Advice on when to start high school

Hi Prep School Parents,

I have been a lurker for a bit, but could really use some advice and guidance. I have a daughter in sixth grade. In our part of the world, you can enter high school in grade seven. However, her school which is a public (Charter-ish) Waldorf school goes through eighth grade. Her class is about one year behind academically, partially because they are Waldorf and partially because of teacher issues. My daughter is strong in math, but weak in French and English (it is a French school – we live in a bilingual area). She is pretty-self motivated, but does tend to be a dreamy, distract-able kid who needs some prodding to stay on task. She does really like going to school and learning, and has been reading a lot lately.

There is a private, French prep school about a 30 minute walk from our house. It admits girls in grade seven through an entrance exam/grades admission process. It has a fairly heavy workload, but is ranked as one of the top ten schools in the province.

We are considering red-shirting her – that is sending her to grade seven in her current school, then having her repeat grade seven at the prep school. Our worry is that she will find math way too easy (and the prep school said they can’t put her in a grade 8 math class when she’s in grade 7). On the other hand, the French will be at level, since her whole class seems to be a year behind other schools. I don’t think she will face too much social stigma as her friends won’t be going to this school.

Alternately, we keep her in her current school through grade 7, and then have her start in grade 8 at the prep school. She might find math just right, but may struggle in her other subjects as her writing is sub-par. Also, I am worried that the peer groups will have formed, and she will have a hard time breaking in. She is quite reserved and more of an observer than a leader friend-wise.

Finally, there is a public school in our area too, but the French level is pretty low, and it is huge. We think she would do better in a smaller school with more attention…

Thoughts? Experiences? Will she lose interest in math if she finds it easy/repetitive if we red-shirt her? Will starting in grade 8 be a big social impediment?

I’ve heard of parents supplementing math for their kids who aren’t sufficiently challenged by what is offered at school.

In reading this forum I’ve concluded that having your kid repeat a grade can be valuable. That option is gone for my 10th grader although I harbor a small thought about a gap year before college. I have an 8th grader who I may have begin 9th at the current school and then repeat it again if we find a more suitable school to switch to.

If you are planning on transferring out of the Waldorf system, to me the earlier the better. Waldorf just doesn’t match up well with other systems.

Math is the easiest thing to learn on your own. If the math in a grade isn’t a match, usually the schools will send them ahead a year, or you can do some online programs.

Thanks to both of you for the advice. We have found a tutor that specializes in getting kids ready for the private school, and we are hoping that after about a month of working with our daughter she can give us her take on whether our daughter needs to be red-shirted. I think I know the answer - I looked at the exam prep book and she would have to catch up a LOT to start with others her age.

I have loved having her in Waldorf, but it does seem quite obvious at this point that transferring out is very difficult…