California adopts statewide Pre-K requirement.

(EdSource) – School districts around the state are gearing up to offer an additional year of “preppy kindergarten,” a term that could become an integral part of the California education lexicon.

It’s not a special class for five-year-olds in plaid pants. It’s the name for the “preparatory” or “transitional” kindergarten classes that all school districts in California will be required to offer next year in advance of regular kindergarten for younger students who only turn five between September and December.

Taught by credentialed teachers, it will mark the first time that a new grade has been introduced into California schools since 1891. That was when regular kindergarten was introduced into the Golden State.


http://www.edsource.org/extra/2011/california-gears-up-for-extra-year-of-kindergarten/1403

Had to wait a whole year to go to Kindergarten. I think they should actually test them to see when they are ready to go. I have seen 6 yr olds who were too immature, and I have also seen 4 yr olds who are MORE than ready :)

In recent years, some little ones have been in "school" since they were out of diapers..and most are more than up to the challenge of kindergarten:)

grade used to be, that is, unfortunately, what is needed for a lot of kids.

I have a friend who is an aide in a kindergarten classroom, and this year, she tells me, most of the kids in the class do not yet know the alphabet and have difficulty counting as far as ten. At least part of the problem is that none of the kids this year (unlike even last year's kindergarteners) have ever been in pre-k. They also don't seem to have anyone who reads to them, of does the kinds of things that either occur in pre-k, or other parents are inclined to do.

The age for entering school as gone up almost a year in most states from when I started, and it's quite popular for parents to red-shirt kids, especially their sons, and hold them back a year so they'll be older. And it's not just done by those whose children are real close to the cut-off, but even by ones who are well within the date by which they should have turned five.

One real problem, in my opinion, is that no matter what the cut-off date is, and even if everyone rigidly adheres to it, the youngest child in the class will be 364 or 365 days younger than the oldest kid. At the age of four or five or six that can be a very large gap. I've long thought that there should be two times to start school, and allowance for holding back, or maybe even starting early if the child can show real readiness to begin.

The public school I attended in elementary years, seemed to group kids by birthdates up to about fourth or fifth grade. At that point they could start grouping us more by ability, and that worked out real well.

My son was born in February, so he missed the cutoff date by six months. However, he knows the alphabet, shapes and colors and can count to 100. There are several like him and then there is group that is far behind. Our neighbor's kis is around his age, also went to pre-k but she can only manage to count to 10.

at early ages. Your son would not have magically learned those things. I'm sure you read to him, worked on learning the alphabet and so on. The neighbor's kid may have gone to a crappy pre-k, maybe her parents don't interact as much with her, or maybe she's developing in other areas, or maybe she's just not quite ready.

My older son was slow at learning to read, didn't really master it until half way through second grade. Meanwhile, he was light-years ahead of the other kids in his classes in basic math. Just another example of the differences.

just turned 5 and are not ready for kindergarten. I am assuming that is what the post is about. One is very close to ready and the other needs help with speech problems. We are excited that they will get to start kindergarten together next year. I think it is a good idea to accept that children who are early fives may need some help.

I'd rather my tax dollars go into education than prisons, but last I saw we were in a bit of a financial bind.