Minnesota Elemetary School enrollment rules

[VetsWife328 7]

OK so now my Fiance and I have just decided to live in Minnesota instead of WA.......

Does anyone here know anything about enrollmet into Elementary school for my by then 7 year old son?

I know in WA he would have had to do 450 hours of Kindergrden before being able to go to 1st Grade,but I can't seem to find Info about Minnesota and their requirments.........

My son also has ADHD and goes to a "special" Day Care Center here in Germany.

Kids in Kindergarden here DO NOT learn reading,writing,numbers,spelling............

So obviously he wont be able to read,write or spell words.

(Yeah I know I ought to try to teach him,but been doing so for a long time and due to the ADHD and his "teachers" completley working against me saying he doesn't HAVE to learn all that now-that's what school is for..bla bla bla ,it has been very difficult)

What are the requirments as far as age and Kindergarden education go in Minneota?????

Would I have to enroll him into Kindergarden first? And if so what's the MN law? All day Kindergarden or part time? (WA is part time 2.5 hours daily)

Any Info and advice is helpful

Thanks

Nat

[Converse34 1]

Not only are states different, but each township/school districts have their own rules and regulations too. Just call your local board of education and your son may need to be evaluated to determine what the best grade/school will be for him.

[Alex+R 0]

What town will you be moving to? What school district (if you know)? We have kindergarten readiness tests here in MN.

By age he should be going into 2nd grade if he is already 7, so you will probably want tests done. I really can't imagine the schools asking you to place your son in kindergarten at this point.

Edited June 25, 2007 by Alex+R

[payxibka 10,044]

I agree that this all varies from school district to school district and even from school to school within a district. Some have half day programs, others have full day. Beginning reading typically is taught beginning in first grade and gets much more into full swing in second grade. You will want a skills assesment performed and then discuss what is best for your child and what is more important at this stage (ie.. the social or academic equivalency).

[VetsWife328 7]

We will be moving to the Duluth area.

Nat

[Alex+R 0]

Duluth Public Schools--How to Enroll The instructions on that page (titled the same as the link) have a phone number to call which may be able to answer questions about kids coming from outside MN/the US. It is open enrollment so all you need to do is bring the Birth Certificate, immunization record and social security number of your son to the school and they will enroll him. Because you have concerns about his grade level (as he is the age of 2nd grade but does not know how to read) you should call them and ask about having him placed in maybe 1st grade (I would think).

eta: as you haven't filed the I-129F yet, I just realized now that he probably won't be starting this fall. Do German schools work on the same schedule? I'm sure you are going to have a LOT of time between now and then to work this out with the Duluth school system.

Edited June 26, 2007 by Alex+R