority of school districts, including Boston, has cutoff date of "Age 5 as of August 31 or September 1"; the exceptions are October 1 (6 districts), October 30 (1 charter district), and December 31 (8 districts and 2 charter districts))

(ii) Frequently Asked Questions. Boston Public School (BPS), undated.
http://www.bostonpublicschools.org/frequently-asked-questions

* Q: "Is my five-year-old child guaranteed a seat in a Boston Public Schools kindergarten program?
A: "Yes. BPS guarantees a full-day kindergarten seat for every child who will be five years old by September 1. * * *

* Q: "How many pre-kindergarten seats are available for 3- and 4-year-old students?
A: "The district is expanding the number of “K1” classrooms for students who will be four years old by September 1. The district now offers more than 2,400 K1 seats for four-year-olds.

"Although the BPS guarantees a full-day kindergarten seat for every 5-year-old, there is no guarantee for 4-year-olds. Seats for 3-year-old students in “K0” classrooms also are limited, and not every child who applies in the first round will receive an assignment.

* Q: "My child already completed K2 outside of BPS but will not be 6 years old by September 1.  May I apply for a Grade 1 seat?
A; "No. We are sorry but there are no waivers or exceptions to these age requirements, regardless of your child's previous school experience.

(iii) In BPS, for 4-years-old to enter K1 and 3-years-old to enter K0 (see (2) above), they are selected by lottery. Naturally they can always go to a private school, with higher tuition and fee.

Stephanie Ebbert, Split Decisions on School Lottery; Parents shut out of Boston pre-K classes despair, while others rejoice in top picks. Boston Globe, Apr 22, 2011
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2011/04/22/parents_shut_out_of_boston_pre_k_classes_despair_while_others_rejoice_in_top_picks/
("While all 5-year-olds who apply [in BPS] win a seat, if not necessarily at the school of their choice, the 4-year-olds each spring must compete for a growing but limited number of openings. Policy makers have long argued that early education is the best time to invest in children to prevent later difficulties; gains are particularly significant for disadvantaged children. But who gets into the prekindergarten, or K-1, classes is based on luck, not need.")

There is no need to read the rest of the report.


--