Decision Number 2: Is Home Schooling Right For You?

Those of us with a four-year-old in the house are reaching that critical time to enroll and where to enroll, delay enrollment for a year or decide to home school. Once you've decided it is time for school for you child the next decision is how to do that schooling.  I know for many, home school seems like it is absolutely out of the question because of funds or because or time or both. However, after researching the topic, I've even learned about homes where both parents work full time and still manage to make it work.  If you have questions about school environments in your area it may be worth considering.  More than 4 million kids are currently being home schooled in the US and I've seen growth rates listed as ranging from 8 - 20% for the homeschooling community.

The Cons:  These must be considered, but please make sure to read the Pros as well.  For us, they make the disadvantages well worth it.

Restraints on Parents.  Learning outside of a school environment can consume a lot of mom or dad's time. Most people probably picture that time being spent at the kitchen table with textbooks and worksheets, but from what I've been reading, that is not how it works for many families. Many families choose more hands-on learning styles that include field trips, experiments and educational activities - this has certainly been true in our house.  However, planning, driving to, and participating in those activities (or waiting for them to be over) often becomes the bulk of a homeschooling parent's day.  There are predesigned curricula that can be purchased that help to alleviate this time pressure but they are usually costly (K12 is a public-charter school and free option in many states  www.k12.com).  Such programs also do not entirely erase the time needed to help guide your child through his/her education and they do not make up for the fact that your child who would otherwise be spending 6.5 or more hours of the day out of your home at school is now in your home needing a certain amount of time and attention from you during the day that otherwise might be provided by teachers and peers.

One single homeschooling mom, Mickey, wrote to the website listed below to say that single parents who home school their kids face even greater time restraints: "We have to be very creative in our timing because I work and home school. Luckily, I work close to home and have a lot of time off, but it's still a challenge."  The amazing part though - it is possible!

Fewer experts in their field:  You may be the best expert on your individual child, but teachers can be a wonderful asset and very reassuring when it comes to questions about what is "normal" for a given age.  As a teacher I have reassured countless numbers of parents that forgetfulness is in fact a symptom of adolescence and perfectly normal for 12 and 13 year-old children to honestly experience.  Then, I give them (the kids) the tools that are needed in order to operate around their forgetfulness and both parents and myself insist upon their use.  As a parent, it was nice to know from a teacher who had years of experience with four - year- olds that it is pretty normal for a four year old to be obsessed with death when I became concerned that my daughter seemed over-focused on this topic.  However, there are many homeschooling support groups and blogs etc. that can provide this resource in a slightly different way.

A Note about this Graphic - I HATE the title.
Also, be aware that testing scores do not reflect
overall problem solving abilities or creativity.

There are many highly successful public school
graduates as well.  This graphic was the best choice
for making the point that income, career choice,
and expenditures don't have to have a lot of impact
on the success of your student in your home.

Teachers also have a lot more experience in methods and may be better equipped to offer up secondary activities when a student becomes "stuck" on a subject that are more in line with a given learning modality or style for the individual.  Again the many support groups for home schooling parents may be able to offer similar support.

Financial Restraints. Foregoing full-time employment out of the home in order to home school for at least one parent or guardian is common in families that use homeschooling. This can be a big sacrifice for families who are struggling to balance their budget (I know, I'm in one of them).  Also, depending on how you home school, materials, books and educational etceteras can add up fast. However, you can see on the chart to the right, that at least the amount of expenditures in the home school do not make a big difference in the success of the student in that home.  Most books about homeschooling (which will be available for free at your public library) will include a chapter or section on homeschooling on a budget.  There are also a lot of resources online to help with tips to minimize these expenses should you decide to go this route.  For those of you in one of the 30 some odd states covered by k12 (link in paragraph above) this really is a fabulous resource.

