Abacus Mom

Need a Top Jewish Day School or Yeshiva in NYC, NJ or Westchester?

My educational consultant colleague Toby Glick is an expert in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Westchester and New Jersey Jewish schools, from day schools to yeshivas.  If you need help figuring out which Jewish school is right for your child and getting him or her in, Toby will help you.  A school psychologist who has worked in Jewish private schools and whose children and grandchildren attend, Toby is the New York City, Westchester, and NJ expert on Jewish schools.  Now is the time to call Toby for the inside scoop on the 2012-2013 private school admissions season:  646-300-1881 or toby(at)parentconfidante.com

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.

The Wait to Hear From Private Schools is Killing Me

Are you finding yourself involved in constant, elaborate mental calculations?

Deep questions like:

(a)  Spence or Brearley?

(b) Village Community or City & Country?

(c)  Collegiate or St. B's?

(d)  PS 321 or Scarsdale?

While unfortunately NYC private schools give families very little time to make up their minds, I do find that much of parents' mental efforts now may be premature.  Very often, families end up with very different choices than what they anticipate. 

So if at all possible, I'd try to wait to think this all through until you have solid information.

When Will NYC Private Schools Finally Tell Me If My Child Got In?

Notification dates are fast approaching.  If your child is applying for regular admission to a NYC private school that's a member of ISAAGNY (almost all elite schools are),  here's the story:

(Note: Avenues School, the newly opening school that is not a member of ISAAGNY, is busy doing its own thing in an attempt to boost its opening enrollment.  So look at their website for their dates.)

Preschool, ongoing/continuing schools

Decisions will be mailed on Feb. 15.  You must make your decision by March 9.

Kindergarten and 1st Grade

Decisions will be mailed on Feb. 10.  You must make your decision by Feb. 17.  (I find this outrageous.  After all the private schools put families through, they then give you a mere week to decide.)

2nd - 8th grade

Decisions will be mailed on Feb. 6.  You must make your decision by Feb. 29, incidentally, Leap Year.

9th - 12th grade

Decisions cannot go out before Feb. 15.  You must make your decision by Mar. 14.  NYC private schools wish to woo admitted high school students: you get a whole month to decide, and you even can come and see the school again.  Nice. 

So as you can see, not much longer to wait for hopefully, acceptance.  Good luck!

Why ERB Prep Will Not Get Your Preschooler Banished from Exclusive Private School Kindergartens

There is an urban myth, kept alive by some in the NYC private schools community, that if you prep your preschooler for the ERB (WPPSI), she will be sussed out by her omniscient ERB tester.  The ERB tester will then write up her score report, using damning language written in a private code, and little Sally will be forever blocked from admission to prestigious Manhattan (or Brooklyn or Riverdale) private school.

Fortunately, it isn't true.

I know this because I have read the ERB score reports of nearly a thousand children.  In recent years, almost 100% (not including the ones from children of  naive parents who call me, bereft, when their unprepped kids flop on the exam) have prepped, either using toys, workbooks, tutoring, or a combination.  Not a single child has been outed.  I worried about one client's child--the tester was unusually explicit about her being oddly familiar with the test materials--who later, somehow, got into a very sought-after downtown private school.

The point is that in 2012 we live at a time when nursery schools themselves often quietly directly or indirectly prep and even sometimes recommend tutors for the test.  The Educational Records Bureau releases its own test prep booklet.  So almost everyone is prepping in one way or another.  Discreetly.

The concept of four year olds prepping for an exam is abhorrent.  But as long as NYC private schools use the ERB as a sorting mechanism--the root of the problem--parents will try to help their children succeed.

Many of my educational consulting clients have liked these materials for ERB prep:

Aristotle Circle ERB Test Prep Workbook

or

Bright Kids ERB Test Prep Workbook

However, other families are opposed to subjecting their kids to test prep workbooks.  Those families prefer to go around the problem: that is, prep their preschoolers in the skills and capabilities the ERB / WPPSI performance section tests rather than specifically working on the test questions themselves.   Many kids and parents have liked the educational toys and workbooks below.

