What is the most elite NYC preschool?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Can you explain how a preschool would prioritize prepping for private K?

NP - It comes from the parents and not the preschool. When you start hearing about 4 year olds that can read, you start to worry whether your child is falling behind. Some preschools are play-based learning so the director will tell you not to worry and all childrens will learn to read soon enough in K. You start to feel the need to supplement outside the preschool.

TTs want smart kids not prepped kids. Beyond being smart there are obviously other qualities that matter. I would focus more on making sure the kid is curious, enjoys learning, has a great personality, communicates well with peer and adults, and can control emotions well. Rather than teaching math or reading early.

m


Agree. Great advice. Let them love learning and it will all fall into place. Have faith in your child and their personality.

Exactly, best gift we can give them is a happy childhood. It will all fall into place. Counter to some common perceptions, most TTs put more weight in evaluating the kids themselves than anything else, so really for the right kid it doesn’t matter if it’s TT preschool, no name preschool, public preschool, your child will shine no matter any of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Can you explain how a preschool would prioritize prepping for private K?

NP - It comes from the parents and not the preschool. When you start hearing about 4 year olds that can read, you start to worry whether your child is falling behind. Some preschools are play-based learning so the director will tell you not to worry and all childrens will learn to read soon enough in K. You start to feel the need to supplement outside the preschool.

TTs want smart kids not prepped kids. Beyond being smart there are obviously other qualities that matter. I would focus more on making sure the kid is curious, enjoys learning, has a great personality, communicates well with peer and adults, and can control emotions well. Rather than teaching math or reading early.

m


Agree. Great advice. Let them love learning and it will all fall into place. Have faith in your child and their personality.

Exactly, best gift we can give them is a happy childhood. It will all fall into place. Counter to some common perceptions, most TTs put more weight in evaluating the kids themselves than anything else, so really for the right kid it doesn’t matter if it’s TT preschool, no name preschool, public preschool, your child will shine no matter any of that.

I second this. Based on my observation of my kids’ classmates at TT school. When my kids were in K, their K class had a decent number of kids from public schools or no name preschools. Some of them were clearly academically advanced but some were not. But what I noticed all of them had were the qualities where I can see them doing well in any setting. They were engaged, social, knew how to listen directions, curious, and etc.That made me think that these admissions people know what they are doing.

Let your kid shine. Just don’t get in the way by being obnoxious or annoying parent during the tour or interview:

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Can you explain how a preschool would prioritize prepping for private K?

NP - It comes from the parents and not the preschool. When you start hearing about 4 year olds that can read, you start to worry whether your child is falling behind. Some preschools are play-based learning so the director will tell you not to worry and all childrens will learn to read soon enough in K. You start to feel the need to supplement outside the preschool.

TTs want smart kids not prepped kids. Beyond being smart there are obviously other qualities that matter. I would focus more on making sure the kid is curious, enjoys learning, has a great personality, communicates well with peer and adults, and can control emotions well. Rather than teaching math or reading early.

m


Agree. Great advice. Let them love learning and it will all fall into place. Have faith in your child and their personality.

Exactly, best gift we can give them is a happy childhood. It will all fall into place. Counter to some common perceptions, most TTs put more weight in evaluating the kids themselves than anything else, so really for the right kid it doesn’t matter if it’s TT preschool, no name preschool, public preschool, your child will shine no matter any of that.

I second this. Based on my observation of my kids’ classmates at TT school. When my kids were in K, their K class had a decent number of kids from public schools or no name preschools. Some of them were clearly academically advanced but some were not. But what I noticed all of them had were the qualities where I can see them doing well in any setting. They were engaged, social, knew how to listen directions, curious, and etc.That made me think that these admissions people know what they are doing.

Let your kid shine. Just don’t get in the way by being obnoxious or annoying parent during the tour or interview:

Exactly this. Schools don't want parents who think they can force some kind of outcome for their kid. It risks becoming a nightmare later on.

My kid got into a "TT" school too and they stressed during the admitted parents event that reading is not required heading into K. They try and pick out what the above poster called out: bright, curious, engaged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Can you explain how a preschool would prioritize prepping for private K?

NP - It comes from the parents and not the preschool. When you start hearing about 4 year olds that can read, you start to worry whether your child is falling behind. Some preschools are play-based learning so the director will tell you not to worry and all childrens will learn to read soon enough in K. You start to feel the need to supplement outside the preschool.

