Delories Brooks, a former kindergarten teacher, came out of retirement to teach kindergartners once again at McKee Road Elementary School.

When Kimberly Switzer was expecting her first child – now age 4 – she recalls her also-pregnant friend fretting about what the two of them would do about their autumn-born babies and kindergarten.

“She said to me, ‘What are we going to do about school?’ and I thought to myself, ‘What do you mean?’” said Switzer, a Charlotte mother of two and former teacher at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. “And then I realized that because of state regulations my newborn daughter could start kindergarten as early as age 4!”

Switzer’s daughter, Anna Marie, will turn 5 on Sept. 5. Within CMS, a child must be 5 on or before Oct. 16 to be eligible for kindergarten. Instead, the Switzers have decided to keep Anna Marie in a transitional-kindergarten program this fall at Carmel Baptist Church and wait a year before enrolling her in CMS kindergarten.

They are not without company. Parents nationwide are increasingly mulling over the decision based a child’s birth date, social skills or overall readiness. “Redshirting” a child, which describes the practice of holding back a child to develop stronger academic readiness, is often utilized for those who are socially immature or have late birthdays – those close to their school’s eligibility date. Its merits are widely debated.

“You have no idea how hard this decision has been. My child is 100 percent ready academically,” said Switzer. “I don’t want her to be 17 at college or the last kid to drive. It is all the things later in life that are worrisome. I’m just fearful for her later on.”

Linda Morris, CMS assistant superintendent for elementary curriculum and instruction, recommends observing a child’s school skills. “I suggest that parents who are contemplating waiting think about how interested their child appears to be in ‘academic things’ like books, how much experience they have in playing or working with small groups of children, and how excited they are about going to school,” Morris said. “Waiting a year can be of great benefit to a child who is younger than many of his or her classmates or who appears to the parents to be less mature than playmates. It could be a hindrance to a child who is excited about going to school.”

Assistant teacher Ashley Martin oversees kindergarteners during a writing assignment at Mckee Road Elementary.

The movement toward redshirting
While no CMS statistics are available, says Morris, the National Center for Education Statistics reports that academic redshirting occurs at the annual rate of about 9 percent among kindergarten-age children. Redshirting has been more common in affluent communities and for children attending private schools, although some scholars speculate that there may have been a recent increase in certain public school districts. According to the NCES, boys are redshirted more often than girls, and children born in the latter half of the year are more likely to be held back than those born earlier in the year. The NCES report also shows that white children are more than twice as likely to be held back as African-American and non-Hispanic children who have entered kindergarten later than their birthdays allowed.

Redshirting may have escalated in recent years, educators say, due to demands for a higher level of school readiness than in earlier years. Kindergarten became tougher in 2002 when the No Child Left Behind Act was passed and accountability of schools and higher academic demands became increasingly prevalent. In a national survey, teachers indicated that 48 percent of their students were not ready for the current kindergarten curriculum. Alarmingly high percentages of teachers indicated that half their students lacked important skills, including following directions (46 percent), academic skills (36 percent), and the ability to work independently (34 percent).

But even before the NCLB Act became law, North Carolina saw a need to get kindergartners ready sooner. The state’s Smart Start program was initiated in 1993 to help children enter school ready to succeed. Recent reports show that children who attended N.C. Smart Start programs had better cognitive and language skills than those who did not. Participation in greater numbers of Smart Start activities also has significantly correlated with preschool classroom quality, which in turn has resulted in children scoring higher on readiness indicators, according to Smart Start’s Web site.

What’s a parent to do?
Area educators advise that if you’re unsure about your child’s readiness, ask your child’s preschool teacher to administer a kindergarten readiness screening. Parents also can do tests with their own child. Some schools even screen kids and suggest considering factors such as the child’s attention span, motor skills, socialization, overall behavior, independence, and interest in learning.

Some parents see kindergarten as a two-step plan – the first school year is spent in a private, half-day or transitional-kindergarten program and in the second year, the child attends a full-day kindergarten program. Some programs are specifically geared for 5-year-olds who are delaying school one year.

A readiness checklist
Ultimately, parents probably know their own children best. The Web site www.parentingcenter.com advises that parents ask themselves the following:

1. Can my child listen to instructions and then follow them? Children need these skills to function in class, to keep up with the teacher and with their peers.

2. Is my child able to put on a coat or go to the bathroom alone? Children need to be somewhat self-sufficient by school age.

3. Can my child recite the alphabet and count? Most kindergarten teachers assume that children have at least a rudimentary familiarity with the ABCs and numbers though these subjects will be covered as part of the kindergarten curriculum.

4. Can my child hold a pencil and cut with scissors? Children need these fine motor skills to begin working on writing the alphabet and to keep up with classroom projects.

5. Does my child show an interest in books? Does my child try to “read” a book by telling a story based on the pictures? This is a sign that his or her language development is on par with that of other kindergartners and that the child is ready to start learning how to read.

6. Is my child curious and receptive to learning new things? If a child’s curiosity is stronger than his or her fear of the unfamiliar, the child will do well in school.

7. Does my child get along well with other kids? Does my child share and know how to take turns? Your child will be interacting with other children all day, so his or her social skills are particularly important for success in school.

8. Can my child work with others as part of a group? The ability to compromise and join in a consensus with other children is also part of emotional competence.

If you answered “yes” to most of these questions and “sometimes” to the rest, your child is ready for kindergarten. If not, your child might benefit from another year of preschool or from a transitional or prekindergarten class.

Switzer, whose husband is principal of Northeast Middle School, said the couple has known from the start to “go with their gut” in making their decision to wait a year before Anna Marie starts school. “I have colleagues tell me all the time, ‘You know what’s best for her. You won’t regret it if you hold her back, but you may if you don’t.’”

Morris of CMS agrees. “I advise parents to go with their best judgment. They know their child best and if they are hesitant, they are probably right in waiting,” she said.

Want to register?
To register for public kindergarten at CMS, parents must provide a certified birth certificate, immunization record signed by a physician and proof of residency (most recent utility bill, property tax statement, Medicaid card, lease agreement, mortgage contract or pay stub). Parents can then complete an enrollment form available at http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/news/NewStudentEnrollmentEnglish2007-08.pdf. The documentation and enrollment form can be presented at the child’s nearest school or at the CMS Family Application Center at 700 Marsh Road. For more information, visit www.cms.k12.nc.us or call 980-343-7450.

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