GILROY
– The school board denied two of three requests for early
kindergarten enrollment that came before the board this month,
preferring that students enroll at the beginning of the year in
which they are eligible.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – The school board denied two of three requests for early kindergarten enrollment that came before the board this month, preferring that students enroll at the beginning of the year in which they are eligible.
“I feel it’s better to err on the side of keeping students out of (kindergarten) and in preschool,” School Board President Jim Rogers said.
Whenever a request to enroll early comes before the board, Rogers tags the item for discussion and a separate vote because he opposes early admission.
Districts must admit students into kindergarten if their fifth birthday is on or before Dec. 2 of the school year they wish to attend, but parents sometimes ask for early admission if their child’s birthday falls shortly after the cut-off date.
State education code allows the school board to admit younger students on a case-by-case basis as long as the admission is in the best interests of the child and the parent or guardian receives information about the advantages and disadvantages of early entrance.
Parents interested in enrolling their children early contact the district to request kindergarten assessments that measure English reading and writing skills as well as maturity levels.
“We tell them to try to imagine what it’ll be like later when the child is in middle school,” said Juanita Contin, director of student enrollment, “or later on, if the child is graduating from high school and going to college when they’re 17.”
Based on the tests, district officials may recommend that parents ask the board for early admission, or suggest that parents wait a year.
“In some cases, we have recommended that they not go to the board,” Contin said. “The state has these guidelines and the best interest of the child is mostly addressed by them.”
On Oct. 2, the board approved the admission of a student whose birthday is one day past the Dec. 2 cutoff.
The student, who received “average-level” scores, according to Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Jacki Horejs, was already enrolled in school as a result of an error made by enrollment staff at the school site.
Rogers cast the sole dissenting vote on the approval of the student’s early admission.
“I think that starting kids early in school is not in their best interest,” Rogers said.
Board members were concerned that the other two students were not yet in school. Students are not allowed to begin classes until the board approves their admission. The board voted against the admission of one student in a 4-3 vote. They agreed not to vote on the other.
David McRae, whose son had a birthday close to the cutoff, has voted in favor of every request, but mentions his own experience so parents know what they are getting into.
“What’s tended to happen is that … in the harder grades, as the workload increases, (my son has) tended to struggle the first half of the year and then matured into the grade level during the second half of the year,” McRae said. “Sometimes you don’t see the effects until later.”