TTs want smart kids not prepped kids. Beyond being smart there are obviously other qualities that matter. I would focus more on making sure the kid is curious, enjoys learning, has a great personality, communicates well with peer and adults, and can control emotions well. Rather than teaching math or reading early.

m


Agree. Great advice. Let them love learning and it will all fall into place. Have faith in your child and their personality.

Exactly, best gift we can give them is a happy childhood. It will all fall into place. Counter to some common perceptions, most TTs put more weight in evaluating the kids themselves than anything else, so really for the right kid it doesn’t matter if it’s TT preschool, no name preschool, public preschool, your child will shine no matter any of that.

I second this. Based on my observation of my kids’ classmates at TT school. When my kids were in K, their K class had a decent number of kids from public schools or no name preschools. Some of them were clearly academically advanced but some were not. But what I noticed all of them had were the qualities where I can see them doing well in any setting. They were engaged, social, knew how to listen directions, curious, and etc.That made me think that these admissions people know what they are doing.

Let your kid shine. Just don’t get in the way by being obnoxious or annoying parent during the tour or interview:

Exactly this. Schools don't want parents who think they can force some kind of outcome for their kid. It risks becoming a nightmare later on.

My kid got into a "TT" school too and they stressed during the admitted parents event that reading is not required heading into K. They try and pick out what the above poster called out: bright, curious, engaged.

I was the first one to not care about tiers but simply making my DC happy and give them tools and enablement to thrive because I noticed their eagerness to learn. We enrolled in a non-feeder independent private play-based preschool. My DC is a force of nature in a good way and now at a TT K getting amazing feedback about their attention, engagement levels, and being made an example in class by their teachers.

My DC got 2 acceptances in K from TT single gender schools and none from coeds. We were still happy with the outcome and our 1st choice came through but that made me start thinking whether coming in as an unconnected family from a non-feeder might not be the best approach for my 2nd DC who is very different from the 1st. Our PSD while lovely is quite new with no strong ties or experience in exmissions, we had to do this process a lot by ourselves last year and it ran us to the ground with much stress involved and surprises. I’m worried how this might go for my very introverted 2nd DC so I wonder if I should look into feeders for them. What would you do in my case?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Can you explain how a preschool would prioritize prepping for private K?

NP - It comes from the parents and not the preschool. When you start hearing about 4 year olds that can read, you start to worry whether your child is falling behind. Some preschools are play-based learning so the director will tell you not to worry and all childrens will learn to read soon enough in K. You start to feel the need to supplement outside the preschool.

TTs want smart kids not prepped kids. Beyond being smart there are obviously other qualities that matter. I would focus more on making sure the kid is curious, enjoys learning, has a great personality, communicates well with peer and adults, and can control emotions well. Rather than teaching math or reading early.

m


Agree. Great advice. Let them love learning and it will all fall into place. Have faith in your child and their personality.

Exactly, best gift we can give them is a happy childhood. It will all fall into place. Counter to some common perceptions, most TTs put more weight in evaluating the kids themselves than anything else, so really for the right kid it doesn’t matter if it’s TT preschool, no name preschool, public preschool, your child will shine no matter any of that.

I second this. Based on my observation of my kids’ classmates at TT school. When my kids were in K, their K class had a decent number of kids from public schools or no name preschools. Some of them were clearly academically advanced but some were not. But what I noticed all of them had were the qualities where I can see them doing well in any setting. They were engaged, social, knew how to listen directions, curious, and etc.That made me think that these admissions people know what they are doing.

Let your kid shine. Just don’t get in the way by being obnoxious or annoying parent during the tour or interview:

Exactly this. Schools don't want parents who think they can force some kind of outcome for their kid. It risks becoming a nightmare later on.

My kid got into a "TT" school too and they stressed during the admitted parents event that reading is not required heading into K. They try and pick out what the above poster called out: bright, curious, engaged.

I was the first one to not care about tiers but simply making my DC happy and give them tools and enablement to thrive because I noticed their eagerness to learn. We enrolled in a non-feeder independent private play-based preschool. My DC is a force of nature in a good way and now at a TT K getting amazing feedback about their attention, engagement levels, and being made an example in class by their teachers.