Being with Your Kids 24/7. There's no denying it — if you choose to home school, you're going to be with your kids most of the time. This can be a blessing and a curse.  If you don't enjoy being together, then homeschooling can help repair damaged relationships and create improvement in your relationship with eachother - or it can make things worse. While it can sometimes be difficult, most home school parents I've read about or with whom I have spoken, view their daily interactions with their kids — the ups as well as the downs — as opportunities for personal and familial growth. If you do not consider yourself as someone with a good sense of humor, moderate amount of patience and do not enjoy the process of learning new things and exploring topics with your child/children, homeschooling may not be the right option for you.

Limited Team Sports. While community sports activities fill the void for younger kids, teens often find limited opportunities to join sports teams, especially competitive ones. Depending on where you live, home schoolers may or may not be welcome to participate on teams with their public-schooled peers. Several parents did mention that a few families overcame this problem by creating their own teams. There are also families that home school up until the teen years and then switch for this reason alone.

Living Outside the Norm. Like any activity that is not mainstream, homeschooling will seem like a strange decision to many, or even as a threat to some. Your extended family members, friends and even acquaintances will likely have opinions they will feel the need to express - and not always in a loving and open way.  Many of the families I've read about struggle with this in the first few years.  Luckily, we have mostly avoided this issue, however there are a few key things to know that can help in these types of conversations.  These points are covered in the "pros" section.  Family members that are harsh at first, often come around by the third or fourth year as they see the home schooled child/children developing normally or developing as advanced over the years.  If you see this as a potential battle for you that  you are unprepared to persevere through, homeschooling may not be the best option for you.

 

Pros

Stunted Social Development? - Not Really:

The reason I can include this in the pros and not the cons is that this is actually a myth.  In most homeschooling cases, children are exposed to a much more diverse array of social situations.   For more information about this, check out this article.

The belief that children who are home schooled will come out of it socially backward or unaware is one of those things "dissenters" will commonly claim as a reason your child should be in school.  While children can be "sheltered" in the homeschooling environment in such a way as to prevent certain developments, this is a rarity, not the norm. 

As you'll see mentioned below, home schooled kids have more time for valuable extra-curricular interactions that involve their own peer group in a setting of common interests.  These settings are much more similar to the workplace setting because even in a workplace, the members of that community at the very least have a common skill set.  In a career environment, they are likely to share some interests as well.  When we choose a career, interests and skills are both considered.  It also sets kids up in a positive environment where the team or club is working toward common goals rather than competing with each-other for having needs met and with disparate values and goals.

Additionally, home schooling allows for more time for children to be socialized in how to interact with members of the community in a variety of roles and ages.  This actually results in generally more respectful and socialized teens and young adults than their mortar and brick schooled counterparts.  Home schoolers are known for having a good work-ethic, being more capable of self-direction, and more able to work with bosses and colleagues in a work environment at an earlier age (78% of home schooled teens hold jobs outside the home environment and are successful in their respective workplaces). Teens that are home schooled generally have more time to try entering the  work force and learning from the experience.

While I taught middle school, I personally encountered a few students that had been home schooled until they reached middle school and found themselves in my classroom.  All of these students were favored by their peers, their teachers, and mentors that ran clubs they were involved in.  These students were able to be academically successful while still being "cool".  Additionally, I found this article online that is a brief summary of what I have found said over and over again in every book I've read about it.  The article I'm citing here summarizes what was consistently stated in all the books I have read about homeschooling.  

Check out http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000000/00000068.asp for access to a more elaborate and academic summary of studies on social development in the home-schooled child.  However, I suggest skipping the first couple of paragraphs as the authors do make some sweeping negative claims about mortar-and-brick schools they do NOT take the time to back up with research.  The remaining information below these first few paragraphs  includes references to psychological and statistical studies that support the idea that homeschooling either, causes no harm to social development in kids, or even, enhances social development.  It was the briefest academic summary I found.  The Washington times is already linked above, but here it is again.  This article provides a summary of developing information on the subject in a very accessible way that does not pound our mortar and brick school settings into the ground.  http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/13/home-schooling-socialization-not-problem/

