Moms Talk Q & A: What Do You Consider When Enrolling Your Child in Kindergarten?

Kindergarten registration took place this week for Rockwood schools and starts Feb. 15 for the Parkway School District. As parents compile records and other necessary documents and fill out forms, they've got a lot to decide. Is a full-day program right for their child? for the first time in the 2011-2012 school year; Rockwood families must pay more than $3,000 if they chose the full-day program. 

What about private school? Is that a better option for their child? Or should they wait another year before starting school, a choice that's growing so ubiquitous at private kindergartens in New York that it's got a nickname, "redshirting"? And, perhaps the most puzzling question, just how did their baby grow up so fast?

In this week's Moms' Talk, we're talking kindergarten. Whether you're facing it now, or you've survived it, we'd love to hear from you. Read what four local moms had to say about it, and chime in on the comments. 

Alison White

Alison is a mom of two girls ages 5 and 1.  In her spare time she likes to run, play golf,  read and socialize with friends and family.

I grew up in the Rockwood School District and my husband grew up in Parkway. We both assumed that our girls would attend public school, but as the thought of registering for kindergarten approached, we realized that we were not confident that going to our local public school was the best choice for our daughter. As of right now, we are heavily leaning toward private school. We feel it's important to include our religion as a focus for daily teaching. We also felt that our private parish school offered more of a sense of community than our local public school. We like the smaller class sizes and the overall teaching philosophy offered at the private school. We also love the fact that our daughter will wear a uniform to school everyday, eliminating the daily struggle (aka argument) that typically takes place before we head out the door to preschool. In general, we feel that sending our daughter to private school will keep her on the track that we believe she needs to stay on; it encompasses our daily beliefs and faith thus making the circle more complete (well balanced life sort of feeling). We have not made that final decision, and we are giving ourselves the next few days to think things through.  If we end up deciding to send her to Rockwood I still feel that she will fit in, we will be happy with her success, and we (hopefully) will have no regrets.  We’ll see what happens at the end of the week. 

Kristen Bacharier

Kristen is mom to three kids, a son age 12, and two girls, ages 8 and 5.  She loves to read, travel, cook and socialize with her friends.

I have my feet in both ponds so to speak. All three of my kids have started off in a Parkway elementary school, but my oldest is now in a Catholic parochial school for middle school. My oldest was a very bright kid whom we knew needed to be challenged academically. We actually moved into the elementary school district we are in to have him attend his local school, which my other two children are still at presently. He attended our public elementary from kindergarten through fifth grade and loved it. Our class sizes are relatively small (18-20). It has a strong parent involvement and dedicated, caring teachers. It fosters a strong sense of community and personal responsibility to others. Having said that, when my oldest graduated from our present school, we chose to switch him. We wanted him to be  challenged academically, and we liked that the religious education would be a part of the curriculum as well as we are planning on sending him to a Catholic high school.  He has thrived there and it seems like a good fit for him.  He had absolutely no problem transitioning at all.   

All 3 of my children went to full-day kindergarten. Both my husband and I felt it was better for them academically, as they all attended Pre-K til 1 p.m. and loved school and learning.  My third actually told me she wanted to go to full-day. She wanted to come home the same time as her sister and eat lunch at school. I think each parent knows what is best for their child both socially and academically. Being in Parkway, we're missing the free tuition for full day by a year, but I am glad she is in the class she is in this year! As far as middle school, we are not sure what we will do for them. We may continue to go public or switch to private. In a funny twist, my middle child is actually asking to go to a private school after elementary. She wants to wear the uniform and not have to worry about what to wear to school!  I guess we will see which path we will go down!

Julie Kuenneke

Julie is a mom of two boys, ages 5 and 2. She's freelance writer, wife, short-order cook and taxi driver. Without coffee, she believes that her life would quickly unravel.

My oldest son is in kindergarten, and the decision on where to send him was an issue for us. We knew he had Asperger’s Syndrome and had heard that the larger class sizes found in public schools can be overwhelming—socially and in terms of sensory overload—for children on the Spectrum. My husband and one of his brothers both attended public primary schools and then attended private school for high school. My husband’s youngest brother attended only private schools (including Chesterfield Day School for his primary education). I was a product of the public system. 

A developmental child psychologist advised us to enroll our oldest in a private school and offered numerous recommendations. However, for us, kindergarten was merely going to be used as a social learning curve for our child. First grade was our real issue. We wouldn’t be dealing with just a few hours, our son would have to thrive for the whole day. We were ready to roll if public kindergarten wasn’t a fit for our son.

As it turned out, our son has one of the smallest class sizes in Rockwood. His teacher has gone above and beyond for us in helping to secure special services. And Special School District qualified our son for more services than we imagined they could. Those services would all be out-of-pocket had we chosen to go private. And I can tell you from experience that private speech/language, occupational therapy and physical therapy are expensive. Add on tuition, and you’re pretty much paying the price of college.

That being said, public middle school scares the wits out of me. The setting is just too large and too socially overwhelming, so I will in no way rule out private school. 

Samantha Politte

Samantha is the mom of two boys and one girl, ages 10, 7 and 5.  In her free time she likes to run, read, bake and spend time with family and friends.

I registered my youngest child for full-day kindergarten on Tuesday.  It’s hard to believe my “baby” will start elementary school in the fall. We live in the Rockwood School District and she will attend the public school along with her brothers.  We moved to this area six years ago with the intent to take advantage of the good school system.  So far we are pleased and have no plans for our children to attend private school.  Of course, if at some point we think private school would be a better option for one of our children, we would certainly consider it. 

For us, the decision to register our daughter for the full-day kindergarten program was easy, though not taken lightly.  She will be six years old in August and gave up naps long ago.  She also enjoys the structured school day and interacting with teachers and friends.  Honestly, she’s never been one who excels at entertaining herself.  I enjoy our one-on-one time in the afternoons, but I also recently went back to work part-time.  I work from home and that can be a challenge with a child in the house.    

My older children attended half-day kindergarten.  I have no regrets as it was a good decision for each of them and our family at the time.  We have friends who have chosen full-day or half-day exclusively for all of their children, but I would say most families we know decide on a child-by-child basis. There are so many variables that go into making such a decision.  I don’t believe there is a right or wrong answer.   As with most parenting decisions, you do the best you can and hope it all works out well in the end.