Portland Public Schools has changed the rules for early entry to kindergarten and first grade (http//www.tag.pps.k12.or.us/.docs/pg/10600).
As many of you know, the State of Oregon sets the entry date at September 1, so that children are eligible for kindergarten and first grade if they turn 5 and 6 on or before that date. Local school districts are allowed to set early entry dates of their own. Students born during the early entry period are eligible to apply, and to go through an evaluation process designed to determine whether they are ready to start school. Through last school year, PPS set the early entry period between Sept 2 and December 31.
Under the new policy, the cutoff date has been changed to October 1 -- that’s 3 months earlier.
The research on early entry is strongly supportive. See, for instance, see my comments at
http//www.tagpdx.org/earlyentry.htm
.It’s also covered by a number of chapters in "A Nation Deceived How Schools Hold Back America's Brightest Students," available for free at http//www.accelerationinstitute.org/Nation_Deceived/
Early entry is not for all children, of course, but it’s a very good option for many. Based on the research, I can think of no good reason why the district would decide to restrict it.
If you believe that this change is not in the best interests of PPS students, and would like the December 31 date to be reinstated, I urge that you make your voice heard by contacting the following
Members of the School Board: SchoolBoard@pps.k12.or.us
Carole Smith, Superintendent: superintendent@pps.k12.or.us
Suzie Baier, Assistant Super for Teaching and Learning sbaier@pps.k12.or.us
Teri Geist, TAG Administrator tgeist@pps.k12.or.us