Educational and Developmental Choice. To some extent, home schooled students have the choice to study and learn what they want, when they want and as deeply as they want and when they are developmentally ready rather than when the system says they should be ready based on averages. Each state has a set of basic expectations of material covered.  For example, in most states  you won't be able to just decide to forgo Language Arts altogether (would you want to?).  But those basics may be covered at age six for one child, and at age ten for another, depending on ability, maturity, and interest levels.   The ancillary subject matter becomes much more free though.  For example, if you have a budding musician you might teach fractions by discussing rhythm and its notation rather than pizza slices.

No More Time Restraints.  Parents who home school say they experience a real sense of freedom. With their lives no longer revolving around school hours, homework, and the school calendar, these families plan off-season vacations, visit parks and museums during the week when such places are less crowded, and live their lives according to what works for them rather than what works for the school.  It also results in more access to extra-curriculars.  Because it requires less time to learn skills and subject matter in the home school environment than it does in the mortar and brick environment, your child will have more time for scouting, 4-H, clubs, sports and arts activities such as singing, acting or learning how to play a musical instrument.

Emotional and Social Freedom. Sadly, peer pressure, competition, boredom, and bullies — are all part of a typical school day. This can be a particular problem for girls. According to studies, self-esteem plummets in middle-school girls.  Even the most well-adjusted girls with the most supportive parents and families can have severe struggles navigating the school's social environment (which contrary to belief is NOT like the real-world).  However, similar studies of home schooled girls have shown that self-esteem remains intact and that these girls continue to thrive. (Read A Sense of Self: Listening to Home schooled Adolescent Girls by Susannah Sheffer.) Home schooled kids can dress and act and think the way they want and is right for them rather than having to "fit in" to the dress code and values of their friends at school without fear of ridicule.  

They live in the real world, where lives aren't dictated by adolescent trends and dangerous experimentation.  Even grocery shopping offers up certain socialization opportunities as it provides children with a model of how to interact with others within the store layout as well as the cashier or any other workers that might help in finding a specific product.  Most home schooled kids have many more of these "real world" kinds of encounters than do their mortar-and-brick schooled counterparts. Home schooled children also usually have a lot more to say in who they spend their time with and wind up having peers that are friends  based on common skills or interests rather than just their age.  Traditionally schooled children have peers that are friends but they also have a lot of other kinds of peers that exert a less-positive kind of influence or result in less-positive relationships.

Religious Freedom. Many families feel their religious and spiritual beliefs are an important part of who they are.  Homeschooling as well as parochial mortar and brick settings provide the opportunity for parents to incorporate their beliefs into their children's daily lives.

Being with Your Kids 24/7: Closer Family Relationships. Just about every homeschooling family that has been interviewed for the plethora of books and articles I've read in the last few months stress the important role that homeschooling played in helping them find time to foster loving ties between all family members. There is a lessened competition for time between homework and family time, time for chores etc.  This happens because in some senses they all become one-in-the same.  Teens seem to benefit enormously from this interaction, and rebellious, destructive behavior often begins to diminish soon after homeschooling begins for those families that enter into a homeschooling situation in the later school years.  Although separate study time must be set aside for strictly being devoted to the learning process and practice for new information and skills, many school topics can even be discussed and taught while family members cook dinner or wash dishes. You can also more easily introduce efficient units of study that are cross-curricular.  For example, while studying ancient Greece, you can also study Homer (Literature), The rich and varied art of the age, and various principles and inventions in mathematics and geometry (Euclid, Archimede's Screw etc.)

Stability During Moves.  Homeschooling is a wonderful option for families on the move.  I've read descriptions of how stabilizing homeschooling can be (because the curriculum stays consistent) for these families.  Military families are particularly likely to benefit because of this.