My DC got 2 acceptances in K from TT single gender schools and none from coeds. We were still happy with the outcome and our 1st choice came through but that made me start thinking whether coming in as an unconnected family from a non-feeder might not be the best approach for my 2nd DC who is very different from the 1st. Our PSD while lovely is quite new with no strong ties or experience in exmissions, we had to do this process a lot by ourselves last year and it ran us to the ground with much stress involved and surprises. I’m worried how this might go for my very introverted 2nd DC so I wonder if I should look into feeders for them. What would you do in my case?

Sounds like they are different gender?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Can you explain how a preschool would prioritize prepping for private K?

NP - It comes from the parents and not the preschool. When you start hearing about 4 year olds that can read, you start to worry whether your child is falling behind. Some preschools are play-based learning so the director will tell you not to worry and all childrens will learn to read soon enough in K. You start to feel the need to supplement outside the preschool.

TTs want smart kids not prepped kids. Beyond being smart there are obviously other qualities that matter. I would focus more on making sure the kid is curious, enjoys learning, has a great personality, communicates well with peer and adults, and can control emotions well. Rather than teaching math or reading early.

m


Agree. Great advice. Let them love learning and it will all fall into place. Have faith in your child and their personality.

Exactly, best gift we can give them is a happy childhood. It will all fall into place. Counter to some common perceptions, most TTs put more weight in evaluating the kids themselves than anything else, so really for the right kid it doesn’t matter if it’s TT preschool, no name preschool, public preschool, your child will shine no matter any of that.

I second this. Based on my observation of my kids’ classmates at TT school. When my kids were in K, their K class had a decent number of kids from public schools or no name preschools. Some of them were clearly academically advanced but some were not. But what I noticed all of them had were the qualities where I can see them doing well in any setting. They were engaged, social, knew how to listen directions, curious, and etc.That made me think that these admissions people know what they are doing.

Let your kid shine. Just don’t get in the way by being obnoxious or annoying parent during the tour or interview:

Exactly this. Schools don't want parents who think they can force some kind of outcome for their kid. It risks becoming a nightmare later on.

My kid got into a "TT" school too and they stressed during the admitted parents event that reading is not required heading into K. They try and pick out what the above poster called out: bright, curious, engaged.

I was the first one to not care about tiers but simply making my DC happy and give them tools and enablement to thrive because I noticed their eagerness to learn. We enrolled in a non-feeder independent private play-based preschool. My DC is a force of nature in a good way and now at a TT K getting amazing feedback about their attention, engagement levels, and being made an example in class by their teachers.

My DC got 2 acceptances in K from TT single gender schools and none from coeds. We were still happy with the outcome and our 1st choice came through but that made me start thinking whether coming in as an unconnected family from a non-feeder might not be the best approach for my 2nd DC who is very different from the 1st. Our PSD while lovely is quite new with no strong ties or experience in exmissions, we had to do this process a lot by ourselves last year and it ran us to the ground with much stress involved and surprises. I’m worried how this might go for my very introverted 2nd DC so I wonder if I should look into feeders for them. What would you do in my case?

Sounds like they are different gender?

Exactly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Can you explain how a preschool would prioritize prepping for private K?

NP - It comes from the parents and not the preschool. When you start hearing about 4 year olds that can read, you start to worry whether your child is falling behind. Some preschools are play-based learning so the director will tell you not to worry and all childrens will learn to read soon enough in K. You start to feel the need to supplement outside the preschool.

TTs want smart kids not prepped kids. Beyond being smart there are obviously other qualities that matter. I would focus more on making sure the kid is curious, enjoys learning, has a great personality, communicates well with peer and adults, and can control emotions well. Rather than teaching math or reading early.

m


Agree. Great advice. Let them love learning and it will all fall into place. Have faith in your child and their personality.

Exactly, best gift we can give them is a happy childhood. It will all fall into place. Counter to some common perceptions, most TTs put more weight in evaluating the kids themselves than anything else, so really for the right kid it doesn’t matter if it’s TT preschool, no name preschool, public preschool, your child will shine no matter any of that.

I second this. Based on my observation of my kids’ classmates at TT school. When my kids were in K, their K class had a decent number of kids from public schools or no name preschools. Some of them were clearly academically advanced but some were not. But what I noticed all of them had were the qualities where I can see them doing well in any setting. They were engaged, social, knew how to listen directions, curious, and etc.That made me think that these admissions people know what they are doing.

