My daughter is 3 now, she is turning 4 Oct 30. I know that in Florida the state law is that she must be 4 by Sept 1 to go into VPK (Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten) and 5 by Sept 1 to go into Kindergarten. My issue is, she won't be 4 in time to go to VPK during the fall school hours (which is now) so she will have to wait until the summer to go to VPK. By then it will be the summer of 2012. When VPK is over will she be able to go into kindergarten even though she is not 5 yet? Or will I have introduced her to getting used to school all summer and then she'll end up having to wait until the fall of 2013 just to go to kindergarten? Any teachers or school board people know if there is a process behind this or is it is what it is?
I just want to let everyone of you know that I really appreciate your answers and it made me realize that I'm ok with her being the oldest in class and being developmentally ready for school. THank you so much! I get to keep my little girl at home with me longer!
She has a late birthday and turns out that is the best thing ever!! She will be one of the oldest in K and will be more developmentally ready to handle the rigors of school. Please do not conseder starting her in proper school before her due time. You will be setting her up for failure later on when she is the youngest and cannpt do and be the way the other kids are. It catches up eventually...believe me.
Inn illinois a child has to be 5 by september 1st to attend kindergarten. sounds like your daughter is going to get two years of preschool. she will be very ready for k when it comes along.
It sounds as if she will attend VPK summer and then a year of it (or Pre-K if offered) because of not turning 5 before Sept 1. They legally can't bend those rules.
But to make certain call the school now and ask so you'll know their policy for certain.
I think you'd be better off calling the school district to ask your questions.. Maybe have a "test in" option for kids that don't make the cut off.
If the rule is she must be 5 then you have no choice, she must be 5 by the cut off date .
I do not know what VPK is, so it might help if you explain. Could your daughter go to VPK Fall of 2012 and then Kindergarten Fall of 2013? There are lots of options out there for pre-school and pre-k. My son attended 2 years of preschool (2 mornings a week for the first year and 3 mornings a week for the second year), and it was a fabulous experience. He's actually attending a PreK sort of program, because he has a summer birthday. Even though he's 5 and could attend Kindergarten this year, we thought it best for him to wait a year. Hopefully we did the right thing. Too late now, but he's having a great experience.
All 4 of my boys have October b-days....it sucks but rules are rules!
Dear M.,
VPK is a progam unique to Florida and bound by state laws. Your daughter will not be eligible for VPK until Fall 2012 for the academic year version or Summer 2013 if you want to do the summer version. She will be able to go to kindergarten in Fall 2013 - regardless of whether she goes to VPK - the "V" means voluntary.
You can get all of the information about VPK online at:
http://www.familycentral.org/VPKWelcome
The September 1 deadline is state law and virtually all private schools in Florida abide by it as well. Each state has its own deadline. There is no appeal - my son's friend was born at 12:04am on 9/2/2005 and he just began kindergarten. Don't worry about it though - obviously your daughter won't be the oldest in her class!
Happy Early Birthday to your daughter. C.
