Update - Dec. 15, 2020
In accordance with Board Policy 7:50, beginning with the 2022-23 school year, all students who are 5 years old on or before September 1, 2022, will be enrolled into kindergarten and all students who are 6 years old on or before September 1, 2022, will be enrolled into first grade. Therefore, if you have a student who will be 5 years old on or before September 1, 2022, and eligible to enroll in kindergarten for the 2022-23 school year, and you chose not to enroll your student in District 97 for kindergarten that school year, your student will be enrolled in first grade for the 2023-24 school year.
Update - Nov. 6, 2020
The District 97 Policy Committee met on Friday, Nov. 6, to review and revise Policy 7:50 (School Admissions and Student Transfers To and From Non-District Schools) and Policy 6:280 (Grading and Promotion). The recommendations are being reviewed by the district's attorneys.
The policy committee plans to meet again Nov. 19 to finalize their recommendations, which they anticipate going to the District 97 Board of Education on Dec. 1.
Update - Sept. 18, 2020
District 97 and the District 97 Board of Education anticipate that a discussion of Policy 7:50 will now occur during the Oct. 27 business meeting. Further details will be shared with the community next month.
Original Statement - Aug. 28, 2020
District 97 and the District 97 School Board are planning to evaluate District Policy 7:50, which addresses student admissions. Specifically, we will be considering whether the policy ought to be revised to provide clear parameters around the age at which children will be admitted to Kindergarten and First Grade (as currently written, the policy speaks to a minimum age for each grade, but does not speak to an upper age limit). No decisions have been made. Any discussion of potential revisions will occur at Board meetings this fall with opportunity for public input. These meetings will be publicly noticed on the Board website and communicated to the District 97 community.
In the meantime, we are aware that a number of parents and caregivers have already made decisions to keep children who are already 5 years old in pre-kindergarten this year. We are also aware that in making those decisions, parents and caregivers have relied upon District indications that they would be able to enroll their child in Kindergarten for the 2021-22 school year, even though the child will be 6 years old at that time.
While the District 97 Board does think that Policy 7:50 warrants evaluation, we also believe that as a matter of basic fairness and trust we should honor commitments upon which people have relied. For that reason, the Board has decided that any changes that may be made to Policy 7:50 affecting student admissions will not be effective until the 2022-23 school year.