Let your kid shine. Just don’t get in the way by being obnoxious or annoying parent during the tour or interview:

Exactly this. Schools don't want parents who think they can force some kind of outcome for their kid. It risks becoming a nightmare later on.

My kid got into a "TT" school too and they stressed during the admitted parents event that reading is not required heading into K. They try and pick out what the above poster called out: bright, curious, engaged.

I was the first one to not care about tiers but simply making my DC happy and give them tools and enablement to thrive because I noticed their eagerness to learn. We enrolled in a non-feeder independent private play-based preschool. My DC is a force of nature in a good way and now at a TT K getting amazing feedback about their attention, engagement levels, and being made an example in class by their teachers.

My DC got 2 acceptances in K from TT single gender schools and none from coeds. We were still happy with the outcome and our 1st choice came through but that made me start thinking whether coming in as an unconnected family from a non-feeder might not be the best approach for my 2nd DC who is very different from the 1st. Our PSD while lovely is quite new with no strong ties or experience in exmissions, we had to do this process a lot by ourselves last year and it ran us to the ground with much stress involved and surprises. I’m worried how this might go for my very introverted 2nd DC so I wonder if I should look into feeders for them. What would you do in my case?

Is introversion a bad thing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Can you explain how a preschool would prioritize prepping for private K?

NP - It comes from the parents and not the preschool. When you start hearing about 4 year olds that can read, you start to worry whether your child is falling behind. Some preschools are play-based learning so the director will tell you not to worry and all childrens will learn to read soon enough in K. You start to feel the need to supplement outside the preschool.

TTs want smart kids not prepped kids. Beyond being smart there are obviously other qualities that matter. I would focus more on making sure the kid is curious, enjoys learning, has a great personality, communicates well with peer and adults, and can control emotions well. Rather than teaching math or reading early.

m


Agree. Great advice. Let them love learning and it will all fall into place. Have faith in your child and their personality.

Exactly, best gift we can give them is a happy childhood. It will all fall into place. Counter to some common perceptions, most TTs put more weight in evaluating the kids themselves than anything else, so really for the right kid it doesn’t matter if it’s TT preschool, no name preschool, public preschool, your child will shine no matter any of that.

I second this. Based on my observation of my kids’ classmates at TT school. When my kids were in K, their K class had a decent number of kids from public schools or no name preschools. Some of them were clearly academically advanced but some were not. But what I noticed all of them had were the qualities where I can see them doing well in any setting. They were engaged, social, knew how to listen directions, curious, and etc.That made me think that these admissions people know what they are doing.

Let your kid shine. Just don’t get in the way by being obnoxious or annoying parent during the tour or interview:

Exactly this. Schools don't want parents who think they can force some kind of outcome for their kid. It risks becoming a nightmare later on.

My kid got into a "TT" school too and they stressed during the admitted parents event that reading is not required heading into K. They try and pick out what the above poster called out: bright, curious, engaged.

I was the first one to not care about tiers but simply making my DC happy and give them tools and enablement to thrive because I noticed their eagerness to learn. We enrolled in a non-feeder independent private play-based preschool. My DC is a force of nature in a good way and now at a TT K getting amazing feedback about their attention, engagement levels, and being made an example in class by their teachers.

My DC got 2 acceptances in K from TT single gender schools and none from coeds. We were still happy with the outcome and our 1st choice came through but that made me start thinking whether coming in as an unconnected family from a non-feeder might not be the best approach for my 2nd DC who is very different from the 1st. Our PSD while lovely is quite new with no strong ties or experience in exmissions, we had to do this process a lot by ourselves last year and it ran us to the ground with much stress involved and surprises. I’m worried how this might go for my very introverted 2nd DC so I wonder if I should look into feeders for them. What would you do in my case?

Sounds like they are different gender?

Exactly

You should pat on your back for navigating the process with such great outcome with the first one. You will feel less stressed when doing it again. I think even for people working with an experienced director there might still be surprises along the way. Even though you won’t have legacy priority I think these schools especially the SS schools all talk to each other and the fact your older dc got into a TT SS in the opposite sex should help your second dc as well. I personally would prefer to maintain a long term relationship with the preschool director (probably better recommendation that comes out of it) vs. going to a new school a few months before starting the applications. I don’t think being introverted is a deal breaker at all. I’m sure you will have great outcome for your second dc regardless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Can you explain how a preschool would prioritize prepping for private K?

