Move to NJA
Jun 27th 2007, 5:32 am
#31
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 88,104
Re: Move to NJA
Did you find that your children fitted in O.K with the relevant school year in the U.S. As they start their children older I wondered if British children would be too "advanced" for their appropriate year in the U.S. How do they cater for clever children over there?
Jun 27th 2007, 5:44 am
#32
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Joined: Oct 2004
Location: Stepford
Posts: 3,098
Re: Move to NJA
Did you find that your children fitted in O.K with the relevant school year in the U.S. As they start their children older I wondered if British children would be too "advanced" for their appropriate year in the U.S. How do they cater for clever children over there?
Some subjects are totally different.....American history. The children here have done it since kindergarten/1st grade my children had never done it. There was a lot of catching up to do.
It took about 6 months for them all to get to grips with the system.
We are lucky because we live in a very good school district. I can only speak of my personal experience with schools here. We have the IB programme from kindergarten throught to 12th grade and in the high school we also have honours and AP classes.
I thought my girls were bright but they met their match here.
PS They also had to do English as a foreign language here, which enraged me at first but actually was very useful for them because it taught them a lot of stuff about just living here.
Jun 27th 2007, 6:02 am
#33
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Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 78
Re: Move to NJA
Our children were behind in Maths when we came here. Because things are taught in a different way they struggled at first (and one of my daughters was classed as gifted and talented in the UK).
Some subjects are totally different.....American history. The children here have done it since kindergarten/1st grade my children had never done it. There was a lot of catching up to do.
It took about 6 months for them all to get to grips with the system.
We are lucky because we live in a very good school district. I can only speak of my personal experience with schools here. We have the IB programme from kindergarten throught to 12th grade and in the high school we also have honours and AP classes.
I thought my girls were bright but they met their match here.
PS They also had to do English as a foreign language here, which enraged me at first but actually was very useful for them because it taught them a lot of stuff about just living here.
Some subjects are totally different.....American history. The children here have done it since kindergarten/1st grade my children had never done it. There was a lot of catching up to do.
It took about 6 months for them all to get to grips with the system.
We are lucky because we live in a very good school district. I can only speak of my personal experience with schools here. We have the IB programme from kindergarten throught to 12th grade and in the high school we also have honours and AP classes.
I thought my girls were bright but they met their match here.
PS They also had to do English as a foreign language here, which enraged me at first but actually was very useful for them because it taught them a lot of stuff about just living here.
Jun 27th 2007, 6:28 am
#35
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Joined: Aug 2003
Location: NJ
Posts: 1,272
Re: Move to NJA
My 5 year old was put straight into 1st grade and skipped kindergarten. I had a long chat with my son's principal and we decided it would be best socially for my 11 year old to be with children of his own age. He struggled at first dealing with inches, feet and yards, american geography and history but he soon caught up. If we were still in England he would be leaving high school this year but he has another two years to go here.
NJ has some of the best public schools in the US, the downside of that being the property taxes are the highest in the US.
NJ has some of the best public schools in the US, the downside of that being the property taxes are the highest in the US.
Jun 27th 2007, 6:32 am
#36
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Location: Hong Kong, mostly.
Posts: 5,214
Re: Move to NJA
When you have found your house and know which school you will be attending, arrange for a meeting with the principal and/or school counselor and go over the curriculum with a fine tooth comb and your kid's transcripts from back home. Generally, they'll be willing to work with you and find what's best for your child.
Jun 27th 2007, 6:44 am
#38
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Re: Move to NJA
The schools are going to look at this (social and emotional issues) as much as academic, maybe even more so. They don't want to put someone in a grade and have them a older / younger taller / shorter/ more/less mature then the other kids in their class.
When you have found your house and know which school you will be attending, arrange for a meeting with the principal and/or school counselor and go over the curriculum with a fine tooth comb and your kid's transcripts from back home. Generally, they'll be willing to work with you and find what's best for your child.
When you have found your house and know which school you will be attending, arrange for a meeting with the principal and/or school counselor and go over the curriculum with a fine tooth comb and your kid's transcripts from back home. Generally, they'll be willing to work with you and find what's best for your child.
Many counsellors are very young and/or inexperienced, and it's worth trying to get your kids allocated to one of the senior ones.
Jun 27th 2007, 7:09 am
#40
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Jun 27th 2007, 7:22 am
#41
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