Transferring Kids School Mid Year

[VicDEH 5]

We are finally getting ready to move to the USA again on December 7. Again because we had so hard a time leaving and a positive corna virus test the day before the flight previously and as a result their old visa expired.  We finally got them reissued and plan to leave here on 7 December.  We are having a hard time figuring out the schooling situation my kids grades are 7 and 8.  The school here doesn't want to disenroll them.  The contact in the USA sent a list of requirements at the beginning of the school year but strongly indicated that they would do nothing until the kids are there and prove residency.  I don't know the exact questions I need to ask here but has any one transferred from the Philippines to a U.S. school mid-year and what was the process.  The school here in the Philippines want to keep them enrolled until the the end of the school year and have them finish online.  My wife went there to order their forms 137 and other stuff and was talked out of it.  They said they can send the papers if the school there accepts them.  They are worried that the school would somehow refuse them and the kids would loose this year of school. I told her I don't think school in the U.S. work that way but its been nearly 16 years since I have been in the U.S.A.

[Chancy 6,243]

3 hours ago, VicDEH said:

has any one transferred from the Philippines to a U.S. school mid-year and what was the process.

 

@top_secret enrolled his daughter mid-school year.

 

[Scott Br 164]

5 hours ago, VicDEH said:

We are finally getting ready to move to the USA again on December 7. Again because we had so hard a time leaving and a positive corna virus test the day before the flight previously and as a result their old visa expired.  We finally got them reissued and plan to leave here on 7 December.  We are having a hard time figuring out the schooling situation my kids grades are 7 and 8.  The school here doesn't want to disenroll them.  The contact in the USA sent a list of requirements at the beginning of the school year but strongly indicated that they would do nothing until the kids are there and prove residency.  I don't know the exact questions I need to ask here but has any one transferred from the Philippines to a U.S. school mid-year and what was the process.  The school here in the Philippines want to keep them enrolled until the the end of the school year and have them finish online.  My wife went there to order their forms 137 and other stuff and was talked out of it.  They said they can send the papers if the school there accepts them.  They are worried that the school would somehow refuse them and the kids would loose this year of school. I told her I don't think school in the U.S. work that way but its been nearly 16 years since I have been in the U.S.A.

No issues with transferring mid year.  Try to get their school records from the school over there. As long as you can show residency you'll be able to register them. The only issue we ran into is what grade would they enter as their grade level in the Philippines was not transferrable. We ended up putting them in with their age group, which worked out well in the end. Trouble the first year with American English comprehension (they knew English prior to coming over but comprehension in the classroom was difficult) but they have been A honor roll since.

[top_secret 2,496]

11 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

@top_secret enrolled his daughter mid-school year.

 

We just started her in 3rd grade November 1st.  Less than a week after she arrived in the US.  I don't think it could have possibly gone any smoother or easier and has been an absolute success so far.  She had been doing online classes and "modules" for the last year and a half in the Philippines, so it was her first return to a classroom with other students since March of 2020.  She LOVES going to the new school.  Every day she is going on and on about how much she likes her teacher and all her classmates.  Enrollment here in California was very easy.  A few weeks before she arrived, I went poking around the school district’s web site and they have all the enrolment online so I just filled up the forms online.  I uploaded scans of fairly minimal amounts of required paperwork like my cable TV bill to prove I am resident and such.  Nothing related to immigration was requested.  Someone from the district called me back and they were mainly concerned with if she would need extra help in English and if her vaccinations were complete.  The six vaccination shots she got at Saint Luke’s are barely enough to get her in the door but if that is all a child has, they will be due for about 3 more rounds of multiple shots over the coming months.  Fortunately, her mom located her baby book while packing for the US and daughter was current on everything except one varicella shot in two months.  Locating any and all immunization records that may exist in the Philippines is very important.  At least in California.  They are serious about vaccinations.

 

We told them we think her English is good enough and she should be 100% in ordinary classes.  Since in our opinion if she needs extra help or not, the fastest and most effective method to get her English up to speed is surround her with a bunch of English-speaking peers at the earliest age possible.  Kids learn language fast and easy.  If she has any challenges with language, it's best to face them head-on and immediately.  In just the first 2 weeks I have noticed her English has really improved allot.  Probably not that she learned that much in just 2 weeks but she is very noticeably much more confident about what she already knew.  She is very quickly becoming much more talkative in English.  It's actually a bit remarkable.  I'm feeling pretty sure at this point that language will be a non-issue.  Also, the school assigned her to the same classroom as the only other Filipino student her age in the entire school.  So, there is at least one Tagalog speaker present.