Well-Rested Kids. As more and more studies are illustrating, sleep is vital to the emotional and physical well-being of kids, especially teens and preteens. Preteens actually need almost as much sleep as a kindergartner because of the amount of growing going on within their changing bodies.  The effects of early morning classes can be devastating to many children. Up too late and too early the next morning, these kids are not in a mental state appropriate to effective learning.  In a home school environment, it is still important to get all your work done and this can mean hours of work, but if something is happening in life that means sleeping in is the healthiest choice, adjustments to the schedule can be made and both sleep and academic needs can be met.  It is also important not to allow these fluctuations too often, for too long because changing sleep patterns can have a profound effect on grades, emotional well-being, mood and the social well-being of a preteen or teen with her/his peers. However, in the home school, the schedule is yours to set and it is only the needs of family members that must be considered, not the needs of the masses at hand. 

Little to No Busywork. Home schooled children can accomplish in a few hours what takes a typical classroom a few days or more to cover. In a recent interview, John Taylor Gatto, New York City Teacher of the Year and a 26-year teaching veteran, said that in many classrooms less than one hour out of each school day is spent on "on task" learning.  Even in the most efficient classrooms, teachers are attempting to cover material in as many learning styles as possible under budget, legal, administrative and skill constraints.  Even when "on task" many of the items and activities that are done are not conducive to your child's learning style and his or her learning the material.  No wonder these kids have so much homework. And that brings us to a major "pro" of homeschooling: No more homework! (Well, maybe all of it becomes homework - but there will be time to do it because your kids aren't wasting time on whatever irrelevant thing kids in a mortar and brick environment are waiting on that day).

On a final note:  I have occasionally referred to schooling in a public or private school here as "traditional schooling".  Schools as we know them are really something that has only developed in this country during the last 100 years.  Prior to that, the majority of students attended one-roomed schoolhouses with a mixed range of ages and abilities or were schooled at home.  Many of our pioneers had to home school because of geographic isolation  (My father was one of these in his early years in Alaska while it was still a territory).  This country has actually been founded on the backs of many men and women that were home schooled.  Many of our founding fathers were schooled in the home.  The change toward emphasizing a more structured and standardized education that has occurred in this country has mostly been to the advancement of our society and I agree that public schools as well as private have a lot of advantages to offer up.  However, in reality they are neither more traditional than homeschooling nor exclusively and always better for everyone.

Read more on FamilyEducation: 

http://school.familyeducation.com/home-schooling/parenting/29861.html#ixzz1CY2zNKc7

• The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child: Your Complete Guide to Getting Off to the Right Start by Linda Dobson (May 24, 2001)
• So - WHY Do You Home School? by Mimi Davis (Nov 2, 2005)
• Homeschool Your Child for Free: More Than 1,200 Smart, Effective, and Practical Resources for Home Education on the Internet and Beyond by LauraMaery Gold and Joan M. Zielinski (Aug 3, 2000)
• The Everything Guide to Homeschooling
• Homeschooling: The Early Years: Your Complete Guide to Successfully Homeschooling the 3- to 8- Year-Old Child by Linda Dobson (Aug 11, 1999)

Also about Choosing Homeschooling: Choices, Choices

Decision Number 3: Choosing a Mortar and Brick School

Once you have decided to enroll and to go forward with a mortar and brick setting, you'll have to figure out which school to send your child to.  For many, this is a financial decision as well.  The advantage of going with a public school is obviously, the cost.  There are many wonderful districts and schools out there that really have a lot to offer with skilled teachers, warm classrooms and additional and valuable extra-curricular activities that are also low to no cost when compared with similar private options.  All schools - whether public or private - include a cast of people who have chosen a livelihood in education because they love kids and love education.  These people want the best for your kid.