NP - It comes from the parents and not the preschool. When you start hearing about 4 year olds that can read, you start to worry whether your child is falling behind. Some preschools are play-based learning so the director will tell you not to worry and all childrens will learn to read soon enough in K. You start to feel the need to supplement outside the preschool.

TTs want smart kids not prepped kids. Beyond being smart there are obviously other qualities that matter. I would focus more on making sure the kid is curious, enjoys learning, has a great personality, communicates well with peer and adults, and can control emotions well. Rather than teaching math or reading early.

m


Agree. Great advice. Let them love learning and it will all fall into place. Have faith in your child and their personality.

Exactly, best gift we can give them is a happy childhood. It will all fall into place. Counter to some common perceptions, most TTs put more weight in evaluating the kids themselves than anything else, so really for the right kid it doesn’t matter if it’s TT preschool, no name preschool, public preschool, your child will shine no matter any of that.

I second this. Based on my observation of my kids’ classmates at TT school. When my kids were in K, their K class had a decent number of kids from public schools or no name preschools. Some of them were clearly academically advanced but some were not. But what I noticed all of them had were the qualities where I can see them doing well in any setting. They were engaged, social, knew how to listen directions, curious, and etc.That made me think that these admissions people know what they are doing.

Let your kid shine. Just don’t get in the way by being obnoxious or annoying parent during the tour or interview:

Exactly this. Schools don't want parents who think they can force some kind of outcome for their kid. It risks becoming a nightmare later on.

My kid got into a "TT" school too and they stressed during the admitted parents event that reading is not required heading into K. They try and pick out what the above poster called out: bright, curious, engaged.

I was the first one to not care about tiers but simply making my DC happy and give them tools and enablement to thrive because I noticed their eagerness to learn. We enrolled in a non-feeder independent private play-based preschool. My DC is a force of nature in a good way and now at a TT K getting amazing feedback about their attention, engagement levels, and being made an example in class by their teachers.

My DC got 2 acceptances in K from TT single gender schools and none from coeds. We were still happy with the outcome and our 1st choice came through but that made me start thinking whether coming in as an unconnected family from a non-feeder might not be the best approach for my 2nd DC who is very different from the 1st. Our PSD while lovely is quite new with no strong ties or experience in exmissions, we had to do this process a lot by ourselves last year and it ran us to the ground with much stress involved and surprises. I’m worried how this might go for my very introverted 2nd DC so I wonder if I should look into feeders for them. What would you do in my case?

You guys sound awesome! Happy it worked out for DC. I'm the poster who is strongly considering picking a non-feeder (awaiting preschool results at end of this month). Do you mind sharing what you mean by "we had to do this process a lot by ourselves last year and it ran us to the ground with much stress involved and surprises"? We would also love to target SS schools like a Collegiate or St Bernard's eventually.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Can you explain how a preschool would prioritize prepping for private K?

NP - It comes from the parents and not the preschool. When you start hearing about 4 year olds that can read, you start to worry whether your child is falling behind. Some preschools are play-based learning so the director will tell you not to worry and all childrens will learn to read soon enough in K. You start to feel the need to supplement outside the preschool.

TTs want smart kids not prepped kids. Beyond being smart there are obviously other qualities that matter. I would focus more on making sure the kid is curious, enjoys learning, has a great personality, communicates well with peer and adults, and can control emotions well. Rather than teaching math or reading early.

m


Agree. Great advice. Let them love learning and it will all fall into place. Have faith in your child and their personality.

Exactly, best gift we can give them is a happy childhood. It will all fall into place. Counter to some common perceptions, most TTs put more weight in evaluating the kids themselves than anything else, so really for the right kid it doesn’t matter if it’s TT preschool, no name preschool, public preschool, your child will shine no matter any of that.

I second this. Based on my observation of my kids’ classmates at TT school. When my kids were in K, their K class had a decent number of kids from public schools or no name preschools. Some of them were clearly academically advanced but some were not. But what I noticed all of them had were the qualities where I can see them doing well in any setting. They were engaged, social, knew how to listen directions, curious, and etc.That made me think that these admissions people know what they are doing.

Let your kid shine. Just don’t get in the way by being obnoxious or annoying parent during the tour or interview:

Exactly this. Schools don't want parents who think they can force some kind of outcome for their kid. It risks becoming a nightmare later on.

