Posted by William Symons, a resident of the Waverly Park neighborhood, on Feb 4, 2013 at 9:12 am

I think Craig and the district are making a good choice here. Check out Wikipedia for Red Shirting for Interesting studies and facts.

Our 8 yr old 3rd grade (and currently very successful) son has an early Nov Birthday. We started him at Huff at 4, (on time, by the cut off standards of the time) only after discussions with the Huff principal, and (awesome) kinder teacher Mr E.. My son could have potentially been red shirted by 2 years. In many cases I dont think it is fair to red shirt kids just so they have a particular advantage above his/her peers, also maybe compromising any advantage of those who start on time. I think it is good to have the district (teachers and school staff) involved with this decision, making sure it is fair for the child and their peers, and that disparities in the class room are minimized.

Posted by whatever, a resident of the Whisman Station neighborhood, on Feb 11, 2013 at 8:11 pm

I am so glad you published this article because it has been really confusing what the district's policy is....there are so many rumors going around. I have several friends who have been told opposite things by their schools. I think that people with kids who are ELIGIBLE for kindergarten next year HAVE to be registered for kindergarten for next year or they could get put into first grade with no kindergarten. I think that is what it is, but I have never seen an announcement. I tried calling the district office but didn't really get a clear answer. I wish it was clearer what the policy is. It would be great to publish this as an announcement in the Voice, if it hasn't been done already.