Nov 2, 2007 9:18 am US/Central
Holding Kids Back: Redshirting Kindergarteners
by J.D. Miles
(CBS 11 News)
Caroline Conser is a smart, playful 4-year-old. The University Park pre-schooler won't be heading to Kindergarten next year.
"I will definitely hold her back because so many more are," admits mother Renea Conser.
The Consers are among a growing number who are holding back their children a full year after they are eligible to start school. In college athletics, it's called redshirting.
It offers a chance for athletes to learn for a year while still being able to play for four years.
A local child care expert, however, sees it differently.
"It could be seen as some sort of elitism – redshirting," child care expert Susan Hoff says. "It is really not an option for parents who are working parents, who are lower income or even middle income parents -- they don't have the option to stay home another year or pay for child care another year."
A look at some area enrollment numbers show holding children back a year is more prevalent in affluent school districts.
In the Carroll ISD, 158 of 452 kindergartners are 6 while 165 of 504 first graders are 7. In Highland Park, 96 of 452 kindergarteners are 6 and 79 of 436 first graders are 7 or 8. Dallas ISD reports there are no kindergartners older than 5 and no first graders older than 6.
Hoff, of The Child Care Group, says redshirting can give students physical and academic advantages to those who can afford it.
"It is a bit frightening that there is maybe an upper end of families who are able to maybe move ahead of the norm and abuse the system."
Parents like Renea Conser say they are forced to follow the trend or watch their child fall behind.
"At some level, you feel like you're putting your child at a disadvantage whether academically, or socially or physically," she says.
"We will hold her back just from bottom line we don't want her in same class with boys 2 years older than her."
Redshirting is ultimately a parent's decision while some others say it shouldn't be and school districts and teachers should have more input.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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