My kid got into a "TT" school too and they stressed during the admitted parents event that reading is not required heading into K. They try and pick out what the above poster called out: bright, curious, engaged.

I was the first one to not care about tiers but simply making my DC happy and give them tools and enablement to thrive because I noticed their eagerness to learn. We enrolled in a non-feeder independent private play-based preschool. My DC is a force of nature in a good way and now at a TT K getting amazing feedback about their attention, engagement levels, and being made an example in class by their teachers.

My DC got 2 acceptances in K from TT single gender schools and none from coeds. We were still happy with the outcome and our 1st choice came through but that made me start thinking whether coming in as an unconnected family from a non-feeder might not be the best approach for my 2nd DC who is very different from the 1st. Our PSD while lovely is quite new with no strong ties or experience in exmissions, we had to do this process a lot by ourselves last year and it ran us to the ground with much stress involved and surprises. I’m worried how this might go for my very introverted 2nd DC so I wonder if I should look into feeders for them. What would you do in my case?

You guys sound awesome! Happy it worked out for DC. I'm the poster who is strongly considering picking a non-feeder (awaiting preschool results at end of this month). Do you mind sharing what you mean by "we had to do this process a lot by ourselves last year and it ran us to the ground with much stress involved and surprises"? We would also love to target SS schools like a Collegiate or St Bernard's eventually.

Not PP but I can chime in as a parent that just navigated the whole thing with no connected PSD help.

Do you see the neuroticism in this threads? Take that and multiple it more as you start to navigate the actual process.

A lot of this is mental pressure parents put on themselves. Attend the open house for any of the more coveted schools and you will feel the competition at play.

Then there’s the parent statement, the parent interview, and child playdate. Multiple by the number of schools you ti apply to, and combine that with the uncertainty of admissions in general.

FWIW DC got into one of these highly coveted schools. We even met one parent at an admitted families who had done feeder one year then UPK the next precisely to escape the madness of being among parents constantly stressing about K admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Can you explain how a preschool would prioritize prepping for private K?

NP - It comes from the parents and not the preschool. When you start hearing about 4 year olds that can read, you start to worry whether your child is falling behind. Some preschools are play-based learning so the director will tell you not to worry and all childrens will learn to read soon enough in K. You start to feel the need to supplement outside the preschool.

TTs want smart kids not prepped kids. Beyond being smart there are obviously other qualities that matter. I would focus more on making sure the kid is curious, enjoys learning, has a great personality, communicates well with peer and adults, and can control emotions well. Rather than teaching math or reading early.

m


Agree. Great advice. Let them love learning and it will all fall into place. Have faith in your child and their personality.

Exactly, best gift we can give them is a happy childhood. It will all fall into place. Counter to some common perceptions, most TTs put more weight in evaluating the kids themselves than anything else, so really for the right kid it doesn’t matter if it’s TT preschool, no name preschool, public preschool, your child will shine no matter any of that.

I second this. Based on my observation of my kids’ classmates at TT school. When my kids were in K, their K class had a decent number of kids from public schools or no name preschools. Some of them were clearly academically advanced but some were not. But what I noticed all of them had were the qualities where I can see them doing well in any setting. They were engaged, social, knew how to listen directions, curious, and etc.That made me think that these admissions people know what they are doing.

Let your kid shine. Just don’t get in the way by being obnoxious or annoying parent during the tour or interview:

Exactly this. Schools don't want parents who think they can force some kind of outcome for their kid. It risks becoming a nightmare later on.

My kid got into a "TT" school too and they stressed during the admitted parents event that reading is not required heading into K. They try and pick out what the above poster called out: bright, curious, engaged.

I was the first one to not care about tiers but simply making my DC happy and give them tools and enablement to thrive because I noticed their eagerness to learn. We enrolled in a non-feeder independent private play-based preschool. My DC is a force of nature in a good way and now at a TT K getting amazing feedback about their attention, engagement levels, and being made an example in class by their teachers.

My DC got 2 acceptances in K from TT single gender schools and none from coeds. We were still happy with the outcome and our 1st choice came through but that made me start thinking whether coming in as an unconnected family from a non-feeder might not be the best approach for my 2nd DC who is very different from the 1st. Our PSD while lovely is quite new with no strong ties or experience in exmissions, we had to do this process a lot by ourselves last year and it ran us to the ground with much stress involved and surprises. I’m worried how this might go for my very introverted 2nd DC so I wonder if I should look into feeders for them. What would you do in my case?

