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Anonymous
| I guess that is why some of these schools can be called "feeder schools" as the director feeds the kids up to the next level of elite private schools. The problem with this is conflict of interest, does the reccomendation to the most elite schools go to the highest bidder at the annual auction? The parent that does the most volunteering? Or one of the 10 kids in the same class with 99.9 scores? |
Anonymous
Yes, I think it is really difficult. Our director told us she rec'ed our kid because she thought DC would do very well at school and that our family was a good match for the school. Do the directors only rec a couple of kids, all who ask, etc? I have no idea as we did not ask for the rec, but were later told that she had sent one. |
Anonymous
| It happens at ALL private schools and everyone could benefit from the "conflict of interest" discussion. |
Anonymous
| yes, this potential conflict of interest is an extremely importantant issue, but one that many parents are reluctant to raise. you don't want to make assumptions, but there are some unknowns. for example, are children of board members recommended most highly based on the families' service to and support of the school? i applaud the prior poster for raising this sensitive issue. |
Anonymous
| It's strange to me why people think this "conflict of interest" is a big issue. Don't you know that college professors recommend students for graduate school, jobs, fellowships, scholarships? Don't you know that law school deans recommend students to judges, supreme court justices, government agencies, etc.? For every institution that has a logical next step, that institution's teachers/adminsitrators are called upon for recommendations. And the better that institution's graduates are placed, the better it is for that institution's reputation. I'm surprised to see so many people expressing "shock" at the AD's involvement in placing her school's children.... |
Anonymous
IT is VERY different as these reccomendations are based upon actual accomplisments of adults (or at least persons over the age of 5), and based upon the merits of that person; rather than the family and their potential contributions. |
Anonymous
What's your basis for saying that the AD's lobbying for the children are based on "the family and their potential contributions"? That seems to be a gratuitous swipe at a group of dedicated educators who are doing their best to promote their students. Don't forget that they have degrees in early education. They can see things in even preschoolers that you and I cannot. Also, if the ADs of reputable schools such as NCRC promoted only based on family contributions regardless of aptitude, that would quickly become noted by the staff of the schools that receive such students, and that AD's word would become unreliable. Your assumption, that everyone just cares about financial contributions, does not stand up if you look at the schools track records in academic performance. |
Anonymous
I'm not shocked. It's a matter of fact. The problem is, letters of recommendations from teachers are far different than a head of school advocating for certain children over others at specific schools. Although their stated goal is to get all children placed at a good match, there is lot unseen in who they choose to strongly recommend to a school. |
Anonymous
You are incredibly naive if you believe it is solely based on merit. Its is based on who that recommender likes and is willing to put themselves out for. |
Anonymous
And that applies to making recs on behalf of adults as well as it does to five year olds. |
Anonymous
| This discussion is interesting and all, but I'm still not hearing from any current NCRC families and their results. |
Anonymous
| The problem could be this: with all the legalese and insider buzz words being used on this thread, some of us don't know what the heck you're asking about. Can we get back to OP's original question... and even that needs to be stated more clearly. Are you asking if we think having a new AD at NCRC has been a negative in getting kids into area schools, perhaps because she doesn't yet well know other ADs and is not as effectively able to push for the NCRC kids? |
Anonymous
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I'm not the OP, but let's start with what the admission results were from NCRC. The 2009 Admissions thread has good info but very few have indicated what preschool they are coming from. So to NCRC parents:
(1) what school(s) did DC get into this year? (2) on the more subjective question, whether you think new AD has not been as effective in aiding, guiding, advocating, etc. as previous AD. |
Anonymous
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I think they also have to consider how their recommendations will reflect back on the school. If a director recommends a child who is a poor fit for the school it will make them look bad, and detract from their credibility, so they need to balance that with issues of who has given money/volunteered a lot/been very friendly.
Several years ago there was a rumor floating around that NCRC was getting a bad reputation because they were recommending kids who were really not suited to specific schools. I think the specific cases were kids with extreme sensory/social/autism spectrum issues who could not handle a regular classroom, but who came recommended without reservations. I have no idea how true this was, but it does (even hypothetically) illuminate another aspect of the situation. |
Anonymous
| Didn't you choose NCRC because it was a good school for your child's education??? Ridiculous that you think they owe you to get you into your top choices of schools. Honestly, I think you are focusing way too much on the School Director. Try asking your child's teacher how enthusiastic they were for your child??? I know my child's teacher was incredibly enthusiastic about my child's application and recommendation and I would say that contributed to us getting into a big 3 school (which was our first choice). If you are disappointed, ask the teacher did they really write a strong rec for your child??? |