 

The school here didn't have much interest at all in her Philippine school records and just placed her in 3rd grade based on her age and because we said she was a third-grade student.  I don't think having her Form 137 from the Philippines or her grades would have made the slightest difference in her placement here, for better or for worse.   She completed her last week of Philippine online classes to finish out the reporting period there and presumably will still receive grades for that but I don't think that is important to the local school district.   She doesn't seem to be having any difficulty with the curriculum so far.  

Overall, her transition to US school so far has been more successful than we ever could have imagined.  I just hope it keeps up over the long term.  I have never seen a kid so excited and happy about going to school in the morning.  I don't know if they are teaching her anything academically but I can very clearly see a HUGE positive change in her personality.  In my opinion it is best to get them fully into their future school environment as quickly and completely as early as possible.  No matter what kind of issues or challenges they may encounter, it will be easier to deal with now, at the earliest age possible, than dragging it out until they are older. 

 

Plus, the whole online "modules" schooling currently taking place in the Philippines is just a terrible situation for kids.  There is really no where to go but up by getting them back into a classroom situation.
 

[VicDEH 5]

I called the school here in the Philippines (Sacred Heart) and talked to them.  They still don't want to give any paperwork.  They said that the school will send any required paperwork to the USA themselves.  I really don't understand the difficulty of transferring students here in the Philippines.  I even asked if they would give me a soft copy or something and they will not do even that.  They said they would email us a soft copy if we enroll them in school there.  The school gets the hard copy.  From the responses here it seems that enrollment is not too difficult there, its just here where the difficulty lies.

[top_secret 2,496]

29 minutes ago, VicDEH said:

I called the school here in the Philippines (Sacred Heart) and talked to them.  They still don't want to give any paperwork.  They said that the school will send any required paperwork to the USA themselves.  I really don't understand the difficulty of transferring students here in the Philippines.  I even asked if they would give me a soft copy or something and they will not do even that.  They said they would email us a soft copy if we enroll them in school there.  The school gets the hard copy.  From the responses here it seems that enrollment is not too difficult there, its just here where the difficulty lies.

 

I'm sure different states and school districts could have different requirements but here in a suburb of San Diego they required absolutely nothing whatsoever from the Philippines, except that having her vaccination records were very helpful.  Really about 90% of the enrollment process was just the school taking my word about what I told them at face value.  They really could have cared less about us being able to document her Philippine education.  They were happy to put her in the grade level and classroom circumstances that we told them we wanted for her.  In just briefly talking it all through on the phone with the enrolment lady they were extremely accommodating.  I don't think we went through any formalities at all wrapping things up on the Philippine school side.  Maybe my wife notified them by e-mail that she was moving(???)  Or maybe she just vanished from Philippine School.  I'm not sure.  But it was not pertinent to enrolment in US school.

[flicks1998 1,044]

1 hour ago, VicDEH said:

I called the school here in the Philippines (Sacred Heart) and talked to them.  They still don't want to give any paperwork.  They said that the school will send any required paperwork to the USA themselves.  I really don't understand the difficulty of transferring students here in the Philippines.  I even asked if they would give me a soft copy or something and they will not do even that.  They said they would email us a soft copy if we enroll them in school there.  The school gets the hard copy.  From the responses here it seems that enrollment is not too difficult there, its just here where the difficulty lies.

This is the typical mind-set with the schools.  Moving a child from one school to another can be a complete pita.  When I moved my son from one school in Manila to another, they refused to give any paperwork as well until I had our lawyer contact them.  However, the new school HAD to have the old school paperwork and that was why I chose the direction I did.  I could not get one logical reason why they couldnt give the necessary paperwork.  It was excuse after excuse with nothing making sense at all.  Every decision they made was to the detriment of the child.  In retrospect, the school may have thought I would be asking for reimbursement on tuition paid but Im not sure.

