Early Entrance

Early Entrance to Kindergarten or First Grade

The Illinois legislature passed the Illinois Accelerated Placement Act, Public Act 100-0421, effective July 1, 2018. This act allows Illinois public school districts to provide early access to educational services for kindergarten and first grade students to meet the needs of the highly advanced gifted child.  Children are normally admitted to kindergarten if their 5th birthday is on or before September 1st of that school year, and to first grade if their 6th birthday is on or before September 1st of that school year.

Channahon School District 17 recognizes some children may benefit academically, socially and/or emotionally from early entrance to school.  Highly advanced gifted students may be granted early entrance to kindergarten or first grade and accelerated in District academic programs. Early entrance applications are accepted between March 1 and May 1 each year.  This allows us to test within our MAP testing window.  Students will be assessed for eligibility by June 30.  

The decision for a child to enter school early can have a profound effect on his or her academic and social performance for the remainder of the child’s school career.  It is a decision that needs to be taken very seriously.  Research indicates that early entrance and/or early reading ability is not a predictor of success in school.  In fact, children with strong early reading skills often plateau by third grade.  Children who enter kindergarten or first grade early may demonstrate social or emotional difficulties due to their relative immaturity.  As they progress through school, children who are young for their grade level may have more difficulty fitting in with their peers in social situations.  They are less likely to excel in sports because of their age and/or their smaller size.  These and other possible effects of being younger than others in their classes should be considered carefully.

Kindergarten 

Early entrance to kindergarten: To be eligible for consideration, students must turn age  five (5) on or before December 31.

First Grade

Early entrance to first grade: To be eligible for consideration, students must turn age six (6) on or before December 31. 

Early Entrance Parent Request Process

Step 1:

• Channahon School District 17 residency must be established by the parent/guardian.  Parent/guardian must also provide the child’s birth certificate confirming that the child will be age eligible for the program.

Requests must be made between March 1st and May 1st of each year.  For new students who move-in during the summer, parents may request a screening until the first day of the school year. Parents should contact the principal of the school the child will attend to initiate a discussion about the child’s accelerated placement potential.

Step 2:

• For parents seeking early entrance to Kindergarten OR First Grade, they will be asked to complete:

  1. Parent Interview Form 

  2. Pre-school Teacher Interview Form (IF APPLICABLE)

Step 3:

• Parents will return the completed forms to the Principal by May 1 with a certified copy of the child’s birth certificate.

• Early entrance assessment will be scheduled for two days prior to June 30.  The observation and assessment will last two days, with each day taking up to 3 hours. There are no alternate assessment days or makeup days scheduled.  

Step 4: 

• Two-day screening and criteria:  

Kindergarten
The following data will be evaluated. All of the components must be met for consideration of Advanced Placement.

• • MAP READING >95 Percentile National Norm (K SPRING ASSESSMENT)

  • MAP MATH >95 Percentile (K SPRING ASSESSMENT) National Norm

  • AIMSweb Early Numeracy/Literacy Test >95 Percentile

    • Writing Curriculum Based Measure (CBM)

  • Social Emotional Readiness

First Grade
The following data will be evaluated. All of the components must be met for consideration of Advanced Placement.

• • MAP K-2 READING >95 percentile National Norm (1 SPRING ASSESSMENT)

  • MAP K-2 MATH >95 Percentile National Norm (1 SPRING ASSESSMENT)

  • Writing Curriculum Based Measure (CBM)

  • Social Emotional Readiness

Step 5:

• Once the assessments are complete, parents will be contacted by a member of the Accelerated Placement Team to discuss the child’s results and the final decision about entrance placement.  This decision of the team is final.