Andyoxon

We are starting our new life in California on the 27th Dec,flights booked,visa’s in passports. Now we are looking for a rental property in Los Altos then get our Daughter into School at present she is in year one and reads and writes well for her age, will it be possible for her to go up a year when she starts I know this will make her the youngest in the year but she is one of the oldest in her present year, we don’t want her to have to redo what she learnt already. Her existing teacher said she would be very bored loose all interest if she had to go back and start again, she loves School and needs to be challenged.

The other issue we have the moment is the inoculations that all US children need to start school, they are different to what she has had in the U.K. the main issue is the Hep B which she hasn’t had we can get her the first course but it takes 18 months to have the full dose. I would like to think they will be happy if she has had the first vaccination and we confirm we are going to get the rest done at the appropriate time. Has anyone else had experience of this. There are also a few other vaccinations that she need that she hasn’t had. She is fully up to date for the U.K.

Also regarding rental properties do you find that the Zillow listings are accurate or are properties quite often let and the advert left on Zillow.

Looking forward to our new adventure

petitefrancaise

Hi Andyoxon, welcome to BE!

here are the state vaccination requirements for CA. She should be up to date with these before starting. If you've had the first dose of Hep B, then that's fine for starting school.
http://eziz.org/assets/docs/IMM-231.pdf

From experience of moving a young child, I would leave her with her age cohort. Whilst I have no personal experience of CA schools, you are moving to one of the best, most expensive school districts in the country and I would suspect local schools have some very bright kids in them.

Zillow is definitely unreliable here in Austin. Contact a few realtors and see what they say.

Ecto17

Welcome.
I have a 6 year old and moved to NJ in the summer, so hopefully some of what we had to do might be of use!
Firstly you said that you little one was old for their year, which month is their birthday? Here the academic year runs from Oct - end of Sept (at least in NJ it does), hopefully that changes things?
If not then your child will be due to go into kindergarten l think.
There are a lot of enrichment programmes run by schools and preschools, some additional classes might be worth considering to help challenge them. My little one has been doing a couple this term and has got a lot from them.
With the shots, we had no real issues. They were happy to accept my word that he had had chicken pox and he had the first Hep shot and was good to start school, and we have to follow up with the boosters. Your child will need a medical before starting school so once you are set, that would be something l would look into quickly.
To start our search l looked at google and looked for towns that had walkable downtowns. I then used realtor.com to look at the nature and prices of the properties in those towns. Almost every property had the details of which school was assigned to that address and what rating it had from good schools, 1-10. Visiting first was hugely useful to us, it allowed us to concentrate on our favorite towns with our preferred schools.
Hope this helps.

Pulaski

The "in the US, school only starts at age 5" is somewhat a myth as many children are enrolled in preschool for at least a year before that, and are learning a lot of the basics. My daughter was in a daycare from the age of two, which was very much a school-like facility. Obviously she wasn't learning much at age two, but every couple of months her daily routine shifted a little until by age four it was almost indistinguishable from an entry level school class (USA= "kindergarten"). So by the time sheet at age five she was already learning to read and write, could count and knew her alphabet.
NJ seems to be a little off compared to many US states, and I think a Sept 1 cut-off is more usual, or maybe even earlier than that.

Ecto17

That is a shame for the OP. I wasn't sure if it was national or just local to here. Either way worth asking in the area just in case.

Andyoxon

Thanks for the info feel better about the vaccinations now. still not happy with having her starting kindergarten as she has been learning in pre school since she was 3 and will have done a whole year and 4 months of proper school so her reading at her private School is already ahead of U.K. state school by at least a year, she reads better than several 7 year olds we know. She is born in Dec so will be 6 in 3 weeks.

Didn’t know she need a medical before attending School does this need to be carried out in the States or can our GP carry it out before we arrive also what is the format of the medical?

Thanks again

Pulaski

Sounds exactly like my daughter - who was also learning in pre-school at 3. ..... If you are concerned, and she is already in a private school, why aren't you considering a private school for her in the US? Concerns like yours are among several reasons why my daughter is in a private school.

N1cky

We’re in the Mountain View/Los Altos school district, one of my daughters closest friends is a year younger, so the school district have definitely done it in the past.

Take a look at Bullis Charter School, that may be a good choice for you. She can probably be in the right age year, but be doing more advanced work there. (Charter schools are free).

For the area, I’ve found the houses that have been listed in the last 2-3 days are accurate, but they don’t remove them once let. So pretty much ignore everything more than a week old.

Have everything in place when you look at a rental, have your application form, references, and proof of income ready. Houses go very very quickly, and you’ll miss out if you take a few hours to gather this information.

Andyoxon

pulaski have you seen the rental prices in the Bay Area, private school isn’t an option.

N1cky thanks for the response very helpful

Thanks again everyone

S Folinsky

On the issue of vaccination, the anti-vaxxers are quite prevelent in CA, particularly in wealthier school districts. Legislation came into effect at the beginning of this year pretty much eliminating the personal belief exemption. However, it is possible to locate doctors who will give a medical exemption letters. The Medical Board of California is looking into this.

If you are concerned about herd immunity, it might be a good idea to check the percentage of exemptions in a particular school or district.

Again, this phenomenon is prevelent in the wealthier districts.

Pulaski

Yes, which is why I turned down flat, even an initial interview for a job in SF several years ago.

Andyoxon

Probably a wise decision, but i’m Hoping our new life whilst possibly poorer will be sunny and warmer

N1cky

No worries. Just ask if you have any questions, happy to answer anything...

petitefrancaise

So long as the OP's child has her own immunizations up to date, there is nothing for them to worry about. I wouldn't bother looking up any of the stats on it.

Bomjeito

Don't get your expectations or hopes up to skip a year and advance. I realize every school district is different as is every state, however the trend in the USA is to delay more than advance, and public school districts do tend to stick to the age requirement, and I see California's is state-wide for starting the grade of their cohort is 5 on or before Sept 1.

I have October babies and even though they will have a year of P1 (Scotland's first year of school) under their belt when we return to Texas in Spring 2018, it doesn't matter. Every school I've spoken to in Houston area will place them in Kindergarten for August 2018. P1 (or first year) is recognized as preschool. The British School near Houston preferred to meet us first prior to deciding; but that is private. The other private schools in Houston, including another British one, has outright refused to bend the policy along with the public schools. No discussion.

I completely realize that SFUSD may be flexible. Just don't get your hopes up. Staying within a child's age always evens out in the end. Perhaps ask a few folks on City-Data for that specific district or school flexibility?