[-]Do you think all schools review your application (as in really read your essays) & ERB score & notes of dc's playdate, if it took place prior to the parent interview? Or do you think they interview you and if they like you, they look at the file?
7 replies [ Reply | Watch | Options ]I think parent interview is low on the list. IOW, if they like what they see on the playdate AND score and school report are good, then hopefully your parent interview went well. I don;t think you can get your kid in by a good parent interview, I think you can keep your kid out witha horrific one though.
[ Reply | Options ]I think they skim the file and if everything looks good and within range (ERB score good, positive playdate notes, etc.), then they take the time to read everything carefully before the interview. If something is a little off, then they don't go into great detail and the interview becomes more of a courtesy.
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[-]Any NEST middle school parents on? What is the homework load like?
9 replies [ Reply | Watch | Options ]read "Helicopter Mom" blog on Good City Living site. she comes off like a little bit of a nutcase but the school sounds kind of nightmarish from a homework load perspective. Maybe it has changed, though.
[ Reply | Options ]I had dinner with a family who has a middle school NEST student. Both the parents and the student said it was too much. The parents said they didn't really know what they were getting into, the child needs tutors to keep up. They aren't happy - but don't really no what to do about it.
[ Reply | Options ]In what grade is your child's friend? We know several sixth grade families who said that hw is so far manageable.
[ Reply | Options ]It was over the summer, I don't know it it was going into 7 or going into 8, but not going into 6.
[ Reply | Options ]NP- I'm very concerned about his too, and principal at the tour was perversely unenlightening even though the question was repeated many times. I have just heard of two girls withdrawing after fifth because of hw load. My dc and I loved the school on tour, but she needs tons of sleep and physical/social activity and with a late bday to boot may have real problems adjusting to 3 hr+ workload. Not sure how to get the straight scoop here.
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[-]How do you think ERB/Playdate/School report/Parent interview are weighed, generally speaking? 25/25/25/25 or do you think more emphasis is put on ERB and playdate? or varies by dc? which component is weighed the least?
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I think consistency is very important, but for most schools playdate is the most important component. They clearly want to see certain things directly. And aside from the playdate, some schools will even come to preschool to get another look at dc.
[ Reply | Options ]OR: agreed. at the end of the day, the playdate and follow visits to the school are probably the most important. I think they use the other 3 things to substantiate what they see. thats why consistency is important. if one of the other things is off, it will raise questions which is not good when there are so many candidates for them to chose from.
[ Reply | Options ]Two qs: what are schols looking for directly, and do you know which schools go to preschools to have a second look?
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i agree they are looking for consistency, but i would rank order by importance: playdate/school visit 40-50%, school report 30%, erb - you need to make a cutoff, number varies by school, parent interview - can't really help if playdate/school visit don't go well but can def hurt, esp if it looks like you'll be a pita
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[-]5 year old daughter wants piano lessons. We are on Upper East Side, have a piano in our home. Looking for a studio close by or someone to teach in our apartment. Anyone have any recommendations?
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[-]Gani preschool. How is it? Teachers? Diversity? Seems nice from the website. I'm a little ashamed to ask, but what's the exmissions process like there? We're probably aiming toward private ongoings down the road, maybe uptown. TIA.
9 replies [ Reply | Watch | Options ]ds is there. it is no longer named gani, it is the 14th street Y preschool. teachers seem good, a few are more "nurturing" than "teaching." this is not bad for the youngins. i have not seen a black child, maybe a few latinos. a handful of asians/mixed white and asian. not everyone is jewish. supposedly dcs get into their first choice for ongoings, but not everyone is interested in going private. not there yet, but i would think families that want private will get personal attention. liz the director has a private school pedigree (as teacher and principal), and zelda the exmissions person used to be doa at grace. in other words, connections. ds loves it.
