Posts by Gary Martin12

The daycare center boasts an incredible staff of specialists, yet I haven't heard a single word from them. I initially reached out regarding a speech therapist because my son was struggling with certain letter sounds and his speech was quite unclear. Suddenly, I was handed a referral for a psychologist too! The specialist concluded everything was fine, while the speech therapist just told us to join their long waiting list for treatment. We ended up doing all the exercises ourselves at home, and he actually mastered his pronunciation. Then, after finally reaching the top of that waiting list eighteen months later, they told us there wasn't much left for them to do with him.

I've noticed he isn't quite as quick or articulate as the other kids his age. I’ve scheduled a private evaluation with a speech pathologist to assess his readiness for kindergarten, so we'll see what they say. Hopefully, I'll get some solid feedback that gives me grounds to appeal the school district's decision. It seems like some kids don't even need to be held back just because they're in therapy, so I'm skeptical about how much I can achieve here, but I have to try. He has made such massive strides in the last six months that I truly believe an extra year of prep would only benefit him.

I am honestly just baffled. Everyone else seems to brag about how easily they requested a grade retention without any major hurdles or negotiations, yet I'm hitting a brick wall. Thanks everyone for the advice and comments!

My oldest daughter was also the youngest in her class. Despite the school district being told she wasn't emotionally ready during enrollment, they didn't grant her an extra year of kindergarten. She spent nearly every hour of first grade in tears... luckily, she had a truly phenomenal teacher who knew exactly how to support kids like her and prevent them from being teased by their classmates.
This little elementary school only enrolls two first-grade tracks: one standard class and one after-school program.
It’s simply wrong to deny children that extra year of preparation just because the school wants to fill its classrooms.

We started at the Hospitals, where they noted he’s a bit clumsy. I already knew that—I'm certainly not expecting any gold medals in PE! But even after I pleaded with them to reconsider, they wouldn't budge on the delay.
He did the testing solo at school. After about ninety minutes, I was met by a panel consisting of the school counselor, a psychologist, and a special education specialist. All three agreed he’ll need extra support once he starts elementary school. They mentioned he’s a little slow to process things; while his vocabulary is great, his sentences are pretty immature. Honestly, his storytelling makes zero sense! He’s social, handles separation just fine, and is quite independent. However, they had to repeat questions once or twice because he didn't catch them the first time. Beyond recommending that I read to him constantly over the summer, I didn't get much else. Even after I fought tooth and nail for him to start school a year later, they told me it simply wasn't an option.
Physically, he’s right on track with kids his age; he doesn't stand out at all in his preschool group. From what I can gather, the main hurdle for delaying his enrollment is his November birthday. If he were to delay, he'd start in September and be turning eight by November!

The school is pretty small, so I'm guessing they're short on students... Anyway, I just scheduled a private speech therapy assessment for him today to see where he stands.
We'll see what the results say! If they find areas where he needs extra help, I’ll take those findings straight back to the school. Honestly, I feel like nobody will take my concerns seriously at first, and then once he's actually enrolled, we'll all be left scratching our heads wondering why we didn't act sooner. Once that happens, there's no going back!

Experienced moms, I need some advice! Who should I contact if we disagree with the school district's decision regarding first-grade enrollment? During our evaluations at both the school and the Mayo Clinic, we requested a one-year delay, but we were turned down. They claimed my child isn't right on the cutoff date and is physically large enough. Honestly, the school staff didn't seem thrilled with the testing results either; they could see themselves that delaying would be the best move, yet we still got a "no." How do I appeal this? Should I draft a formal written request to send over? Is it too late since we've already completed all the medical exams?

Can someone please clarify what "close contact" actually entails? For instance, if an infected person was standing just a few feet away from me while handing me something, then left—that’s maybe three minutes of interaction. In that scenario, would I be considered a close contact?