Share your results as you get them!

[Anonymous]

PP: Good Luck - did you post earlier today??

[Anonymous]

Thanks. Yes, I just posted earlier today.

[Anonymous]

A plea - please don't select a preschool as a "feeder"! If you love any school and you think the child would too, send them there! "Exmissions" is a lousy reason to pick a school. Full disclosure: we're at a preschool this board seems to think is a feeder, but we picked it for other reasons (in the neighborhood, friends love it, play-based, friendly community, etc. . . )

[Anonymous]

I understand what you're saying, but I also believe that it's easier to say this when your children are already attending a name-brand preschool.

[Anonymous]

We, unfortunately, made the wrong decision in our child's nursery. I honestly believe if we had chosen a different school we would be in a different situation right now. We had no help from them as far as advocating for our child. When we went to the tours/playdates and were asked where our child is currently, we would get no reaction from the admissions head, just a blank stare, followed by silence, follwed by a change in subject.

[Anonymous]

pp, our preschoolwas not helpful either (federal). The teacher at first refused to write a letter b/c it was not in her job description.

[Anonymous]

It's ALL about the MONEY!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We, unfortunately, made the wrong decision in our child's nursery. I honestly believe if we had chosen a different school we would be in a different situation right now. We had no help from them as far as advocating for our child. When we went to the tours/playdates and were asked where our child is currently, we would get no reaction from the admissions head, just a blank stare, followed by silence, follwed by a change in subject.

Ditto. Our school was never called. We were outright rejected form all schools applied to.

[Anonymous]

What would one consider a school that is not highly regarded in applying to private school? Are they in DC or the suburbs? Accredited/not-accredited?

[Anonymous]

DO carefully consider your feeder nursery. Of course it should meet your criteria for being a warm, nurturing place where your child can thrive. And personally I think play-based ones are much more age appropriate, and in the end, academically helpful. BUT do not discount who will be writing your recommendations for the next school.

We sent our child to a very nice preschool (I will not name it for reasons you will see in a moment!), but my DC's preschool teacher felt that private schools are elitist and undemocratic and so on. She made a point of telling me that "my daughters went to public school and they turned out fine." at the moment I was asking politely and apologetically even if she would take the time to provide a rec. These recommendations are supposed to be private and not shared with the parents in the future, but because my child was reviewed for speech issues, I actually ended up seeing that recommendation and it was TERRIBLE. Thankfully, my DC's true personality was completely obvious at the school visit (play date), and he got into a very nice school here in Virginia. Sorry to be so lengthy, but please take note!!!

[Anonymous]

Mine is in DC - we were rejected from 4 schools - waitlisted at two. No idea what we are going to do come september for pre-k.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't say that our school is not highly regarded, but it is definitely not "feeder" material. Basically, it's just not part of the whole independent school scene. Most of the parents live in Bethesda/Chevy Chase and choose to send their kids to public school, so the administration, understandably, doesn't worry that much about outplacement and doesn't have much experience with it compared to administrators at many DC schools. It is NAEYC-accredited, by the way, and on all other counts, a fabulous school.

[Anonymous]

does your daycare have pre-K? perhaps you can apply to another school (pre-school) for preK. School for Friends has a pre-K class, as does NCRC, and others... perhaps if they have more kids moving onto public/private school they will have a slot open and will allow you to apply after deadlines

[Anonymous]

Okay, so can anyone share the good nursery schools then? The ones that seem to help families get into good pre-k programs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What would one consider a school that is not highly regarded in applying to private school? Are they in DC or the suburbs? Accredited/not-accredited?

I don't think it's a matter of accreditation or location. I think there are just some known entities (NCRC, Little Folks, St. John's) that the ongoing schools regard highly or at least have built a relationship with over time. I'm sure other preschools are just fine. However, maybe they just aren't on the radar of the admission offices.