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It's now called the 14th Street Y preschool. It's reasonably diverse -- it's a Jewish preschool, but there are plenty of non-Jewish families, including black, Asian, etc. I'd estimate about 50% Jewish and 50% everything else. The teachers are very warm and welcoming and teach based upon the Reggio Emilia philosophy. As far as exmissions -- they do provide some services and guidance on what schools would be best for your dc, etc., but my sense is that if you're planning on sending your dc to a place like Collegiate or Spence, I'm not sure they're going to do as much as some of the more competitive preschools. This isn't an issue for me, personally, since we're going public, and I wouldn't want to dissuade you from applying or anything, ...
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[-]ARe there any privates that it's not too late to apply to yet?
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[-]Are there any 4's programs that would take ds in January (for only half the year)? He will go to public kindergarten in the fall. Live on the UES so any info on the schools in that area appreciated...tia
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[-]Do private schools expect you to give the gap between tuition and cost per student to the annual fund? We got a letter telling us the gap amt and it seems they want us to give that amount.
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They want everyone to be AWARE that there is such a gap. Every school makes it very clear that tuition only covers a portion of the annual operating expenses of the school. Those who can afford to donate that amount and wish to support the school should. OTOH, if you cannot afford to make a gift like that, give whatever you can afford.
[ Reply | Options ]For us, it's just not going to happen. We do not get FA, but tuition is a real stretch for us. Anything we give to the Annual Fund is going to be nominal, certainly well under $1000. They can ask all they want, they just will not get it, at least not from us.
[ Reply | Options ]It's not so much a gap of tuition & cost per student as it is the gap between what they get from families paying full tuition and those paying less or none. Since fa families get assistance even beyond the tuition, by getting financial help to go on school trips and to buy books from the book fair, while we struggle to pay tuition and can't do these add ons, I've decided that this year I can't donate (other than a 'participation' amt, say $20).
[ Reply | Options ]i think y ou're looking at it too specifically - poster after you is correct - it's the total annual cost of running the school minus the total tuition received.
[ Reply | Options ]"Do you" poster: That is not what I am actually saying because in your definition, the gap is greater because of FA students. What I am saying is when we report this gap, it is simply between what it costs to run the school per student and tuition per student. (The one caveat is if there is Financial Aid which comes out of annual/operating part of budget.)
[ Reply | Options ]I think we're agreeing with each other. What I'm saying is that when I pay full tuition ($33000), while another family pays say $20,000 and it costs $30000/child to educate them, the school will be short by $7000 when educating these two children. However, now I'm being asked to close this gap while I have to keep telling my dc, 'no, you can't do this or that' in extra school activities because they're too expensive, while fa family gets extra funds from the school so that their dc can participate (as per a posting from a few weeks back from fa families). All I'm saying is I've decided now to save the little bit I might have sent in for the next few years so that my dc can do one of these activities maybe too.
[ Reply | Options ]"Do you" again: Ask the business office or whoever sent the letter for the details. But according to most accounting/reporting standards for this stuff that I have worked with this would be the scenario: It costs $1M to run the school. There are 25 students. (So it costs $40,000/student) Tuition is $30,000. Gap is $10,000. (The gap and the financial aid (money to offset tuition) are made up by development (fund raising), endowment income, etc.)
[ Reply | Options ]The reason the FA family gets extra funds so their DC can participate in stuff is that in order for FA families to be truly part of the community, the school needs to help them do everything. Doesn't really help them feel part of the community if the other kids go to Shanghai for a week in spring break and they can't go.
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[-]Suppose you're a legacy at a tt private. Not at all involved in the school. Gave a tiny $$ years ago, nothing since. Now I have a dc, thinking about applying down the road. Is it ridiculous to get involved at this point, since it would be obvious why? How would an out-of-the-blue donation be viewed? I'm so glad this is anonymous b/c all of this makes me ill. Apologies to all those offended!
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I don't think the school is anti semitic. I think they have a broader international student body and many UN families, many of whom do not support all of Israel's actions or policies. I do not think people are vocal about this though.
