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Anonymous
My DC child attended a wonderful, otherwise highly regarded preschool in the district that just happens to have a horse's ass for a director....when you are looking at preschools, and you don't get a good vibe from the management of a preschool, don't enroll if you plan on needing them to advocate for your child in the future.... |
Anonymous
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8:06 - I understand and accede the point. But I do still believe that you should select a preschool on its own merits. As for those whose teachers wouldn't write a recommendation, that's egregious. I am sure lots of non-feeder schools will still support you in the admissions process.
10:46 - I don't think it's all about the money. We just got an acceptance from a "big 3 school", as did a friend - and neither of our families have great wealth, special connections, or any other advantage. |
Anonymous
oh shoot, there goes my theory! it must just be us! did you have ANYONE write a rec for you? did you child have good grades? did you hold them back? just curious. everyone that claims to me that they had no special circumstances, i end up finding out that well, they actually did have something special whether it was a recommendation from a current family or they have some diversity, they are actually pretty wealthy even though they don't consider themselves to be, etc... |
Anonymous
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Yes, but your child attends a "feeder" school! I have no doubt that he/she fully deserves the spot, but it's hard to avoid the feeling that your choice of preschool may have given him/her a boost that other deserving children did not have.
And yes, you should pick a preschool on its merits. I couldn't agree more. But I'm beginning to see that I should perhaps have defined merits more broadly--and counted my short-term personal convenience a little less. Moreover, it's not as if most people are sacrificing preschool quality or "fit" by choosing to apply to a well-known school as opposed to the lovely but unknown school down the street. The well-known schools are well-known for the quality of their instruction, not just for their outplacement records. If you live near a "feeder," such as NCRC, you're lucky--you can honestly say you picked it just for the quality, because it's a neighborhood school, and so on. For other families, the choices may be more difficult. |
Anonymous
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Non-connected, nothing special, not wealthy (well, we can afford the school), not from a "feeder school" . Just a bright kid (99 percentile on the WPS test) and that's it.
Beauvoir parent. |
Anonymous
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11:10 - You are once again correct. We live a few blocks from the preschool.
11:09 - really - no recommendations, younger end of the age spectrum for the year, no diversity. Our preschool doesn't give grades but based on teacher feedback and the acceptance I am certain that the recommendation was probably stellar. |
Anonymous
| How much do these teacher/school recommendations count? For instance, if your rec. was lukewarm/average, would that be a reason to deny/waitlist even if test scores, visits, etc. were fine. |
Anonymous
feeder schools are considered having an in. |
Anonymous
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We have friends who's DC got rejected at Sidwell and waitlisted at Beauvoir (which we all know is worthless). Child honestly tested 99.9% on the WIPSSI. Child is at one of the very top preschools in Washington (a true feeder), has cousins at one school, parents are both Ivy Leaguers and the teachers recs were NOT GOOD!!! So, they must count. They warned parents that the child was too immature and "not ready." Also, parents said the playdates seemed to go well. What else could it be?
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Anonymous
Confirms what I have been thinking. DS is not a 99.9%, but has a nice upper score. Although a fall bday (will be 6), is definitely behind somewhat in the classroom social skills arena. I suspect our rec. was not good. |
Anonymous
| to PP - yes, this child I mention above does not have a late birthday but the social skills are very lacking. I have observed child for years and can see what the teachers mean. One more year in preschool will help so just reapply and have lots of playdates. Good Luck! |
Anonymous
How do you know that the recommendations were not good. I thought the recommendations were confidential? |
Anonymous
Horace Mann? Janney? Lafayette? Stoddert? our kids are there, for financial reasons--hubby is STA grad. These are great schools, really. I should'nt be letting all the status seeking parents on this board in on this little secret. But your kid has a better chance of being admitted to Harvard from the upper levels of his or her public school in DC--than they do graduating in the middle or upper third quarter of any of the top 3 privates. And believe me the middle of the class in these privates is wide and deep and desperate and the the admission offices at the ivy leagues know and they are sick of it. The think tank that I work for 20 hours a week tracks theses stats. |
Anonymous
the OP said NOT from a feeder school...... |
Anonymous
| To the 11:10 poster -- they may be in the neighborhood, but they are not "neighborhood schools." We are struggling to get our child into preschool anywhere in the neighborhood and have little chance because everyone else wants to go to these schools. People from all over, including from outside of DC join the churches near us -- in spite of their religious preferences or lack thereof -- to get their kids in to our "neighborhood schools." Try getting your first kid (i.e., no sibling preference) into one of these. Don't think we have any advantage. |