GrantGill

Hi,
We are moving to the US (Fairfield, Connecticut) this summer after the UK school year ends and in time for the new school year to start in the US.

Does anyone know what year / grade my kids (2 boys) should be going into (they are in government schools in the UK and will also be in a government school in the US). Kids details:

Child 1) Born 26 October 2007 - Will be 6 when the school year starts in August (2 months before his 7th birthday). Finishing Year 1 in the UK and would be starting Year 2.

Child 2) Born 13 July 2009 - Will just have turned 5 when the school year starts in August. Finishing Reception in the UK and would be starting Year 1.

Any help from someone who has been through this before would be great.

Thanks in advance,
Grant

King Gimp

1) Probably 2nd grade

2) Probably K / Kindergarten

Whereabouts are you going to be in Fairfield? I'm a few miles down post road from there..

http://fairfieldschools.org/default.htm

You may want to get in touch and discover any medical requirements/assessments needed.

Enjoy

MsElui

1) could be 1 or 2 (my kiddo born Nov 2006 is finishing grade 1 this month- when he started 1st grade he was 3 months before his 7th birthday). You could argue for 2nd based on uk history but unless they were especially confident they may find a new school, new school system, new home etc may make for a hard year. They would also be one of the youngest in grade 2 but one of the oldest in grade 1 - so depends on what would suit that child's personality/confidence/ability level best.

2) my kiddo who is a Jan 2009 baby - is starting Kindergarten in Aug. If your child is very 'mature' for their age or doing especially well academically they may find KG to slow (you could ask if they could go into 1st but they may require some testing to get there) . Otherwise they will probably have a great K year reinforcing everything they learnt in the uk and have a nice year to slowly settle in and take in all the differences.

be aware that US parents routinely hold their kids back a year so they start almost 6 not almost 5 like the UK - so its VERY normal to have a wide range of ages in the classes. (ie just 5 ranging to almost 7 in a KG class) So pick what will suit the kids best.

Pulaski

Child 1) Probably 1st grade, he is six months younger than my daughter, and cut-off is usually around September 1 +/-. He will be one of the older children in his year.

Child 2) probably Kindergarten, but among the very youngest in his year.

Bob

Check the school district that covers the street you fancy moving to for a definite answer. Some districts are a little flexible, some are very strict.

The gist, well the folks above have given you that.

AmerLisa

What's a government school?

WEBlue

I'm hazarding a guess that translates to "state" school in the UK, or "public" school in the US. Government funded and run....

I. e. NOT a private school in the US (which institution can translate to "public" school in the UK).

Pulaski

In my haste to post the above earlier, I forgot all the background re my daughter: she started on the "standard schedule" in kindergarten in late August following her fifth birthday. She is now seven and will start second grade in three months. As your older son is eight months younger, and beyond the customary Sept 1 (ish) cut off, he will be one grade below my daughter.

penguinsix

The cutoff in Connecticut is January 1, so by January 1, 2014, your child has to be 5 years old to enter kindergarten. That would make the youngest starting kindergarten next Fall and being in about the middle range of kids by birthday.

The older child would start grade 2 as they would be -7- by January 1, 2014, if I read that correctly.

Age 5 by Jan 1--Kindergarden
Age 6 by Jan 1--First grade
Age 7 by Jan 1--Second grade

NOTE: in most of there states in the USA, which follow a September cutoff date, your child would be in Grade 1 start this term and be one of the oldest in their class. But in Connecticut they would be one of the youngest in grade 2.

I'm in Hong Kong where my son, in a USA-style system, is neighbors with children who are in a UK-style system and "a year ahead" so you'd be led to believe. But the actual homework lessons are basically identical images of one another despite one being in "Grade 2" and the other in "Year 3".

We have had several threads on this and the general consensus answer as to what grade to put your child is "it depends". What type of school are you coming from and what type (quality) school will you be attending next. Time in school is often secondary to emotional and physical development of the child, and having them in place with children the same age is often more beneficial than having them the youngest in a class that is a year ahead.

Take a look at our wiki:

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Educat...s_in_school%3F

And at this thread in particular, dealing with an almost identical situation to your own:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=643985

penguinsix

Also note the vaccination requirements for Connecticut schools:

http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/PD...unizations.pdf

Hep A and Varicella (chicken pox) are not on the UK schedule so you'll need to make arrangements to start that series. If you are getting Hep A you might as well get Hep B as those shots can easily be paired together in the vaccine call Twinrix