 

Moving your kids to the US, just get on the flight and go.  Any threat from the current school doesnt mean anything now.  When we left in February this year, I never told the school my son was leaving.  They were doing remote learning anyway.  However, we did have a small party with a few of my sons friends although at the time that broke quarantine rules.  Just focus on your children and what you can do to make a smooth transition for them.  When you get to the US, they wont need any of the documents from the school in the Philippines.  I had the same experience as top_secret.  The US school wont care for the documents.  Once they know your children are residents, they will place them asap.  The administrators in my sons school in the US didnt even have a clue where Manila was anyway.  

 

Have a good trip. 

[seekingthetruth 1,248]

1 hour ago, VicDEH said:

I called the school here in the Philippines (Sacred Heart) and talked to them.  They still don't want to give any paperwork.  They said that the school will send any required paperwork to the USA themselves.  I really don't understand the difficulty of transferring students here in the Philippines.  I even asked if they would give me a soft copy or something and they will not do even that.  They said they would email us a soft copy if we enroll them in school there.  The school gets the hard copy.  From the responses here it seems that enrollment is not too difficult there, its just here where the difficulty lies.

I think that most of the U.S. schools don't really accept records from Philippines as evidence of ability.  I will follow what Top Secret did when we move in 2023.  If they don't think the student is coping with the age appropriate grade level, they will probably talk to the parents about moving back a level.  Or perhaps some states have assessment testing.

 

If you haven't done so, establish a relationship with the school and district ASAP.  I already have a good contact with the school district in Texas where I hope my kids will go.

 

 

[flicks1998 1,044]

1 minute ago, seekingthetruth said:

I think that most of the U.S. schools don't really accept records from Philippines as evidence of ability.  I will follow what Top Secret did when we move in 2023.  If they don't think the student is coping with the age appropriate grade level, they will probably talk to the parents about moving back a level.  Or perhaps some states have assessment testing.

 

If you haven't done so, establish a relationship with the school and district ASAP.  I already have a good contact with the school district in Texas where I hope my kids will go.

 

 

That is all correct.

[Stevephoto 230]

I have worked in schools for 35 years. Registering your kids in the US school upon arrival is not only a non-issue, it is required. I have also worked with MANY kids from the Philippines (caveat: most of the kids I work with have severe special education needs, so there are different issues). It would be helpful for the receiving school to get any records beforehand but that doesn't always happen, so bring whatever records you can get your hands on. The US school will place them in the assumed correct grade. The current school's wish to keep your kids enrolled has zero impact on the US education laws. The bigger question for me involves the language issue: how is their understanding of English? That may have a bigger impact on how they progress than the midyear move. Ask about English Language Learner programs in your school. I also think @John & Rose have personal experience with this. Please understand that I do not think you will need this, but feel free to send me a PM if their is ever any concerns about Special Education. That is my area. Good luck.

Edited November 17, 2021 by Stevephoto
More information

[seekingthetruth 1,248]

3 hours ago, top_secret said:

We told them we think her English is good enough and she should be 100% in ordinary classes.  Since in our opinion if she needs extra help or not, the fastest and most effective method to get her English up to speed is surround her with a bunch of English-speaking peers at the earliest age possible.  Kids learn language fast and easy.  If she has any challenges with language, it's best to face them head-on and immediately.  In just the first 2 weeks I have noticed her English has really improved allot.  Probably not that she learned that much in just 2 weeks but she is very noticeably much more confident about what she already knew.  She is very quickly becoming much more talkative in English.  It's actually a bit remarkable.  I'm feeling pretty sure at this point that language will be a non-issue.  Also, the school assigned her to the same classroom as the only other Filipino student her age in the entire school.  So, there is at least one Tagalog speaker present.

Side story about kids, language, San Diego and old daddys!  Darn!  I can't tell the short version!  Hope you can follow!

 

My mom was 40 when she had the last of 5 kids, me!  My oldest sister P was 19 when I was born.  She got pregnant at the same time as her mom.  My niece, B, was born 3 days after me!  Mom and my sister were in the same hospital we all had our picture taken for the local newspaper.   My niece B and I grew up more like brother and sister, as opposed to uncle and niece.

 

We grow up, and my niece B gets married and has a daughter, R.  So R is my great niece.

 

R is super smart.  Breezed through high school and had her Phd in child psychology by early to mid-20s.  She has her own Child Psychology practice in the San Diego area. Got married and on March 14th, 2014, gave birth to a girl, C.  C is my great, great niece!  In the meantime, great, great uncle D, me, retired to the Philippines and married.  On March 16, 2014. my wife gave birth to my oldest daughter, K.  K was born 2 days after her cousin (XXX removed??).

