Abacus Mom

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.

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.  

Wasn't My Westchester House Supposed to Be in a Good School District?

More Westchester families are disturbed by local public school budget cutbacks.  Moms and dads are increasingly well educated about curriculum, and in some areas are protesting how math and other subjects are taught, or which classes or technology is offered in public schools.  Many Westchester families are fed up that they bought houses in what they thought were good school districts, only to suddenly be facing unrest and disappointment.

For Westchester families who can afford it, private school is becoming an increasingly popular choice.  I am hearing from more and more Westchester families seeking admission to Hackley, Riverdale, Horace Mann, Fieldston, and Rye Country Day School.

On the flip side, recently there is more uncertainty about the economy, which makes many people uncomfortable with paying for NYC and Westchester private school tuition.

Best NYC Schools for International Students? NYC Schools with the International Baccalaureate? Help!

Every year I help international families find the best private and public schools in NYC (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Riverdale), Westchester, Long Island, and New Jersey.  Often families seek schools with the International Baccalaureate curriculum and my opinion of available educational and IB options.  My recent clients have hailed from England, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Singapore, Hong Kong and more.

To find the best NYC international schools for your children, email info(at)abacusguide.com or call 212-712-2228 9am - 9pm EST only please. 

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. 

Another East Coast Private School Sex Scandal

Not that we're keeping score, but recent years have regularly brought news of private school sex scandals.  Trevor Day, York Prep, and now Sidwell Friends in DC, where President Obama's children go.

From the New York Times:  Father Sues Elite Washington School, Saying Psychologist Had Affair With His Wife

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

Help for Hyperlexia (Thoughts on Gilman's The Anti-Romantic Child)

If you have, or work with, hyperlexic or other special needs children, you will be interested in Priscilla Gilman's new memoir, The Anti-Romantic Child. The book is about Gilman's experience shepherding her young hyperlexic son, Benj, through babyhood, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school.  Gilman covers in great detail Benj's developmental delays, social skills deficits, experiences with pediatricians, therapists, mainstream and special schools, and relationships.  Some of the unnamed schools Gilman references are on Manhattan's Upper West Side which adds an extra layer of interest as readers can try to guess which schools they are.

At one point, Gilman applies to twenty NYC private and public schools.  (Thank goodness, Benj is accepted to one.)  A developmental pediatrician tells Gilman,

"You can't be average and you can't be difficult or probematic to get into a private school in New York City.  Schools in New York City don't want average kids, and they also don't want kids who cry and break down, they don't want fragile kids.  You have to have at least 84 percent composite score on the ERBs (the standardized test required for admission to private school in New York.)"

Reading the book, I felt sorry for Gilman that she did not have access to Toby Glick, an extraordinary special needs educational consultant who specializes in helping families understand their children's problems and get the right therapists and schooling.  A year or so ago, I referred a hyperlexic child to Toby.  Right away, after Toby read the child's evaluations and spoke to his teachers, she was able to help the boy get into an appropriate school.  (And that family did not have to apply to twenty schools.)  If you have a special needs child or know someone who does who needs help, you can reach Toby at 646-300-1881 or Toby(at)ParentConfidante.com.