The disadvantage to public schooling can often be the budget constraints and pressures exerted on schools today.  Many are understaffed, underfunded and the infrastructure needs repairs the school can't afford to make.  There are many demands on teachers and even the best ones are often stretched pretty thin.  Many teachers are sacrificing their own funds in order to purchase materials in order to continue be able to complete hands-on lesson activities that are effective and popular with the kids.  Because of new legal pressures and budget constraints along with an ever growing administration and the strain that adds to the budget (and additional paperwork for teachers that have a growing number of bosses to please),  many schools have given up on their arts and music programs altogether.   I recently even learned of a highschool that has done away with its PE program.  Although PE is mandated for schools to address, this school has found a way around it by working out hours with the nearby-gym (I don't remember if its a Monster Fitness or Crunch or another one) that kids can have access to the gym between certain hours of the day.  Your child will get basic skills and information at most public schools, but fewer and fewer of them are offering enriching educations to our kids.  It is also of great concern that our kids are graduating with a growing defecit in math and science skills and knowledge when compared to other countries - those math and science figures include scores from private schools. 

Any school, whether public or private offers the advantage of a faculty with expertise in children, child development, child pcsychology and methods in education.  This training and information is truly an asset in trying to reach children that don't want to learn a particular topic, or in reaching children that are "stuck" on a particular skill or topic.  While a parent is the expert on an individual child, a teacher can compare your child to the "norm".  This is actually often a reassuring thing - especially with first children - as it frequently means less worry for the parent as we tend to worry about a lot of perfectly normal things not realizing how normal they are.  Teachers also have practice in thinking about things in different ways and on a scaffolded (or layered) approach.  This means they know which parts of a subject to introduce and which ones to leave out - for the time being - for the age group with which they have been trained to work.

Schools offer structure that can be helpful for children as well as difficult to maintain on your own in a household.  Routines and flow of one season to the next is often adopted into the program in ways that are beneficial to children and that parents often don't think of.  This structure and routine can even help kids cope with a difficult time in family life such as divorce, death of a loved one, illness etc.  as it gives them something regular they can count on when routines are falling apart at home.  This structure also offers up a support system of adults that know the child other than their parents. 

Having your kids in school when they are too young to be home alone, also addresses a need for childcare in many families and provides parents to have some time to get what they need to get done, done without interuption.

Private, magnet and charter schools can offer an environment to your child that offers a focus on a specific topic (such as science) or value set (a specific religious school) that is important to you.  There are schools that specialize in specific populations as well - schools for the gifted, schools for children with Autism, schools for the deaf etc.  Seats at charter and magnet schools often fill quickly and private schools can be costly, but the advantage of the additional enrichment or shared values or specialized expertise by the faculty can be worth the money or effort for many families.

Choosing a School: Things to Know - Whether You Go Private or Public

Know and understand what the school's mission statement says.  Part of accredidation includes having a mission statement.  This expresses the general beliefs about what the goal of education is within that school community.  Not all schools pay much attention to their mission statement, but you should have a general idea of what the school publicizes as its goal for your child. 

Know homework standards.  Some of the specifics will be dependent on specifically which class your child is in.  However, Principles - especially at the upper grades but increasingly even in Kindergarten - often give minimum amounts of homwork that should be assigned to kids - even when the teacher feels the class has fully understood a lesson they are mandated to assign a certain amount of "practice work".  Know how much you can expect for an average week and an average night

Know the school schedule and attendence policy.  This may seem as though it is an obvious one, but which holidays the school decides to offer time for, how often there will be half days and when there will be additional fridays or mondays off can be revealing about what a school expects from parents and community in terms of time and commitment.  For example, if you take a family vacation during school sessions can your child expect to get make-up work in advance?  Is there a difference between kids leaving because of berievement vs. family holiday? etc.  For each day missed, how many days are allowed time to make-up the work for full credit?  Is there a difference between an absence for illness and an absence for other reasons?   What about Tardiness?

Know and understand discipline policies.  Even if your child never mis-behaves they can be affected by these policies.  For example, how likely is it another child will be able to push, hit or otherwise demeen your child and get away with it?  At one school where I worked "redirection" was the standard policy for discipline.  This means, when a child misbehaved in some way he or she was to just be distracted with a new activity to do.  While this works most of the time (in Preschool and younger grades) the result when it was strictly adhered to was that children were simply redirected even when they were physically agressive toward other children. 