[ Reply | Options ]oh. I see. that makes sense. I guess a progressive/liberal type school would be the same way then
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do you mean progressive or liberal? one is an educational philosophy, the other is social/political. in the US, liberal does not have usually have much to do with your feelings on Israel, but in most of the rest of the world, being liberal generally includes being pro-Palestine, if that counts as anti-semitic. -np
[ Reply | Options ]What are you talking about? Of course progressivism is a political philosophy - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressivism
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not at all, but you will find that most families views reflect the diversity of world. people are not uniformly pro-israel, as you might find in many schools with predominantly US families. most of the world IS critical of the settlements and other other israeli anti-palestinian policies...many israelies are critical of these policies! that is not at all the same as being anti-semitic.
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i should preface this by saying, i was not born jewish. based on some of the answers here and in my experience "liberal" or "progressive" does not mean an adherent of equal rights or a non-racist viewpoint. sadly, after several trips to isreal, i realized my "liberal" education and knowledge gleaned from the "news" media had not provided me with the facts of the isreal/palestinian situation. isreal is not "anti-palestinian", in fact, they consistently make their citizens suffer in efforts to make concessions to the palestinians. while some who life in isreal are indigenous, isrealis and palestinians are both refugees most of arab lands. though in recent years, isreal has absorbed a tremendous amount of russian immigrants. most isrealis are ...
[ Reply | Options ]I don't know where to begin disagreeing with the manifest ignorance of this post. I will make two suggestions: (1) Israel is spelled "Israel" and (2) read this article and think really, really hard about it: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20091116_the_new_state_solution/
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FWIW, appears Larry Weiss will likley be new head of school at Brooklyn Friends, if that helps your decision.
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Similar reputations: will challenge kids who are bright and highly motivated, but also a haven for the bright kids who aren't academic stars. Geography matters: do you want your kid in Park Slope or Downton/Brooklyn Heights? Also, BF is Quaker, for those who consider that important.
[ Reply | Options ]my experience with BFS is that they seem to want to over-diagnose learning problems, and there is too much misbehavior in the lower school (and these issues might be related, kids getting away with nonsense because people think they have some kind of problem?), that was our experience anyway
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They are completely different schools/locations. We sent 3 dcs to BCS two through 12th grade the third a bit less. BCS is the more aggressive academically and guidance is superior. Where do you live? Have you seen Bklyn Friends location? It really all depends on your family, dcs' personality/strengths etc and location. You can't go too far wrong with either. My dcs went to Ivy league colleges so I don't get the comment about "stars" lol
[ Reply | Options ]check out the BFS web site, they get FEW Ivy placements, most often NONE admitted to HYP or any of the biggest name colleges
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Lived in Brooklyn for 23 years! Did my research! Results are that my opinion is you can't go wrong here if you make your decision based on the factors that I mentioned! OK?
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If you base your decision on research and the qualitative factors that are unique to your dcs ita these are both good schools just intended for slightly different students.
[ Reply | Options ]different in what way? Are you trying to say BC is for academically stronger kids? We went wrong by NOT checking college placement, sent ds to BFS when we would have been better at BCS. Had to xfer out later, classes were not challenging enough at BFS for my ds. OTOH for lower grades we were more attracted to BFS for social reasons.
[ Reply | Options ]some people think BFS is good for kids with LDs, and I heard about a dc who recently left BCS lower grades as xfer to BFS.
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This is a rude question (so don't answer if you don't care to), but WHICH ivy? If it was HYP then that would be more common outcome at BCS as opposed to BFS, where it seems QUITE rare, if one has seen their college placement for the past few years. I think they have had more success with the less prominent ivy colleges (getting a handful of kids in over a 5 yr period). Still, I think college placement at BFS is weak relative to other privates in NYC, and schools like BCS and Packer are more on par with Manhattan privates in this regard, with significantly stronger college placement stats. These considerations are silly IMO when the kids are 5, but they do grow in importance as the kids reach middle school and high school. In the same way, i...
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[-]DS taking ERB this weekend. Any advice? I have no idea what they even ask on the ERB's. We have done zero prep. Can anyone help me out a little? TIA
11 replies [ Reply | Watch | Options ]Make sure he gets sleep and has a healthy breakfast. Don't share your anxiety with him. He'll be fine.
