Anonymous wrote:FWIW, a Brearley board member did tell me that they are super yield sensitive and will significantly discount families that didn’t send them a first choice letter.

They have given very specific direction to not send first choice letters. It is weird that a board member is saying otherwise. Like they couldn’t be clearer about not wanting first choice letters to the extent that I understand that sending one would hurt us…

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If we heard back from Spence that our daughter is a very strong candidate, they loved meeting her and our family. She’s in a small list of girls from our preschool that Spence is interested in. We also sent a FCL. Can I assume we are good? Our preschool director has said she has not heard anything definitive from them. Will something definitive come early this week? I have not sent a FCL anywhere else. Would love any input!!

Did you hear this from your PSD or direct correspondence? Also how many kids dos Spence typically take from your preschool?

We heard this directly from our preschool director. I think they may take 2-3 from our school. I don’t know where we stand on that list.

That sounds about right. Our school had a lot of legacy/ siblings so we were told they are not taking any more girls from our school this year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If we heard back from Spence that our daughter is a very strong candidate, they loved meeting her and our family. She’s in a small list of girls from our preschool that Spence is interested in. We also sent a FCL. Can I assume we are good? Our preschool director has said she has not heard anything definitive from them. Will something definitive come early this week? I have not sent a FCL anywhere else. Would love any input!!

Did you hear this from your PSD or direct correspondence? Also how many kids dos Spence typically take from your preschool?

We heard this directly from our preschool director. I think they may take 2-3 from our school. I don’t know where we stand on that list.

A mom from either Brick or All Souls (read it recently on Facebook, can’t remember which preschool because both were being discussed) said that so many legacies/sibs in the preschool want to go to Spence that she was told it wouldn’t work out for her daughter. So beware the feeders for any future school attendee parents who may stumble on this thread

Anonymous wrote:My younger daughter has barely ever read a book written before 2010, and she’s quite late in middle school. 9th grade isn’t any better and features people I have only barely ever heard of. No textbooks, all google classroom and worksheets. The old curriculum was thoughtful and designed. Looking to leave just like everyone else.

You have a daughter at Brearley in 9th grade right now? If you do, you know they are reading Romeo and Juliet at the moment, and also will be reading Pride and Prejudice and Their Eyes Were Watching God, all of which I read in high school as well. Of course, Their Eyes Were Watching God (written in the 1930s) is by a black woman, which I assume is antithetical to your racist bias. And if you have "barely ever heard of" Shakespeare and Jane Austen, then you may not be from planet earth. Folks, as someone else mentioned upthread, take everything you read from anonymous posters with like this with a grain of salt. Everything he is saying is false.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The “infamous Brearley dad” was one of a few people who got NYC private school boards to stop and ask themselves whether “woke’ism” has gone overboard. The schools might not have admitted their mistakes in public but many of them came back to their senses and scaled back on pseudo-DEI programs. FWIW, I have actually thought that Brearley was also retreating from woke’ism (based on what I am hearing from other parents). It is places like Fieldston that still appear stuck in 2021.

I can’t take any commenter seriously that has decided to misdefine “woke.” Woke is simply encouraging people to remain current on what’s going on in the world; to pay attention to things that could impact you. How that has become a negative is beyond, beyond.

The meaning of words evolves over time. It has been happening throughout human history.

"Woke" in 2025 no longer means just "encouraging people to remain current". Its primary meaning has become negative because too many ultra woke advocates used this word to virtue signal and silence anyone who asked questions that even remotely challenged the gospel of pseudo-"DEI".

This right here sums up the poster who has been spamming the board with the negative Brearley stuff. Sounds exactly like the Brearley dad, whom this poster admits he thinks was right. I'd take everything with a grain of salt. If you'd prefer a more conservative school, that's fine, but if you truly have kid in the lower or middle school you should have known it wasn't for you when you applied. Most NYC schools are not bastions of conservative, alt-right thinking like you seem to prefer. Somewhere in the sticks (like the Brearley dad chose) may be better for you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The “infamous Brearley dad” was one of a few people who got NYC private school boards to stop and ask themselves whether “woke’ism” has gone overboard. The schools might not have admitted their mistakes in public but many of them came back to their senses and scaled back on pseudo-DEI programs. FWIW, I have actually thought that Brearley was also retreating from woke’ism (based on what I am hearing from other parents). It is places like Fieldston that still appear stuck in 2021.

