Abacus Mom

Private School Feedback is Coming in Quickly and Dramatically

Have you ever had to make a critical decision despite possessing incomplete information?

That's the plight of many, many NYC private school applicant parents right now as some schools press for verbal enrollment commitments while others play coy.

You would not believe the behind-the-scenes action on the part of private schools, preschools, and parents.  I'm involved in some very intricate strategy sessions.

"I Wish Private Schools Cost $100,000 a Year," Said a Manhattan Mom

New Yorkers brace for $40,000 a year tuition?  $40,000, $shmorty thousand dollars. 

I recently had a client mom who said that she wished NYC private school tuition were $100,000 a year, so it would reduce her daughter's competitive field.

Her remark encapsulates the situation we're in:  Dalton, Trinity, Collegiate, Brearley, Spence--all the very top schools--can charge whatever they want: plenty of wealthy families will be glad, indeed grateful, to pay it.

With all the talk recently about the 1%, the very top of the 1% wants Manhattan, Brooklyn and Riverdale's top tier private schools, and they can afford them.

So why wouldn't these top tier private schools pay more to attract and retain the best teachers, build the most modern, dazzling facilities, and offer their students the most exciting, enriching experiences?  Of course that's what they are going to do, while raising tuition to pay for all of it. 

Meanwhile, in this same era of a struggling 99% and a government bureaucracy that is increasing standardized tests and test prep while cutting funding for programs and positions, top public schools are fighting to retain inspiring, motivated teachers and breadth and depth of competitive offerings.

This is a good situation for private school  educational consultants but a very bad situation for society.

My Child Has to Take the ERB! Wait, What is the ERB?

If your child is applying to prekindergarten (at many, but not all, private schools), kindergarten (at almost all schools) or 1st grade, she will be asked to take the ERB.  Other ERB names you may encounter are WPPSI or ECAA. 

The ERB is supposedly an IQ test, but if you ask around you will find that you know a lot of bright  people who bombed the test as preschoolers.  Research indicates that ERB scores have no bearing on future success.  That said, NYC private schools persist in using the ERB as a screening device.  Even the people who make the ERB never intended it to be a private school screening device.

So what is the ERB?  Briefly:

Verbal Section

Children have to define words, explain how words are similar, answer riddles, and explain social conventions and general knowledge.

Performance Section

Children use block cubes to replicate the tester's design, select pictures that are conceptually similar, copy symbols from a key, and figure out what's missing from an incomplete table of objects.

Parents I work with are always amazed what preschoolers are supposed to be able to accomplish.

Mass Confusion about Final Private School Admissions Letters: First Choice, I Love You, Strong Interest, Top Choice, Etc.

Pity, if you can, the poor private school admissions director trying to make heads or tails of the plethora of last minute applicant correspondence.

Parents are claiming to love the school, that they will definitely send their children, that they won't definitely send their children but they have very strong interest, that they have very strong interest but they have very strong interest in five schools, that it is their first choice but they have a second choice, that this school is their dream school but no commitment, they have a commitment but don't what that means...

Given mass parent confusion in light of varying preschool and exmissions director advice and ambiguous ISAAGNY direction, private school admissions directors are having trouble interpreting all the letters coming their way now.  The letters' meanings are blurring...parents are...enthusiastic.

A Big Thank You to State Senator Jeff Klein from Riverdale and Westchester Private Schools

I want to give a special thank you on behalf of Riverdale and Westchester private schools and educational consultants everywhere to State Senator Jeff Klein. 

Klein voted for the New York State Legislature's tax cap on budget levy increases by school districts and local governments.   Because the bill did not include relief for local governments or school districts from state mandated programs or exemptions in the tax cap calculation for costs like pension increases and debt service, public schools throughout New York State now have to cut programs. 

As a Westchester private schools consultant, I'm pleased that my business is booming.  I'm getting calls from many Southern Westchester families who are upset by proposed changes in their schools' programs.  Riverdale and Westchester private schools can expect increased demand from families who can afford and wish to escape.

As a parent and supporter of public education, I'm very disappointed by Klein's decision.  My honest gratitude (and future votes) go to State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin who voted against the cap.