Letter of the Day: Kindergarten quandary

Kindergarten quandary

EDITOR: As the mother of a summer birthday 4-year-old, I have mixed thoughts about transitional kindergarten ("Kindergarten changes," Friday). Next year, my daughter will have been 5 for two weeks when she starts school. Her being the youngest is not what bothers me; she is a well-spoken, confident child who has had the benefit of three older sisters. It's the fact that there will be children turning 6 in September, October and November in her class who will have had a free extra year of school, while my child gets nothing.

My daughter is lucky that her parents are able to send her to a decent preschool a few days a week for the next year, but what about those summer-birthday children whose parents are not able to do so? They will now not only be the youngest in class, but they also may be the least educated before they even start.

I say go ahead and change the cutoff date. Heck, make it the first day of school — if you aren't 5, you can't go. But don't give a free year of education to some children but not others based on their birthday. Isn't that discrimination?

GEORGIA TAVARES

Santa Rosa