Question regarding Jr. K admission for Jan born

[cicuser]

Hi members,

I have a question regarding elementary schooling in Ontario. My kids are 3 years and a few days apart but their birthdays fall on the opposite sides of the school cutoff date of 31st Dec. Based on their age, I want to keep them 3 grades apart but so far it seems that it may not be possible in the public school system. In particular, my son will turn 4 in the first week of January 2021 and hence my school board is unwilling to consider him for admission into Jr. Kindergarten this fall. I wanted to check with people familiar with schooling in the region regarding if there is any avenue that I can pursue in order to ensure that my son gets admitted into Jr. Kindergarten this fall.

Thanks in advance.

 

[canuck78]

Hi members,

I have a question regarding elementary schooling in Ontario. My kids are 3 years and a few days apart but their birthdays fall on the opposite sides of the school cutoff date of 31st Dec. Based on their age, I want to keep them 3 grades apart but so far it seems that it may not be possible in the public school system. In particular, my son will turn 4 in the first week of January 2021 and hence my school board is unwilling to consider him for admission into Jr. Kindergarten this fall. I wanted to check with people familiar with schooling in the region regarding if there is any avenue that I can pursue in order to ensure that my son gets admitted into Jr. Kindergarten this fall.

Thanks in advance.

Do you have an actual reason why your children need to be 3 years apart? Has the child that you want to delay registration for shown signs that he is delayed socially or academically, is not able to keep up with his/her peers or is immature for his/her age?

 

[cicuser]

Let me clarify- We are not delaying registration, rather its the opposite. Our son is just few days shy of making to the cut off for Jr Kindergarten (DOB criteria is Dec 31 2016 and our son is Jan 2017 born) and will have to wait another year to get admitted. We are looking to see if any of the members in this forum have any insights on this.

 

[canuck78]

Let me clarify- We are not delaying registration, rather its the opposite. Our son is just few days shy of making to the cut off for Jr Kindergarten (DOB criteria is Dec 31 2016 and our son is Jan 2017 born) and will have to wait another year to get admitted. We are looking to see if any of the members in this forum have any insights on this.

Is there a good reason that the child can't join the correct grade based on his age group? No you are not going to let him register for kindergarten early.

Not sure why you would want ro registwr early. Studies have actual shownthe oldest children in a class tend to do better especially in the younger years. This tends to even out in middle to high school. If anything Canada sometimes allows the youngest in the class to delay kindergarten to ensure that they a ready.

 

[cicuser]

We understand and have considered that aspect. Thanks for your inputs. But, we are still looking for some more information around this to make an informed decision.

 

[canuck78]

We understand and have considered that aspect. Thanks for your inputs. But, we are still looking for some more information around this to make an informed decision.

Information about what? There are age requirements in place that aren’t up negotiation unless there is proof that a child isn’t ready for school and that is still rare. If you want to attend public school you will need to follow the age registration guidelines. These aren’t negotiable especially as a new student. Private schools may be more flexible but most won’t. Paying for private schooling longterm is a large cost to pay if you can find a school willing to register your child early.

 

[scylla]

Hi members,

I have a question regarding elementary schooling in Ontario. My kids are 3 years and a few days apart but their birthdays fall on the opposite sides of the school cutoff date of 31st Dec. Based on their age, I want to keep them 3 grades apart but so far it seems that it may not be possible in the public school system. In particular, my son will turn 4 in the first week of January 2021 and hence my school board is unwilling to consider him for admission into Jr. Kindergarten this fall. I wanted to check with people familiar with schooling in the region regarding if there is any avenue that I can pursue in order to ensure that my son gets admitted into Jr. Kindergarten this fall.

Thanks in advance.

To the best of my knowledge, the Dec 31st rule is a hard cut off and exceptions aren't granted for public schools. I don't believe there are any avenues for you to pursue to change this.

I believe private school would be your only option if you want to try to get your child into JK a year early.

 

[cicuser]

To the best of my knowledge, the Dec 31st rule is a hard cut off and exceptions aren't granted for public schools. I don't believe there are any avenues for you to pursue to change this.

I believe private school would be your only option if you want to try to get your child into JK a year early.

Thank you for the reply. This is the exact situation that we are faced with.

I have a subsequent question: Suppose I register my child in a private school for Jr.K this fall (a year earlier than when public schools would accept him). In that case, if later (say in 2 years time when he would be looking to go to grade 1 in the private school) I try to move him into the public schooling system, would they take him in grade 1 or ask him to repeat Sr.K again?

 

[scylla]

Thank you for the reply. This is the exact situation that we are faced with.

I have a subsequent question: Suppose I register my child in a private school for Jr.K this fall (a year earlier than when public schools would accept him). In that case, if later (say in 2 years time when he would be looking to go to grade 1 in the private school) I try to move him into the public schooling system, would they take him in grade 1 or ask him to repeat Sr.K again?

To the best of my knowledge they should take him as a grade 1 student. But I don't know that for certain.

 

[canuck78]

Not necessarily. Especially in earlier grades because it‘s not a big deal if kids do 2 years of kindergarten. Schools have created these rules based on studies of what is best for children and their development so they tend to be pretty firm. They also have lots of parents who are trying to start their children earlier which is another reason they are firm and say no to everyone. If they say yes to one parent they’ll need to say yes to others.