Hey everyone...

My husband and stepson finally have their interviews scheduled for May 2 in London so hopefully they will be arriving in New York a few weeks after that. We are curious what some of you have done about starting school for your kids. When I called the Dept. of Education in NY the "lady" informed me that they don't request transcripts from schools that they school in England would have to provide it. Well thats great except my stepson's school already told us they would only forward his records AFTER the new school requested them!! So what do we do??

Also, we know that kids in England are ahead of the kids here and that the grades aren't the same. My stepson is 14 btw. So here's the question... do we have him go to school for just the 1 month (from the time he gets here until school ends in July? Not that there is any guarantee that he will placed of course (this is NY after all LOL). And no we aren't waiting for school to end in England. No offense to anyone but we've been apart for too long to wait until the end of July. Besides we want to be together on our first anniversary.

So basically we would appreciate any stories and/or information (especially if theres anyone from the UK who came to NYC specifically the 5 boros) and can share with us.

Thanks...

Crash and Cari

Well, the way we do things here (I teach) when we have a new student enroll, we submit a records request to the previous school. The only way your stepson's school in England can send records is if the new school requests them! We have had a few parents come in with their child's complete school records, which was very helpful in determining placement and if the child has special needs and such. You might have your husband check into bringing your stepson's records with him when they fly over. Just a thought Good luck!

Also as a teacher, I would be torn about whether or not to place him in school just for the 1 month. I know schools in New England end mid to late June, I would imagine New York is pretty close to that... So you would be looking at him being there for 3-4 weeks max. A lot of this time would be wrap-up and depending on the school, potentially finals time. Academically, I honestly don't think it would be all that beneficial over waiting and letting him start fresh next year at the same time as the other kids. However, I DO think it would helpful to his adjusting to his new life to start school when he gets here. That way he can meet a bunch of new kids right away and start making friends. Otherwise, what will he do all summer? Do you live in a neighborhood where the kids play outside and he is likely to meet people, is there a local Y or park he can go to? I know if it was me, the forced interaction at school would probably lead to more friendships developing and if I was just home all summer I might be too shy to go up to the other kids. Have you asked him yet which he would prefer?

So basically I have no real advice for you, sorry!, just some more things to consider. Good luck figuring it all out.

I'd ask him if he wants to go to school for that month or start fresh in the new year... Personally I'd say that it would be really hard to drop into a new school so close to the end of the year - he'd just start making friends and the year would be over and next year he'd have to do it all over again because the classes would be reshuffled.

I wouldnt make him go if its only for a month.

There is really no sense in him starting when the school year is almost over.

I would rather just let him have that time to adjust to his new surroundings.

Thats just MO thou.

Good luck to you both with the move.

Thanks for all the input guys.. I know you just giving your opinions and I take no offense by anything anyone said at all... Thats what we are here for right? Advice and information...

Still not sure what to do tho.. besides it may be out of our hands... School may not register him for May anyway.. I do agree it would be better for him to at least get used to the school before September and maybe meet some of the kids before summer recess.. I do know the school said if he comes in during May he would NOT receive credit which may not matter since we believe he is already ahead of US 9th grade now.

UGGGHH... beginning to like the sound of home schooling LOL

Cari