[ Reply | Options ]thanks. WHat do they have them do? Any info at all would be appreciated. Is it all playing with blocks? puzzles? he's not good at puzzles. Just hope the whole darn thing isn't puzzles and making pictures of people...boy! :)
[ Reply | Options ]They take him into a testing room and leave you in a waiting area. It's been a while for my dc but they talk to them, do mazes, do completion pictures, you can google it and it will show up. If the test is this weekend, seriously don't cram any prep in there, it will be a mistake.
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everyone says to make sure your dc gets a good night sleep for tests, and for playdates. but you cant control a dc who decides to wake at 5am on day of test/playdate. btdt! ds was up at 5am for two playdates this year, sleeps til 7 other days. and no, didn't know they were happening, pur "luck"
[ Reply | Options ]Be sure he gets a good nights sleep, great breakfast, burn off some steam before. Don't tell DS that he's going to be playing games or doing puzzles or fun things... that really isn't what it is from child's POV. I told DS that he was going to be meeting and working with a "special teacher" who likes to find out what 4 year old kids know and what they can do. Told him that all he needed to do was "listen to the teacher, follow the directions, ask questions if you don't understand, do your best work". He knew I'd be waiting right outside the office and that we had planned a nice afternoon once he was done. I did make it all seem "important" and "serious" but tried not to make it stressful at all. It worked, he actually sort of enjoyed taking...
[ Reply | Options ]I would get some Might Minds or whatever they are called, just be sure your ds is comfortable answering questions like "what does SHINY mean"? "What do you do if there is a fire at your house?" I don't think these are actual questions on the test, but could be similar. Also, emphasize to your dc that you GUESS and KEEP TALKING even if you are not exactly sure on these questions. The kids get more points that way. Tell him not to say "I don't know" but just GUESS! If you can give these pointers without making ds nervous , go for it, otherwise just say and do nothing and hope for the best!
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[-]Help please! Please help me rank these high schools in terms of academic rigors, nice students, good rapport between administration and parents...Baruch College Campus HS, Lab HS, ELRO, Millenium, and Beacon. Thanks.
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Ok, so the "hyped" schools are Baruch and Beacon. That leaves ELRO, Lab, and Millenium as the "unhyped" schools. What else?
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Beacon, just completely awful communication, out of control drug scene- openly selling outside the school, very nice students, academics...when they bother to show up, or do the work, good. Very overcrowded. I'd go Bard anytime.
[ Reply | Options ]Op here. So ELRO, Lab, and Millenium are the only ones not commented on so far. Can I assume that means there's really nothing blatantly bad about them?
[ Reply | Options ]I think what you can assume is that there haven't been UBers with any knowledge of those schools.
[ Reply | Options ]You have to tour them and go with your gut. Millennium and ElRo are new, incredibly popular, getting just as difficult to get into as Beacon. ElRo is traditional, Millennium more progressive. Lab is very collaborative, which means lots of group work. They are all considered good schools and may or may not be right for your dc.
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[-]dd will take erb in april/may. what, if anything could we or should we do to help her prepare? are there materials you can get so that she'll be familiar with the topics. is the g&t test the same one (same topics)? tia.
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[-]Suppose you make a deposit on a preschool that you're not thrilled about. One month after the ISAAGNY deadline, you get into your #1 choice. If you're able to forfeit your deposit, can you accept this new school?
12 replies [ Reply | Watch | Options ]It would never happen. An ISAAGNY school won't "poach" a family from another ISAAGNY school if you've already signed contract and paid deposit.
[ Reply | Options ]These ISAAGNY posts are so funny. ISAAGNY is a powerless nothing association. A school could very easily call you up and offer you a spot after the fact.
[ Reply | Options ]For preschool, it's essentially true, but for K applications, your PSD will have already told them that you have accepted a spot elsewhere. If you have no PSD (applying out of public PreK), then it's a matter of your following the rules you agreed to when you signed the applications.
[ Reply | Options ]BTDT and actually the ISAAGNY schools do respect each others contracts. We were WL last year and got a call in late March from our #1 pick with a WL opening. First thing the DOA asked was if we were already in contract with another ISAAGNY school, when I said yes she told us she couldn't offer us the spot.
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