Anonymous wrote:Apply for 1st across the board. If your adamant about Sidwell, apply a later time touring one of the entry years. It’s ridiculous to apply for K at Sidwell and first everywhere else.

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Apply for 1st across the board. If your adamant about Sidwell, apply a later time touring one of the entry years. It’s ridiculous to apply for K at Sidwell and first everywhere else.

I think you might reconsider applying to any school in a different grade from the others. It's not about giving him an extra year to become "smarter" — it's about developmental readiness, socialization, and other non-academic factors. If he's developmentally ready for 1, then it's not likely K would work at Sidwell any more than it would elsewhere. In addition, it's possible the admission office will figure out what's going on, and conclude you're trying to game the system — not a recipe for success.

If it feels like your son is on the border between two grades, which often happens with boys with summer birthdays (my June-birthday son liked pre-K so much he did it twice!), I'd suggest discussing it with admission offices. Most schools will allow a student to visit in the best-guess grade, and then, based on the visit or playgroup, will let parents know if one grade up or down would be a better match. Some schools will tell parents of kids on the border something like, "We are boy-heavy in K, so it probably makes sense to apply to 1." Some schools will allow families to apply to two different grades, and then make an offer of admission to the grade they think makes more sense.

In other words, choosing one grade or the other, based on Ravenna's limitations, may actually reduce your options compared to what you'd have after a conversation with the admission office. And if your son is not a good match for K, regardless of his WPPSI scores, applying to the lower grade is very unlikely to increase his admission chances anyway.

Good luck!

_____________________

Disclaimer: The anonymity here makes me uncomfortable; it's easy to write uninformed, personal, or mean-spirited posts when posters don't identify themselves. I have an account so you know whose words you're reading. I have more than 20 years' experience as a teacher and administrator in independent schools. I have read hundreds of admission files, and I have counseled hundreds of students in finding their next schools in the DC area. If you disagree with something I've written, you're in good company — there's a long line of past students and parents ahead of you. If you want to chat further, please feel free to contact me offline: peter <at> peterbraverman <dotcom>

Why didn’t you apply last year for K? Seems crazy to have your kid repeat just for a shot at Sidwell. There are many, many schools that will provide a wonderful elementary experience. You can always apply to Sidwell for 3rd, 6th or 9th!

You would hold your son back a whole year for Sidwell? That’s so sad.

You could enter his information twice as if he's two separate kids, just one applying to K and one to 1st.

I've got a 5-year old who will be attending private kindergarten in 2019-2020 (same school where he attended two years of pre-K...we like it, but it doesn't extend beyond kindergarten). In 2020-2021, we're hoping to send him to a new private school (that extends beyond kindergarten), so are looking at our options now. We would preferably want him to do 1st grade in 2020-2021, but if we put that in the Ravenna system, it looks like it carries over for all our applications, including Sidwell, where it seems like it would be more advantageous to apply for K versus 1st (because K is an expansion year). Any thoughts as to how to logistically apply to several other private schools in Ravenna for 1st but to Sidwell for K? Or are we just stuck applying everywhere for K?