 

So, C's grandma and I are 3 days apart.  C's cousin, my daughter K, are 2 days apart!  Someone in my family once figured out the official cousin relationship for C&K, but I forget what it is.  C & K have only met once, in 2017, and I hope they will meet again next year.

 

Memorize the above.  Test on Friday.  🙂

 

Back to the main storyline.  When C started Kindergarten in San Diego, her mom, R, enrolled her in an elementary school that is entirely in Spanish!  Why, I'm not sure, but I think just to challenge her and have her learn a practical second language.  Neither mom or dad have Spanish heritage, but of course many people in San Diego and Southern U.S. speak Spanish.  So, C is in second grade now, and fluent in both Spanish and English!  Very smart girl like her mom!

 

I think when kids are exposed to more languages at a young age, their brain finds it easier to pick up new languages.  Many Europeans I know speak 3, 4 or more languages, and started young.

[seekingthetruth 1,248]

34 minutes ago, Stevephoto said:

Registering your kids in the US school upon arrival is not only a non-issue, it is required.

So no matter what time of the school year, or what state, the child has to enrolled immediately?  For instance, suppose the school year in the U.S. school end on June 10th.  The child arrives in the U.S. on May 10th.  The child MUST be enrolled for that last month.

 

I'm trying my best to time our move on the school year and avoid mid-year enrollments.  Our PH schools are on the U.S. schedule, so we hope to move in late June and have them enter the new U.S. school in August.

[flicks1998 1,044]

50 minutes ago, Stevephoto said:

I have worked in schools for 35 years. Registering your kids in the US school upon arrival is not only a non-issue, it is required. I have also worked with MANY kids from the Philippines (caveat: most of the kids I work with have severe special education needs, so there are different issues). It would be helpful for the receiving school to get any records beforehand but that doesn't always happen, so bring whatever records you can get your hands on. The US school will place them in the assumed correct grade. The current school's wish to keep your kids enrolled has zero impact on the US education laws. The bigger question for me involves the language issue: how is their understanding of English? That may have a bigger impact on how they progress than the midyear move. Ask about English Language Learner programs in your school. I also think @John & Rose have personal experience with this. Please understand that I do not think you will need this, but feel free to send me a PM if their is ever any concerns about Special Education. That is my area. Good luck.

My Dad was a Special Education teacher for 30 years.  I learned it was a very under resourced and under appreciated position.  Not only having to deal with the learning in the classroom, but many students had very complex and difficult family situations.  When we arrived in February this year, for the last 3 months of the school year I had my son in one of the English Language programs and I think it helped speed of the assimilation process.  Although I could have fluent English conversations with him, it was the more technical terms related to science, math, etc which is where I think he most benefited.  Also, helped with his reading which I felt he was behind at.  As others have stated, the younger the child, the more their brains are like sponges and can pick up the nuances of another language very quickly. 

Edited November 17, 2021 by flicks1998

[top_secret 2,496]

4 minutes ago, seekingthetruth said:

I think when kids are exposed to more languages at a young age, their brain finds it easier to pick up new languages.  Many Europeans I know speak 3, 4 or more languages, and started young.

Filipinos must have a special talent for coping with different languages.  They have so many of them.  My wife's family are all Waray.  My wife's sister was living in North Luzon for like 8 months because her husband was working on some kind of construction project up there.  During that time she had her young kids enrolled in the local elementary school.  They taught the kids Ilocano and they very quickly became fluent.  Now mom, dad and every other one of the entire extended family don't speak Ilocano, have no connection to Ilocos, no reason to ever learn Ilocano, and after dads project was finished they would never likely even visit the area again but the 2 kids are having a great time with their secret language that even mom cant understand.  My wife says they are driving her sister crazy with it.

[seekingthetruth 1,248]

3 minutes ago, flicks1998 said:

Although I could have fluent English conversations with him, it was the more technical terms related to science, math, etc which is where I think he most benefited. 

My now 17 year step daughter was 7 when we first met.  She only knew a tiny bit of English.  10 years later, her technical knowledge of English grammar is much better than mine, and she is very fluent.  She is always asking me what some new words mean, and they are usually fairly complicated words.

 

@Stevephoto I am going to send you a PM about my step-daughter.  Maybe you have some advice.