I can’t take any commenter seriously that has decided to misdefine “woke.” Woke is simply encouraging people to remain current on what’s going on in the world; to pay attention to things that could impact you. How that has become a negative is beyond, beyond.

The meaning of words evolves over time. It has been happening throughout human history.

"Woke" in 2025 no longer means just "encouraging people to remain current". Its primary meaning has become negative because too many ultra woke advocates used this word to virtue signal and silence anyone who asked questions that even remotely challenged the gospel of pseudo-"DEI".

Anonymous wrote:If we heard back from Spence that our daughter is a very strong candidate, they loved meeting her and our family. She’s in a small list of girls from our preschool that Spence is interested in. We also sent a FCL. Can I assume we are good? Our preschool director has said she has not heard anything definitive from them. Will something definitive come early this week? I have not sent a FCL anywhere else. Would love any input!!

Did you hear this from your PSD or direct correspondence? Also how many kids dos Spence typically take from your preschool?

I am rooting for everyone tomorrow! Please come back and share your choices!

If we heard back from Spence that our daughter is a very strong candidate, they loved meeting her and our family. She’s in a small list of girls from our preschool that Spence is interested in. We also sent a FCL. Can I assume we are good? Our preschool director has said she has not heard anything definitive from them. Will something definitive come early this week? I have not sent a FCL anywhere else. Would love any input!!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Applying next year as an unconnected family from a TT private school. Does it help if your child got to round 2 for Hunter?

It doesn’t get you in if that’s what you’re wondering. And I wouldn’t bring it up because it’s irrelevant if Hunter is this year and you’re applying to private next year.

Curious why you said this? To get to Hunter round 2, need 99th% on an IQ test. Seems like could be helpful information to a school that values academic achievement. But can see how it can be viewed as bad taste/irrelevant.

My younger daughter has barely ever read a book written before 2010, and she’s quite late in middle school. 9th grade isn’t any better and features people I have only barely ever heard of. No textbooks, all google classroom and worksheets. The old curriculum was thoughtful and designed. Looking to leave just like everyone else.

Anonymous wrote:I can’t take any commenter seriously that has decided to misdefine “woke.” Woke is simply encouraging people to remain current on what’s going on in the world; to pay attention to things that could impact you.

I hear you. I too sometimes want to pretend like we are living in 2014.

Anonymous wrote:The “infamous Brearley dad” was one of a few people who got NYC private school boards to stop and ask themselves whether “woke’ism” has gone overboard. The schools might not have admitted their mistakes in public but many of them came back to their senses and scaled back on pseudo-DEI programs. FWIW, I have actually thought that Brearley was also retreating from woke’ism (based on what I am hearing from other parents). It is places like Fieldston that still appear stuck in 2021.

I can’t take any commenter seriously that has decided to misdefine “woke.” Woke is simply encouraging people to remain current on what’s going on in the world; to pay attention to things that could impact you. How that has become a negative is beyond, beyond. And I hope folks know what you call pseudo-DEI is really about creating environments where ALL belong, because everyone (including white men) has had moments where they have felt excluded. The brain naturally excludes as a form of survival. I want to ensure when we’re tossing around these critiques, we know what we’re critiquing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taking out your personal agenda on a person who served the school and was beloved by alums was just a stupid thing to do.

I heard similar from a current Brearley mom, but maybe not to the extent you are describing.

What, in your opinion, was the reason why the administration was gutted and the head of admissions was pushed out? FWIW, we spoke to Isley, she seemed pretty normal, but that's just one small data point.

No one was pushed out. This is complete fabrication from someone with sour grapes.