Abacus Mom

The Top 5 New York City Private Schools Blogs

These blogs will keep you up to speed with latest NYC private schools news.  In alphabetical order.

1.  Abacus Mom

News and views about NYC private schools and parenting, from a long-time admissions consultant and school advisor.

2.  Gotham Schools

A running conversation about what works and doesn't in schools.  Gotham Schools is an independent project of OpenPlans, a Manhattan-based nonprofit dedicated to empowering civil society through technology.

3.  New York City Private Schools Blog

A public guide to NYC private schools, with contributions from numerous professionals in the field.

4.  Schoolbook

News, data and conversation about schools, from the folks at the New York Times.

5.  Urban Baby Schools Board

Not a blog, but still indispensable information and gossip about Manhattan, Brooklyn, Riverdale and Westchester private schools.  Read with a hefty grain of salt.

Have we missed your blog?  Email us at best NYC schools blogs.

Public School Drop Outs? Top Zoned New Yorkers Considering Other Options

A lot of public school parents have been calling me lately because they're considering applying to private high school or middle school, or switching to private.  Surprisingly often these parents are from places like Bronxville, Scarsdale, and PS 6.  This is what's typically on their minds: 

1. Too many budget cuts.  They're talking about firing the teachers' aids, or combining the elementary school with the high school in the next town, shutting down the chess program or eliminating third grade... it's too much. 
2. Too many students in the class.  How can my child learn if there are 30 other kids in the class, half of whom are delinquents, and of course my child is gifted?  Naturally, the teacher can't teach to my child's level, and with all the professional development days, she's absent half the time anyway.
3. Too much state testing.  My child is 9.  She has spent so much time mastering filling in a bubble with a #2 pencil, that she cannot yet ride a bike.
4. Too much prep for state testing.  Analogies, reading comp, vocab--4th grade is the new 11th grade.
5. Not enough high level courses and enrichment.  I want my child to be able to take Mandarin Chinese or fencing and the budget cuts make this impossible.

I am being flip here but the truth is it is a serious loss for New York State and New Yorkers that the public school educational experience is being damaged by an overreliance on testing and data collection and that even the best public schools are seeing their programs cut back due to the negative economic situation.  

Just How Messed Up the New York City Public Schools Kindergarten Situation Is

Today a mom emailed me for information about my NYC private schools admissions consulting programs.  This is what the mom wrote:

How Can We Help You:    Need to find out if we can get into a good private school as a back up if daughter can't get in a good public NYC school

That is how messed up NYC public school kindergarten admission is.

Free NYC Private School Admissions Newsletter

Every month, I send out my free private school admissions newsletter, Abacus Guide to Schooling, Enrichment and Parenting.   A former client emailed me back,

Hope you're enjoying your summer so far, even as you're working hard to put out this newsletter!

Thought you might like to know that <son's name> finished his 9th grade in good standing, with a high GPA for the year, even with all the time management struggle with honors classes, after-school sports, and outdoor activities. His goal is to do even better next year, so we're keeping our fingers crossed!

Can't thank you enough for your help in getting him into a good school! I am starting to worry (of course, right?) about what to do with regards to college, but I guess we have time to prepare.

We enjoy your newsletters as always (thank goodness, we can just now read it with amusement as we reflect on our own experience)!

For your subscription to our private school admissions newsletter, click Abacus Guide to Schooling, Enrichment and Parenting.

 

More on When Should My Child Start Kindergarten

Thanks to Jessica Kelmon of GreatSchools for her excellent article, When should kids start kindergarten?  Kelmon writes:

Yet another part of the equation with today’s high-stakes testing is that we expect more of kindergartners. Unfortunately, they’re less prepared for success. "Kindergarten is much more academic than ever," says Emily Glickman, a Manhattan-based educational consultant. "Many people feel that kindergarten is the new first grade."

Kelmon has also written a worthwhile new story about When Should Kids Repeat a Grade.