You guys sound awesome! Happy it worked out for DC. I'm the poster who is strongly considering picking a non-feeder (awaiting preschool results at end of this month). Do you mind sharing what you mean by "we had to do this process a lot by ourselves last year and it ran us to the ground with much stress involved and surprises"? We would also love to target SS schools like a Collegiate or St Bernard's eventually.

Not PP but I can chime in as a parent that just navigated the whole thing with no connected PSD help.

Do you see the neuroticism in this threads? Take that and multiple it more as you start to navigate the actual process.

A lot of this is mental pressure parents put on themselves. Attend the open house for any of the more coveted schools and you will feel the competition at play.

Then there’s the parent statement, the parent interview, and child playdate. Multiple by the number of schools you ti apply to, and combine that with the uncertainty of admissions in general.

FWIW DC got into one of these highly coveted schools. We even met one parent at an admitted families who had done feeder one year then UPK the next precisely to escape the madness of being among parents constantly stressing about K admissions.

thank you for your candor. so helpful. if you had to guess, what do you think was the most important piece in admission - the child playdate?

[Anonymous]

Just read Sophie Brickman's book Plays Well With Others to get a sense of how insane the whole feeder preschool aspiration is at the parent level.

Yes it's satire but she went through it herself (I think kids went to PCDS, she's also Brearley/Trinity alumna) so I'm guessing she draws upon a lot of real experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just read Sophie Brickman's book Plays Well With Others to get a sense of how insane the whole feeder preschool aspiration is at the parent level.

Yes it's satire but she went through it herself (I think kids went to PCDS, she's also Brearley/Trinity alumna) so I'm guessing she draws upon a lot of real experience.

I haven’t read the book yet. I can only imagine the amount of insanity and delusions she must have seen over the years.

My kids went to one of the feeder preschools mentioned here, and I’ve seen enough of the ridiculous moments and entitled parents. Some are pretty entertaining while some are head scratchers, especially during the exmission and when the results are out. Some will go far overdrive to save face when they didn’t make it to their first choice.

One family was pretty sure their dc will make it to TT K but also applied to “safety” schools that they considered beneath them. They were arrogant and also brusque. I guess they didn’t get good feedbacks from some of the TT because they changed their tunes and would talk badly about TT and how they heard those schools are toxic. They didn’t seem to get how the school admissions people can smell their arrogance and sense of entitlement immediately.

In the end, they got waitlisted everywhere including their safety schools. Our PSD had to work hard. After the deadlines for deposit passed, the family got off the waitlist and made it to the safety school that they thought was beneath them. Instead of being grateful, in their typical fashion, they made sure they informed everyone that the school made a special exception to make space for their dc. It was truly smh moment.

[Anonymous]

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Can you explain how a preschool would prioritize prepping for private K?

NP - It comes from the parents and not the preschool. When you start hearing about 4 year olds that can read, you start to worry whether your child is falling behind. Some preschools are play-based learning so the director will tell you not to worry and all childrens will learn to read soon enough in K. You start to feel the need to supplement outside the preschool.

TTs want smart kids not prepped kids. Beyond being smart there are obviously other qualities that matter. I would focus more on making sure the kid is curious, enjoys learning, has a great personality, communicates well with peer and adults, and can control emotions well. Rather than teaching math or reading early.

m


Agree. Great advice. Let them love learning and it will all fall into place. Have faith in your child and their personality.

Exactly, best gift we can give them is a happy childhood. It will all fall into place. Counter to some common perceptions, most TTs put more weight in evaluating the kids themselves than anything else, so really for the right kid it doesn’t matter if it’s TT preschool, no name preschool, public preschool, your child will shine no matter any of that.

I second this. Based on my observation of my kids’ classmates at TT school. When my kids were in K, their K class had a decent number of kids from public schools or no name preschools. Some of them were clearly academically advanced but some were not. But what I noticed all of them had were the qualities where I can see them doing well in any setting. They were engaged, social, knew how to listen directions, curious, and etc.That made me think that these admissions people know what they are doing.

Let your kid shine. Just don’t get in the way by being obnoxious or annoying parent during the tour or interview:

Exactly this. Schools don't want parents who think they can force some kind of outcome for their kid. It risks becoming a nightmare later on.

