My child’s birthday just misses the September 1 cut off and he/she seems ready to go to Kindergarten. How can I get him/her in Kindergarten a year early?
This is a situation that some parents are faced with when their child has a fall birthday and the child has average to above average school readiness skills. Although this can be an exciting yet difficult situation to work through, when families and school personnel work together decisions can be made that will put the child in position to have a successful Kindergarten through graduation experience.
Make sure the request for early entry to Kindergarten is for the right reason.
Sometimes requests are made because: neighborhood playmates and friends are going to Kindergarten and the child does not want to be left behind; or, the preschooler is socially delayed and needs to be around other children; or, because of concern that the child will be bored or not challenged if he/she enrolls with the age group they are supposed to; or, because it is a family convenience for the child to attend. These are generally not the best educational reasons for seeking an early entry to Kindergarten. However, if an effective pre-school teacher suggests that looking into a potential early entry would be a good idea, or if you (as a parent) believe that your child’s school readiness skills are exceptional (generally defined as being in the 97th percentile – or functioning better than 97 out of 100 children in the same age group) - - then it would be appropriate to seek an early entry.
The areas that are considered when deciding whether a child is an appropriate early entry candidate include:
- Mental maturity
- Language use
- Social-emotional skills
- Physical maturity.
Children who are recommended for early entry to Kindergarten need to have exceptional skill levels. Children that are considered and evaluated for early entry are usually strong in their skill levels, yet not at the very high level that the Board policy requires for admission early. Please see Waunakee Community School District Board of Education Policy 421 for more information regarding the areas evaluated as well as the criteria used.
What is the process for pursuing an early entry to Kindergarten?
- Although not always, often the parent contacts someone they already know at school (principal, counselor, psychologist, teacher) to express interest in the early entry and get their opinion as to whether they should pursue the early entry. Sometimes this is done at the exit interview of the annual Early Learner Screening process that is held in January or February.
- The parent needs to contact the administrator designated to oversee the early entry process for the district. This is usually a phone interview in which the parent shares information regarding why the child should be considered and the administration will ask questions regarding the child’s current skill levels. The administration will also share Board of Education policy and criteria for early entry.
- No later than June 1st, and after the parent has talked with the designated administrator and after reviewing the Board policy, if the parent wants to continue to pursue the early entry, he/she writes a letter to district administrator outlining why the child should be considered (identify specifics e.g., can identify all letters of the alphabet, write 20 of 24 letters of the alphabet, read the words….it, the, etc., can write his/her name, or can do basic addition with single digit numbers….or, articulates well and has used vocabulary words such as “I think that movie was exceptional”….or, identifies needs and wants of other people and tries to interact appropriate based on the identification, etc.)
- A school psychologist will perform a comprehensive evaluation of readiness, language, social-emotional skills. This evaluation is usually completed in June or July.
- Evaluation results will be communicated to parents.
- The district early entry placement committee meets in July, or earlier.
- Placement results will be communicated to parents.
- If an early entry is appropriate, the administration will make the recommendation to the Board of Education, which will take action to either approve or deny the request at the August Board meeting.
A cautionary note to parents during the process of the evaluation: It’s important that the communication from the parent to the child during the process to be “let’s see what you can do – you may or may not go to Kindergarten next year. We want to make sure that you have a great Kindergarten year whether it is next year or the following year!” rather than “You are so bright, I’m sure you’ll go to Kindergarten next year”. If the child is given the message they will go, yet don’t meet the very strict criteria, he/she may feel inferior when in fact they likely have average to above average skill levels.
Even if a child does not meet the criteria for early entry, it does not mean that he/she will not have a successful school experience once he/she enrolls with the age group that the state law and Board policy requires them to enroll with. On the other hand, it is important to remember that if a child is accepted as an early entrant, he/she will be 4 years old when they start Kindergarten, and they will only be 17 when they graduate from high school. This is sometimes overlooked when the child is four if he/she enters Kindergarten early.
For more information contact: Tiffany Loken, Director of Special Education