Asians and New York City Private Schools

As someone who works with Asians and non-Asians helping them cultivate the social skills and messaging necessary to succeed in NYC private school admissions, I was fascinated by Wesley Yang's exceptional article, Paper Tigers / Asian Like Me.  New York Magazine describes the essay:

Amy Chua’s triumphalist screed about intense Asian-style parenting triggered hysteria among other parents scared that their children were falling behind. But the Tiger Child generation has the opposite fear: that their upbringing has bled them of the assertiveness and social skills necessary to succeed as American adults.

In the article, Yang describes what he believes are the social skills usually necessary to succeed in the American workplace and in romantic life.  As a student of social skills as well as a coach who teaches them within the private school admissions context, I am fascinated by the parallels between my work and Yang's findings. 

Yang's essay references Hunter College High School and Stuyvesant, two elite selective NYC public schools that are majority Asian.  As a Hunter graduate and a frequent visitor to Stuy, I believe Yang accurately captures the white/Asian dynamic.  After reading Yang's essay, you may find yourself reexamining how you perceive other people and how other people perceive you.

Is Junior Kumon the Fast Track to Private School Kindergarten?

Some parents think so.  According to Kate Zernike's article, Fast-Tracking to Kindergarten?

Ms. Goldman, who works at an agency representing artists, took her son, Huxton, to Kumon last September, shortly after he turned 5, in an effort to make sure, she said, “that he wouldn’t be behind the curve” when he started kindergarten the next year.

If she was hesitant, her children’s preschool was “disgusted,” she said. But she saw immediate results — Huxton began reading, adding and subtracting — and Eze, newly 3, started soon after.

What do I think?  I discuss my position on Kumon with my NYC private school admissions clients.

Oddly enough, you can find the Kumon article in the New York Times' "Fashion and Style" section. 

More Favorite Educational Games for Preschool, Kindergarten, and First Grade

Families I work with love hearing about the best educational games for preschool, kindergarten, and first grade.  Here are the top games families and teachers are playing with kids now for ERB and school interview prep as well as fun:

ThinkFun Zingo

ThinkFun Bilingual Zingo! Spanish

Apples to Apples Junior - The Game of Crazy Comparisons!

ThinkFun Rush Hour

Monopoly Junior Edition

Qwirkle Board Game

Least Expensive NYC Private Schools?

Thanks are due to a Good Samaritan on UrbanBaby, who posted what looks to be solid information about less expensive NYC private and parochial schools.  A list of New York City area independent schools with tuition equal to or less than 25K/year

Urbanbaby is a fascinating place.  Some of the anonymous NYC schools chat is gossip and fiction, but some of it is useful, exclusive and true. 

Manhattan Overflowing with Gifted Preschoolers, Naturally

Barbara Martinez of The Wall Street Journal today addresses the growth in the number of children testing as gifted:  Parents Fret as Kids Seek 'Gifted' Status 

Martinez writes that the number of incoming kindergarteners taking the OLSAT and Bracken to get into NYC G & T programs increased by 13%, as did the number of children who scored in the 90th percentile or above. (28% of kids scored in the top 10%--that's Manhattan math.)

I said:

"The amount of work and uncertainty to get into kindergarten has escalated dramatically in the last two years," said Emily Glickman, president of Abacus Guide Educational Consulting, which guides parents through private-school admissions.

Students who don't get into a private school, charter school or a gifted program can't necessarily rely on a spot in the top neighborhood schools, either. Population growth has led to waiting lists at some of the most popular schools—even for children who live in the immediate area.

"I used to say if private school doesn't work out, you can go to your neighborhood school," Ms. Glickman said. "Not any more."

The increase in children scoring in the gifted category in public schools matches a similar increase in kids taking private school tests, according to Ms. Glickman.

She said it's a clear sign of the "test-prep effect."

New York Magazine's Daily Intel also covered Martinez's story:  Even Raising a Child Genius Might Not Get Your Kindergartner Into a Good School