My kid got into a "TT" school too and they stressed during the admitted parents event that reading is not required heading into K. They try and pick out what the above poster called out: bright, curious, engaged.

I was the first one to not care about tiers but simply making my DC happy and give them tools and enablement to thrive because I noticed their eagerness to learn. We enrolled in a non-feeder independent private play-based preschool. My DC is a force of nature in a good way and now at a TT K getting amazing feedback about their attention, engagement levels, and being made an example in class by their teachers.

My DC got 2 acceptances in K from TT single gender schools and none from coeds. We were still happy with the outcome and our 1st choice came through but that made me start thinking whether coming in as an unconnected family from a non-feeder might not be the best approach for my 2nd DC who is very different from the 1st. Our PSD while lovely is quite new with no strong ties or experience in exmissions, we had to do this process a lot by ourselves last year and it ran us to the ground with much stress involved and surprises. I’m worried how this might go for my very introverted 2nd DC so I wonder if I should look into feeders for them. What would you do in my case?

Sounds like they are different gender?

Exactly

You should pat on your back for navigating the process with such great outcome with the first one. You will feel less stressed when doing it again. I think even for people working with an experienced director there might still be surprises along the way. Even though you won’t have legacy priority I think these schools especially the SS schools all talk to each other and the fact your older dc got into a TT SS in the opposite sex should help your second dc as well. I personally would prefer to maintain a long term relationship with the preschool director (probably better recommendation that comes out of it) vs. going to a new school a few months before starting the applications. I don’t think being introverted is a deal breaker at all. I’m sure you will have great outcome for your second dc regardless.

Thank you for your pov and yes we did feel proud for navigating this stressful process and having a good outcome. I’m counting also on the perception we might give 2nd time around that due to my first DC we have it together and attends a coveted school. Introvert is not a bad thing at all and I know that admissions want different personalities. The only feedback I got for my first DC when it wasn’t going to work out (1-2 times) was that they weren’t being social and were keeping to themselves, that DC is my extroverted one but probably became shy on that setting and day, I can’t imagine what they would say for my 2nd DC who is always curling up with a book in a corner, prefers to avoid interacting but has brilliant answers when someone peals back those layers. They’re my little one so not yet applying to K for a few more years, so was debating starting them fresh with at a new school and PSD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just read Sophie Brickman's book Plays Well With Others to get a sense of how insane the whole feeder preschool aspiration is at the parent level.

Yes it's satire but she went through it herself (I think kids went to PCDS, she's also Brearley/Trinity alumna) so I'm guessing she draws upon a lot of real experience.

I haven’t read the book yet. I can only imagine the amount of insanity and delusions she must have seen over the years.

My kids went to one of the feeder preschools mentioned here, and I’ve seen enough of the ridiculous moments and entitled parents. Some are pretty entertaining while some are head scratchers, especially during the exmission and when the results are out. Some will go far overdrive to save face when they didn’t make it to their first choice.

One family was pretty sure their dc will make it to TT K but also applied to “safety” schools that they considered beneath them. They were arrogant and also brusque. I guess they didn’t get good feedbacks from some of the TT because they changed their tunes and would talk badly about TT and how they heard those schools are toxic. They didn’t seem to get how the school admissions people can smell their arrogance and sense of entitlement immediately.

In the end, they got waitlisted everywhere including their safety schools. Our PSD had to work hard. After the deadlines for deposit passed, the family got off the waitlist and made it to the safety school that they thought was beneath them. Instead of being grateful, in their typical fashion, they made sure they informed everyone that the school made a special exception to make space for their dc. It was truly smh moment.

Wow. Thanks for sharing.

It does seem stressful at some of these feeders. PCDS has like 30 kids apply to private (I am sure it is even more at WSMS- seemed like a large school). I really enjoyed PCDS during this admissions cycle (teachers and admin seemed exceptional) but it is clear that there are so many well connected people attending (authors, TV, celebs) (and who seem to be tight with the admin). If we got in, I am not sure how we (totally unconnected) would even be able to make a dent / stand out to advocate for our child. Every other kid seemed to be sibling of a Brearley, Collegiate or Trinity kid (slight exaggeration but not really).

I have heard people have been stressed about exmissions at Temple Emanu-El and 92NY, too, the past few years.