ERB PERFORMANCE TEST PREP KIT

Coding

The Write Start: A Guide to Nurturing Writing at Every Stage, from Scribbling to Forming Letters and Writing Stories 

I Can Draw Animals (Kid Kits)

Melissa & Doug Jumbo Triangular Colored Pencils 24 pack 

Melissa & Doug Triangular Crayons - 24 pack 

Matrix Reasoning

Building Thinking Skills Primary

Early Visual Skills

Colorama Game

Picture Concepts

Same or Different Workbook

Block Design

Block Buddies

Tangoes Jr.

Picture Perfect

Magna Tiles

For more:

Kindergarten Private School Interviews / ERB: Educational Prep Toys?

The 3 Most Common Mistakes People Make When They Write Private School Admissions Essays

For almost fourteen years, I've been reviewing parents' and students' private school admissions essays.  At this point, that's thousands of admissions statements.  But whenever I feel sorry for myself, I have to think about those poor private school admissions officers.  Sure, maybe they ask for it by assigning the questions, but believe me, they get theirs.

For your edification, here are the three most common mistakes I see again and again on private school essays:

1. Showing off.  Clearly, you don't want to be too modest.  But on the flip side, when you make grandiose statements about your child's accomplishments ("Bella knows more about fossils than do many paleontologists") , it can turn the reader off.  Be careful.  You're walking a fine line.
2. Showing rather than telling.  Surely, you've heard this well-known rule for good writing.  It certainly applies to private school essays.  You need to have examples to back up your points.  For example, I had a client this year who wrote that her child is bright, athletic, and good at math.  Do you believe her?  She needs supporting evidence.
3. Writing too much.  You know your child is fascinating.  You might want to read three pages about her.  Unfortunately, your reader has competing interests.  You want to use space efficiently and clearly get across your key selling points.

As one of the longest practicing private school admissions consultants in NYC, I have considerable perspective about what makes parents and children unique in a way that attracts admissions directors.  I am currently accepting Private School Admissions Support clients who will be applying in 2012 for 2013 admission.  To learn more or call 212-712-2228 9am-9pm EST.  Please book early because prime slots in late spring go quickly and every year I have to turn parents away.

For more:

How to Write a Private School Admissions Essay (for Kindergarten, but the Principle Holds True for Older Grades as Well):

 

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.  

These New York City Private Schools are Just for Boys

I get this question all the time.  Here's a list of the all-boys independent schools, ranked, in alphabetical order:

Allen-Stevenson School

Browning School

Buckley School

Collegiate School

Saint David's School

St. Bernard's School

For a directory, look at: NYC Private Boys Schools Contact Info  Note that Saint David's is a Catholic independent school.

Only Collegiate and Browning go all the way from kindergarten to 12th grade. 

NYC Private School Trend Spotter: You're Not the Only One Who Hates Drop Off

Dropping off your child at an elite Manhattan private school every morning may sound like a dream come true, but in actuality may leave something to be desired.  Three possibilities:

1. There could be ear-splitting noise.  Last year, students and parents at Horace Mann Nursery School on East 90th between Park and Madison were the victims of the next door neighbor's need to drill a massive swimming pool in the basement of his mega-townhouse. 
2. You could be underdressed.  Veronique Hyland's New York Times article explains the problem: Curbside at School, a Red Carpet
3. There could be people picketing, getting in the way of your son greeting the headmaster.  According to Peter Lattman of the New York Times, Expansion Plans Divide School and Son of Its Former Headmaster

Each weekday morning, the headmaster of St. David’s School stands at the front door of the all-boys school on East 89th Street, heartily welcoming his students with a smile and firm handshake.

In recent months, he has been joined outside the stately brick building by a husky man with a bushy beard, who greets the boys by chanting a Native American song and banging on a drum; sometimes, he shakes maracas.

To read a fictional account of unpleasant dropping off (and picking up) at a NYC private school that sounds suspiciously like Ethical Culture Fieldston School, try This Beautiful Life, by Helen Schulman.  You can also read about dropping off in the satirical admissions novel Where Does Caitlin Go To School?