A lot of stock is put in ratios.  Ratio of adults to children DOES matter a lot.  The optimum ratio (for all grades really) is about 15-30 kids (although at the elementary level anything higher than 25 is too much).  If you go much lower than 15 school-aged children, the energy in the rooms is draining, much higher and you can't truly get to know each individual and their learning styles, strengths and weakness.  However, ratios are often misrepresentative of what is actually true in a given school.  It is an average schools produce for the information of the families looking into them.  Ratios in the standard classroom can be higher than what is published because enrichment classrooms which may have a ratio of one to eight are also averaged in.  Other times, a ratio might be given as an over-all.  These ratios are purely the number of staff (including support staff that is not IN the classroom such as the receptionists), faculty and administrators.  Sometimes staff is left out of this ratio, but administration almost never is.  Almost every school I have interned or worked at has had ratios that paint a picture that is very different from the actuality.  Since this is true overall, when comparing a ratio at one school to another school it is still valuable information for you, just make sure you know that a ratio of 20 to one does not actually mean your child will be in a class with no more than 20 kids per adult within the classroom. 

Know policies for special needs - you may have a child who is academically gifted and will need a more challenging or specialized curriculum - you just don't know it yet, or you may have a child that is really smart but his/her as-yet undiagnosed  dyslexia or dysgraphia makes it very difficult to read so your child will need extra reading supports.  What is the process for determining a child may need extra supports and how long does it usually take?  Are there in-classroom adjustments that are made for fast or slow readers? What is the schools policy on holding back or skipping children?  I have a niece that is particularly advanced in a couple of subjects, but rather than skip her she is given work about the same topics the other kids are studying that is deeper - or more challenging.  She is NOT given EXTRA work but work that is appropriately challenging for her.  What a healthy and advantagous policy for her in her educational journey! 

Know about additional fees and incidentals.  If your child attends a private school there are often book fees, uniforms, activities fees (for field trips etc.) that are not considered part of the tuition.  Even at public schools there are additional supplies the school does not suply, field trip costs and fees for extracurricular activities.

You might also look at sample report cards to know what will be considered important in terms of grading at different grade levels and to know what the gist of formal evaluation is aimed at in your school community.  Some schools put a lot of emphasis on effort while others focus more on scores on homework and tests.  Many really don't emphasize any of the subjects except math and reading until much later grades while others give scores for all subjects studied no matter student age and level.

Know test scores.  The public and private schools all administer standardized tests for the purpose of evaluating the success of the school itself.  Too much stock is often put into these scores in terms of evaluating teachers and administrators as these tests usually only focus on reading and math at the elementary level (science is added in 5th grade at public schools) and they don't consider factors that the school as no control over such as how many kids are in the school that don't have a computer at home, whose parents don't read to and with their children, or how many of their students come to school hungry every morning.  However, when you compare the school's current score to its scores from previous years you can see whether the school is improving and growing or whether it is faltering.  It also gives you an idea of how one school preforms compared to another when you are able to choose between two ore more school options.  At this time, schools are expected to show a rise in performace each year or their scores do go down slightly so a consistent score does not demonstrate stagnation.  In the public schools, a score of 800 is considered acceptable performance by the state. 

Know policies about what is or is not allowed at school.  I've known of more than one story of a child getting in trouble for the butter knife that was packed in a lunch pail by the mother.  Many schools (especially in the upper grades) also have policies about cell phones and other electronic gadgets

Don't forget to ask about environmental and safety standards as well.  Pesticides and Herbicides are often used extensively on school grounds and athletic fields.  What are the safety standards?  How long does it usually take for a needed repair to take place?  Here in California, we should be sure that schools are following standard earthquake safety precautions - are bookshelves strapped to walls?  Are microwaves, TVs and other appliances strapped down?  Do filing cabinets latch closed?  All schools are required to keep food rations and emergency supplies, but the regulations and compliance with regulations often lag behind the best safety procedures and practices.  Even if the answers aren't make or break for you, asking these questions lets the school know you care and are concientous.  It may even lead to improvements in school standards if enough parents start asking these questions.

