Elementary school cutoff dates in NOVA (Reston, Fairfax: credit, transfer, school districts)

[ngoodman]

I've got job offer in NOVA Tysons/Reston. I have kid whose b'day is in october last week. Somebody told me that elementary school cut off date in virginia is Sep 30. Is this true? If yes, what are my options? do i need to send him to the private school for the first year? will he be able to go to public schools from the next year?

Please let me know what options i have regarding to his schooling. I really dont want to send him to private schools unless public schools are very bad in virginia.

Thanks,
Nick

[VRE332]

you can always try calling one of the elementary schools in the area, and they can refer you to the district offices for questions like that

[tamitrail]

I don't know if it's true in all school districts, but yes, it's true in mine. How old is your child? The cut off date doesn't mean he can't go to school. It means if he is not 5 by September 30, he cannot attend Kindergarten until the next year. I don't know if the district your child will be going to has exceptions, mine doesn't.

Is already in a higher grade, he will be able to attend the school when you move in, no matter what the date.

If you decide to send him to private school earlier than he is supposed to be, I'm not sure what private schools policies are. Further...you would have to look into if the public school system would accept him at the grade level he would be at if he was younger than he is supposed to be. Someone who is in your school district would be better at answering that part.

I'm sure there is a website you can go to get the facts and maybe call them to get answers directly from the school district no matter what advice you get here.

[tamitrail]

Is Fairfax County the district you will be in? It looks like Fairfax County has an early childhood program:

Fairfax County Public Schools - Starting School for New Students

[ngoodman]

Not sure where i would be living in thinking about Reston, Ashburn area since it looks like that area has good schools.

my kid will be turning 5 next october (2009 october). that means he cannot attend the school in 2009? can he go to private school in 2009 and go to public school from 2010?

[tamitrail]

Ashburn is in Loudoun County so that would be a different school system. Like I said, you would have to call the schools you are interested in directly to see what their policy is. Again, if the district sticks to their cutoff, as mine does, I'm not sure what happens if he goes to a private school a year earlier than he's supposed to. I would advise you to figure out where you want to live and call the districts involved to get your answers.

[Nancy in Nokomis]

In Fairfax County they do not make exceptions. You have to be 5 by a certain date. My son missed it so he was still in preschool for another year. There are tons of preschools around here.
When I found out he did not make the cut-off I inquired around at private schools and they would not take him before that date either - there might be some out there that will take him - but most will not.

[stax]

Yes, the cutoff date is pretty much Sep 30. all around, here is what I found at my son's school website:

By state law, students who will be five (5) on or before September 30 are eligible to enroll.Children whose fifth birthday falls after September 30 are not eligible to begin school as four-year-olds.A child with an October 1 or later birthday cannot be considered for enrollment. This includes students who transfer from other school districts after the start of the school year.Compulsory attendance for five year old children may be satisfied by attendance at any public or private pre-kindergarten program, including Head Start programs.

A child whose sixth birthday falls between October 1 and December 31 and who was enrolled in and has successfully completed a kindergarten program in a public school system or in a non-public school recognized as participating in the accreditation program under the auspices of the Virginia Council for Private Education, may be placed in the first grade without a trial placement in Loudoun County Public Schools kindergarten. To see a list of schools accredited by the Virginia Council of Private Education, go to Virginia Council for Private Education.

[JfromReston]

I don't have young children, but more and more I'm hearing about parents delaying sending their children to school. Making the classes older and older. I have a nephew (at a private school in MD) who is the youngest in his grade with a November birthday and the oldest in his class is 18 months older than he is. I also have a niece (in RI) and nephew (in NJ) who both turned 5 this past August and neither are going to school yet. Is anyone else seeing this trend? To the original poster you may want to consider this before trying to send your young one to school.

[ngoodman]

hmmm...thx for the responses. As far as my job, i have an option to choose between NOVA and southern california. But i'm more inetersted in NOVA since its less expensive than southern california housing and living expenses. But california elementary school cutoff date is december 1st. so it is good for my son since he'll not be losing one year. But really wanna move to NOVA if it doesnt waste his one year.