Sibling Application for prek - do we need backups?

[Anonymous]

Several siblings did not get in at our school (I guess considered a Big 3) for PK-K. In my experience, if your second/third is a super star/advanced he/she won’t have any issue getting in. However, if he/she are a bit behind/might have special needs, etc. they might not get in.

This happened to a family in our school. Older sibling does very well and is loved. Younger sibling was a bit behind, was doing speech therapy for articulation issues, but had no SN and the school gave the family a really hard time. Ultimately the child was admitted, but teachers and principals were involved and child was evaluated multiple times.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes if you are not VIP, they know you will still stick around to apply for K since sibling is already there, so they reject for PK and then admit for K. You are basically a sure thing to them, but they are not a sure thing for you. PK is not compulsory so you would not have to send your kid to public PK, usually they can stay wherever they were before.

[Anonymous]

Lots of Sidwell siblings do not get admitted for PreK but do get admitted for K. You need a back up option.

[Anonymous]

OP here- not at Sidwell. What's the deal with GDS and Beauvoir (asking about both to stay anonymous).

[Anonymous]

Beauvoir’s Pre-K class is large and there is definitely sibling preference. There should be plenty of spots for a sibling in PreK.

GDS has a smaller PreK class. As long as there are enough spots available for all siblings seeking admission, you should be fine. Usually, schools will tell you if you need a back up option. At Sidwell, they state up front that there are not enough spaces available for all siblings, so you should have a back up. I’m not aware of any GDS or Beauvoir sibling getting waitlisted or rejected for PreK.

[Anonymous]

There have definitely been GDS siblings who did not get in for pre-k over the past two years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Beauvoir’s Pre-K class is large and there is definitely sibling preference. There should be plenty of spots for a sibling in PreK.

GDS has a smaller PreK class. As long as there are enough spots available for all siblings seeking admission, you should be fine. Usually, schools will tell you if you need a back up option. At Sidwell, they state up front that there are not enough spaces available for all siblings, so you should have a back up. I’m not aware of any GDS or Beauvoir sibling getting waitlisted or rejected for PreK.

Current BVR family who did not get in for PK. It happens.