I entered late immersion at Bishop Pinkham Jr High. It's personal for everyone, but I really appreciate knowing additional languages. I rarely use French day-to-day, but that's true of a lot of skills we have; I'd rather have it in my toolbox than not. It has helped me travel, gave me an edge in studying a couple of other languages, and lets you read the literature and watch French movies in their original context (which I do and enjoy). I value such things highly, so your priorities and preferences may vary.
One anecdote I remember hearing from my teachers at BP was that the late immersion students tended to be more careful about their study and use of French, whereas the early immersion group had more familiarity with the language and tended to take shortcuts. I know for a fact that, grammar-wise, we late immersion students were studying the same grammar concepts in grade 9 french class that the early immersion students were studying in their class. In short, I think that entering kids at late immersion is sufficient if your aim is to introduce them to a new language. This may alleviate some of the concerns voiced in the thread regarding early immersion and English composition.
The downside of late immersion is that your child may have to separate from his/her elementary friends. I'm unsure how schools are zoned now, but I went to an English speaking elementary (Cedarbrae) and only a few of us went to BP whereas the rest of our friends went to John Ware or Woodman or whatever. But at that age, it's not an insurmountable obstacle.
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