Don’t forget to check out the cafeteria and make sure you are satisfied with the "hot lunch" offerings and their nutritional value.  Look up Jamie Oliver for more information about evaluating school foods.

Next, Get Ready and put together your backpack and school supplies.

Decision number one: To Enroll or not to Enroll? How Do I Know My Kid is Ready?

Traditionally a child was ready for school when he or she recognized his/her name and could give his/her parents names, could sit through circle time or story time that lasts 15 minutes, understand the concept of sharing, and get along most of the time with other kids.  Academically, it was encouraged that kids know most of the alphabet, be able to hold a pen or pencil and be able to roughly use child-sized scissors.  It was also expected that she/he be on the road to independence.  In other words, it may be a bit of a struggle, but children were expected to be able to dress themselves, use the potty themselves, open most of the packages in their lunch without help, etc.

In many schools it is now reccommended though not required at public schools, that in addition to the above, children know all of the letters and numbers one through ten, are able to write their name when they enter kindergarten, and can recognize and name basic shapes and colors.  For safety's sake the child should also know her/his address and phone number.

If you are unsure about your child’s readiness, some school systems also offer an assessment. Even if it is not advertised, you should ask about it.

Preschool teachers often have a pretty good idea of whether children are ready for kindergarten. If your child attends preschool, his or her teacher knows how he acts in the school setting. If he still cries after you drop him at preschool, he might not be ready to get on the bus to kindergarten. Do not hesitate to ask your child’s teacher for her opinion and advice. She might suggest something in-between, like a pre-kindergarten classroom that many public schools have. Also, be sure to visit a kindergarten classroom that your child might attend, talk to the teachers, and observe how the other children behave and interact. Many schools even have a time when you can bring your child with you to visit

If your child is not ready for kindergarten, do not be concerned! So called "academic redshirting" is becoming more and more common and you may decide it is the right answer for your family and child.  The term redshirting originally referred to postponing a college athlete's participation in regular season games for one year to give him an extra year of further growth and practice with the team in the hope of improving the player's skills for future seasons.  Academic redshirting refers to the practice of postponing entrance into kindergarten for a year beyond the typical age of five in order to allow extra time for socioemotional, intellectual, or physical growth. This kind of redshirting is most often practiced in the case of children whose birthdays are so close to the cut-off dates that they are very likely to be among the youngest in their kindergarten class.

Incidence of Redshirting

The National Center for Education Statistics reports that academic redshirting occurs at the rate of about 9% per year among kindergarten-age children. Redshirting is also more common in affluent communities and for children attending private schools.  According to NCES, boys are more often redshirted than girls, and children born in the latter half of the year are more likely to be redshirted than those born earlier. Redshirting may be a response to demands for a higher level of school readiness.  An Alarmingly high percentage of teachers indicate that half of their students lacked important skills, including "following directions" and the ability to "work independently". As mentioned above, it is now common for schools to expect thier kinder students to already know their letters and numbers one - ten (some of the schools near where I taught preschool expected 1-50).  20 years ago these academic skills were taught in the kindergarten and were not expected at entrance. 

Effects of Redshirting

In the short term, redshirting raises the child's academic achievement, increases the child's confidence in social interactions and popularity among classmates and may simply add to the normal mix of ages and abilities within the classroom. However, there is also some speculation that, in classes where there are children who have been redshirted, some older children may feel alienated from their younger classmates, and some older classmates may have an unfair advantage over younger classmates in size and in psychomotor and social skills. The presence of children of a wider age span may also make the class too diverse for a teacher to manage well.  Children that are ready but redshirted, sometimes find themselves not challenged enough and behavioral challenges can arise due to this boredom.

