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Original poster

Moving to Atlanta from the UK - Schools

10 replies

sydneysider2040 · 28/04/2018 23:29

Hi there,

I will be moving to Atlanta from the UK this summer and have 2 kids. My eldest is in Year 1 in the UK, due to start year 2 in September. I believe when we move he will have to start in Grade 1. I presume this means he will effectively be repeating a year? Has anyone experienced the same?

Also, any thoughts on Alpharetta? My husband will be working nearby in Roswell and I hear it's best to avoid commuting.

Thanks!

OP posts:

lifeisunjust · 29/04/2018 08:51

Just because the number is the same does not indicate the content of the curriculum is.

tomhazard · 29/04/2018 10:04

Grade 1 is like year 2. Standards aren't the same but it's not like Year 1

gallicgirl · 29/04/2018 10:12

I have friends who live in Atlanta and traffic can be hideous so yes, best to avoid travel if possible.

Best of luck with it!

cheeseismydownfall · 29/04/2018 12:53

When we moved to the US 2.5 years ago we had children going in to 2nd grade and Kindergarten. I'm going to disagree with the previous posters and say yes, absolutely, they had to repeat a year. In fact, I would say our 2nd grader was covering material in school that I would have expected by Kindergartner (bright enough, but definitely no prodigy) to be able to manage. Schools in the UK are pushing the youngest kids incredibly hard now and there is a huge difference between what is covered in the UK compared to the US at the early grades. I'm not saying that the UK system is better - personally I think it is too much too young - but that is the reality.

Both our kids were bored as hell, and at the end of the school year we took them out of the (locally v well regarded) public (i.e. state) school and put them in a private school where they work 6 months ahead and are able to differentiate more. It still wasn't ideal but it was the best option available.

Fast forward to now, and I would say that the work is now ramping up for our now 4th-grader, and I suspect the gap is closing. Our third kid is just finishing Kindergarten, and I know is hugely "behind" his friends back on the UK who are finishing Year 1. We are due to head back to the UK in the next 12 months and I am concerned about it, but hopefully it will be OK.

Good luck with your move!

QueenCity · 29/04/2018 15:02

We moved here last year when my youngest was in year 2 and yes, he went into 1st grade. For him this was great. He's always struggled academically and there is no way he could have managed the second grade work. In fact I have concerns about how he is going to cope next year.

My eldest was a year 7 and went into 6th grade. She finds the work easy and this is reflected in her scores. I do feel that she needs to be pushed a bit more and we hope that she will be put in more appropriate classes next year. However, it has also been good for her as it has allowed her settle and to gain confidence. I would have hated her to struggle this first year. Both my children love school here and are far more engaged than they ever were in the UK with all the relentless pressure they are under there. I feel that they are getting a more rounded education here. My biggest worry about moving was the children's education but it has become the best thing about this move. Good luck with your move.

Hatchee · 01/05/2018 17:08

Kids in the US start school a year later than in the UK, so if your child starts in the "same" grade/year as his age group, he will be ahead. It's also more rare (but not entirely unheard of) for kids in US schools to get lots of homework/ a more aggressively academic experience until about 4th grade.

judetribe · 01/05/2018 18:18

We moved to Atlanta 2 years ago - our kids are older 11 and 14 - we did find there was a v slight regression in standards compared to uk ( think they catch up as they go thru more years despite starting one year later) but it allowed our kids an easier year to settle in - one thing I would say is that Atlanta seems small compared to London so I think Alpharetta will seem even smaller - depends where you live now (city/town/village) but I agree on keeping commute down as much as possible and look up how schools are rated
www.schooldigger.com/go/GA/schoolrank.aspx
Or
www.greatschools.org/georgia/
Happy to answer any other questions as we are really happy here now!

Gotakeahike · 05/05/2018 12:45

We moved when my DS was going to be going into year 3 in the UK and he was placed in a second grade class in the US. He was bored out of his mind and regressed badly. We ended up pulling him and putting him in a third grade class elsewhere. I agree with a previous poster that private schools seem to work ahead and differentiate more than public schools. That said, different states seem to have different standards and there can even be more than a little difference in your experience from teacher to teacher within a school. Homework policies varied amongst the 2nd grade teachers at ds's school for instance.

I do think it's easier with older kids in middle and high school as there is choice in classes and kids can be placed in classes that better suit their abilities instead of everyone being in the same track in the lower years.

Almondio · 05/05/2018 13:02

Our DCs were in US state system for 3 years, one went into 1st Grade and the other into 3rd as although they were technically 'a year ahead' we wanted them to be with kids of the same age. The curriculum tended to be pretty similar in maths and English (apart from spelling!) And they did lots of fab creative stuff and PE. Non uniform was great, lunches not great so we sent packed lunches. Depends on the school district, but the teachers at ours were fantastic.

They both did well at school and as PP said, it gave them a gentle first year to settle. We've been back in the UK for a few years now, both at high school, and both excelling so the US experience didn't hinder their academic progress. On the contrary, the experiences we had and the places we saw as a family were massively beneficial.

Things to be aware of: the school day tends to be longer than UK (8am-3.30pm) with fewer breaks, often only one at lunch; the semesters are long and most schools close for 12 weeks over summer...that's a LONG time off!

They'll likely need extra vaccinations than standard UK ones to be eligible to enter state school system.

They do routine fire, tornado (southern states) and intruder drills which can be unsettling coming from the UK.

If you're coming back to the UK, br sure to teach DCs the metric measurement system as US is still imperial.

Remind them to ask for an eraser, not a rubber, in class

Good luck with the move!

Semster · 10/05/2018 16:05

My oldest was in the same situation when we moved (just finished year 1). She has a late June birthday so if we've put her in 2nd grade she would have been the youngest by a very long way, so we kept her in 1st grade and trusted the teacher to differentiate the learning for her.

This actually worked fine in her school - I'm sure it doesn't everywhere though. I don't know how good Atlanta schools are.

Bear in mind (in some states at least) parents can hold their children back a year, so potentially 2nd grade will have 8/9 year olds in it, where your child would be 6/7 if you pushed him up.

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