Private School Waitlist (Atlanta, Buckhead: fit in, transfer, neighborhood)

[Madeleine Faye]

Thank you for this. What do parents of boys with summer birthdays usually do (at private and at public schools)? I would be happy for my son to repeat kindergarten, as he will have so much to learn about the American education system, as well as his new environment, in addition to his schoolwork. Is that a good enough reason to give a school for the request, however?

[Gddyupn]

My son has a summer birthday and was admitted to a private Kindergarten when he was 5 (turning 6 that summer), so I'm not positive that is always true. He was actually accepted to 2 different schools.

Madeleine, did you apply with Atlanta International School, they can be more flexible with admission deadlines for those recently arriving in America from abroad.

[Madeleine Faye]

That's interesting, Gddyupon. It sounds like your son was admitted in the same position, though - admitted to kindergarten at age 5, turning 6 that summer. So your son entered kindergarten at age 6, and would turn 7 in the summer just after the kindergarten year finished. So he would enter First Grade aged 7, and turn 8 the following summer, and so on, until he graduates from high school aged 18 (turning 19 the summer before he goes to college). Is that right? I can see the advantages, in terms of your child being one of the oldest children in his class. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like we're in the same position, and that maybe we should try to do the same thing. Maybe I've made a mistake by trying to have my son enter First Grade this year.

Sorry, Cobbguy, I don't mean to turn this thread about the waitlist into a discussion of my particular situation. Has anyone else heard any news from a waitlisting school yet? Will the schools tell you when the waitlist is 'closed'?

[lastminutemom]

This is a very controversial issue.

Most Atlanta big-named private schools except almost no children with summer birthdays, who have not been held back. (girls or boys.)

I think the Children's School, when Giddyup's child went, is kinder and gentler than the big name schools.

At many of the top public schools, you will find that many of the boys with summer birthdays are being held back and starting kindergarten after they are already 6.


A note about renting to you, and you may already know this, so forgive me. In Atlanta, there are many areas where the rents are affordable and the home prices are not. So you may want to look at the home prices in the areas you are considering, actually look at the home prices and the home that you could afford and make sure they are satisfactory. (You can easily do this on the internet). If you can avoid another school change, you may want to do this.

[Madeleine Faye]

Thank you, lastminute Mom. It's a relief to hear from you that the public schools will also hold summer-birthday children back a year, if that is what the parents request and that is what all of the private schools are doing.

Otherwise, parents of children with summer birthdays are at an enormous disadvantage in both the private and the public school systems.

Parents of school-age children with summer birthdays who are thinking of moving to Atlanta, take note! You might be happier moving to a city that discriminates against children born in the winter.

[CMMom]

My little guy with a May, 2005 b-day (about to turn 6) is in Kindergarten in one of the "Buckhead" private schools. They didn't even mention holding him back, but there are kids in the class who have already turned 7.

[RainyRainyDay]

Originally Posted by Madeleine Faye

Thank you, lastminute Mom. It's a relief to hear from you that the public schools will also hold summer-birthday children back a year, if that is what the parents request and that is what all of the private schools are doing.

Madeleine, even if many summer-birthday boys are being held back before starting public school, it's certainly not all. I hope parents consider their individual child when making this decision.

My high school junior has a classmate who is a boy with a late summer birthday and thereby one of the very youngest in the class. He's a top academic student, outstandingly artistically accomplished, and despite his relative youth has been one of the tallest in the class all along. (He has tall parents). There's no one rule that fits every child.

[lastminutemom]

Actually, since you were applying for first grade, the odds were totally stacked against you. The only spaces would be because students left, there is not generally an expansion of class size in first grade.

I hope that some of the admission folks had warned you about that.

[Madeleine Faye]

Thank you, lastminutemom, for giving such honest and useful information. I was aware of this, but was encouraged to apply for first grade anyway. (My son did very well on the JATP test, and 'enjoyed' his other tests and interviews. His current teacher wrote him great recommendations.)

Could I ask what you would do in my position? I feel at a loss now, as my son's been so happy at his current private school, and I want him to feel happy about moving to Atlanta. He is - naturally - wondering where he is going to go to school, having been through an extremely demanding admissions 'season' that has resulted being told that he's 'good enough to go to' the schools he applied to, but there 'are no places available.'

Would you try to put your son in a good public school in kindergarten or first grade and keep him there (until the next 'expansion year')?
Would you try to put your son in a good public school in kindergarten or first grade and reapply to private schools next year?
Would you home-school your child, to suit his particular learning needs (American presidents, etc.) in the hopes of reapplying to private schools next year?
Would you employ an 'education consultant' to guide you through this whole process? Now or next year?

Would you still have any hope of getting off the waiting list and into your favourite private school this year, or would that be a false hope?

I realize that there is no one right answer for all families, but there are clearly lots of things about this process that I should have known before I entered 'the admissions season'. My son had no trouble getting into a brilliant school here - I had no idea it would be so different in Atlanta.

[RainyRainyDay]

Originally Posted by Madeleine Faye

Would you home-school your child, to suit his particular learning needs (American presidents, etc.) in the hopes of reapplying to private schools next year?

Madeleine, as a parent who uses public schools I have nothing to contribute in response to most of your questions, but I hope lastminutemom will. (Her advice always appears knowledgeable and wise, to me).

However, I have something to offer about the part bolded above, since we moved to Atlanta from Canada the summer before my child (now in high school) entered 3rd grade. She had been in a French immersion programme in a Canadian public school and had not been taught any reading or writing in English at school. Since English was her first language, she had picked up reading in English fairly well, outside of school, as is typical of immersion students. However she had really no idea of English spelling and needless to say, didn't know anything about American presidents, the Pledge of Allegiance, etc. She was a bright child and luckily had a really excellent 3rd grade teacher at our local suburban public school. By Christmas she was doing very well at school, academically.

Based on my child's experience, I suggest you probably do not need to be too concerned about special learning needs related to US culture and history. I predict that if you can find a school you are happy with (and I wish you the very best with your quest), your son will familiarize with US norms without much difficulty.