The articles I read included that research is showing that between grades 1 and 3, children that were redshirted have a lower likelihood of receiving "negative feedback from teachers about their academic performance or conduct in class (Cromwell, 1998; West, Meek, & Hurst, 2000) and need less special education intervention than classmates who were retained as kindergartners for a second year (Kundert et al., 1995; May et al., 1995). However, there is also evidence that some first- through third-graders who were redshirted as children required greater use of special education services than their non-redshirted and non-retained classmates (Graue & DiPerna, in press; May et al., 1995).  However, this may be because children with delays might be more likely to be redshirted in the first place.  Cause and effect relationships have not been established scientifically and may not be able to be established.  

Long-term studies are fewer and even less-definitive.  In my experience, by middleschool, the reaching of adolescence and the physical changes that come with it are important in a student's social experience.  Children who develop first or last, can be at a social disadvantage.  Kids who mature in the middle of the pack are usually more accepted by their peers.  Because these changes occur over a range of ages, it is difficult to predict where your child will fall within this spectrum.  Some children simply mature at earlier - or later ages than others and even the decision to redshirt a child does not afford parents control over this aspect of their child's place within this range.  However, it does make it more likely the redshirted child will not be the last to develop physically.

Because the research is inconclusive about the effects of redshirting and few school districts prohibit it, parents are usually the ones who have to decide whether to keep their child out of kindergarten for an extra year. The following are some points for parents to consider in making a decision:

It is not reccommended to delay entrance into kindergarten just because the child is likely to be among the youngest in the class or has a summer birthday.

Check the school's kindergarten readiness screening procedures or tests to get an idea of how your child might fare in the kindergarten classroom in which she or he will most likely be placed.

Be assertive about finding out what the school expects of entering kindergartners and the school's suggestions on how you can help your youngster to be prepared.

Solicit the views of your child's preschool teacher about his or her readiness for kindergarten. Ask, for example, whether your child made some friends in her preschool group. Was he or she usually able to follow directions? Does your child appear to the preschool teacher to be ready to begin academic work?

Find out more about the nature of the kindergarten program at your school. Is it very formal? Is it organized primarily around formal instruction in basic skills or around more informal "learning centers?" Organizing children's learning around informal learning centers can accommodate a greater developmental range of children than a formal, structured arrangement in which basic skills are taught to the whole group of children in rows of desks.

What else would your child be doing if she did not start kindergarten? Would the child have easy and safe access to playmates and play spaces? Are there easily available (and affordable) good preschool programs for your child?  Some schools are unable to continue preschool programs for children that are officially "school-aged".

If you enroll: discuss your concerns with your child's assigned teacher as soon as you recieve this information.  The teacher may have suggestions for activities you can do with your child to help with his/her preparedness or may have information about your specific school or district that will alleviate your fears.

Be careful about discussing your apprehension about starting school with or around your child. If you approach the beginning of kindergarten with your child with real confidence and sufficient reassurance your child is more likely to feel confident and preform better in the school setting.

Be careful not to exaggerate to a child how much fun she or he will have in kindergarten. It would probably be best to say something like "You'll make new friends, get to do lots of interesting things.  Admitting to your child there might be some tough moments when you will miss each-other or when he or she might feel strange in this new setting may prevent a child from coming unstrung when the inevitable difficult moments do occur.

The most helpful approach for parents may be to obtain suggestions from the school, and ideally from the future teacher as well, about how best to help the child during the first few months of school.  Parents can be most helpful by offering the child reassurance and support, and by resisting the temptation to discuss their own anxieties and concerns in front of the child. On the whole, the evidence about the short- and long-term effects of redshirting is inconclusive. The evidence suggests that some benefits of academic redshirting are short lived (Spitzer et al., 1995; Graue & DiPerna, in press).  The decision may turn out to be less important than the concientous parent worries about it being.

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