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Admissions

Too Young for School

by NYC Private Schools on March 9, 2010

One of the most important decisions we make for our children occurs before the first day of school. When will we send them is a question that is more important than most parents give it credit for. A quick and reflexive response detailing chronological age is not an appropriate response. Commonly, there is almost a year of allowable time between the youngest and the oldest in a grade, but for the children in the earliest of grades, that year is a gigantic difference in the social and emotional abilities of a child.

Starting School Too Young?

For public schools in New York, the child must turn 5 by December 31st of the entering school year. This inevitably means, however, that children born in very late December, who may be on the cusp of the mental maturity to handle a long school day, are put in a position of keeping up with their older peers. They start young and may have to struggle emotionally and socially to keep up.

For ISAAGNY NYC Private Schools, the cut off for admissions is earlier:

Most schools have a birthday cutoff. The purpose of a birthday cutoff is to ensure the proper range in age for students in a particular group, depending on the age level and educational approach. For example, many ISAAGNY schools that start at the kindergarten level have a September 1 cutoff. This means that a child must be 5 years old by September 1 of the kindergarten year. A child should not apply to a school if he/she does not meet the cutoff date.

If you have questions about when your child should start school, remember that there are many unique factors that you as a parent will be able to recognize. Independence, self-confidence and interaction with other children are all huge indicators of readiness to learn. If your child was pushed into school “too early,” their understandable difficulties can easily lock them into a pathway of academic under achievement at school and may very well follow them throughout their formative years.


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Rejection Blues for NYC Private School Families

by Toby Glick on March 3, 2010

Toby GlickNow that the NYC private school acceptance and rejection letters have been mailed out, some parents are thrilled and relieved and some are sorely disappointed. The children may not know or care what school they’ll be attending, but they are also feeling the effects of their success or failure to get into the right school. While some children are basking in their parents’ approval, others no doubt feel that they have let their parents down. Parents need to be aware that children are highly sensitive to their parents’ moods and are listening even when they don’t seem to be.

In the pressure cooker of NYC private school admissions, it may seem that failing to be accepted to a top school will have a tremendously negative impact on a child’s future, but a child’s success is not written in stone at this age. What can have a damaging long term effect, however, is a child who feels that they are not good enough and can’t please their parents. Given their age, they may also feel that they are the cause of some other problems that the family is perhaps experiencing.

It is important for parents to be especially loving, accepting and encouraging at this time and to be alert to any unusual signs of stress in their children. If a child expresses any fears about their schools (don’t forget they’ve been coached, tested, interviewed) they should be reassured that they will go to a good school which they’ll love.

And they probably will love the school they go to. In addition, they may ultimately do even better academically than they would in a more selective school. There is a body of research called the Big Fish Little Pond Effect which has shown that bright children in very selective educational placements often have less academic self esteem and lower academic achievement than similar children in less competitive educational settings. In short, it’s better to be a Big Fish in a Small Pond than a Small Fish in a Big Pond.

About the Contributor: Toby Glick, Founder and President of ParentConfidante Special Needs Consulting, is a regular contributor to the NYC Private Schools Blog in the area of families with special needs.


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Choices in Private School Admission

March 2, 2010

Having options is a basic factor in our society and having and selecting between your NYC Private School options is important even down to the very last minute of your decision. If your child has received an acceptance from their Top Choice school then there probably isn’t too much of a decision left. [...]

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NYC Private School Application Rate News

February 28, 2010

For the many parents with students applying to NYC Private Schools for the upcoming 2010-2011 school year, there are many News Stories and articles talking about the decrease in students applying to Private Schools all around. At it simplest, this means less competition in schools who have a stable seat offering that has always [...]

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Finding Haitian Students a Place in NYC Schools

February 21, 2010

There have been so many reports and wonderful stories about courage and survival in Haiti after the devastating earthquake that many longed for the good news in stories. Many felt that the good news was found in the stories of those children who made it to NYC to live with relatives and friends and [...]

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Crowding in the NYC School System

February 5, 2010

There are many factors that have gone into creating the current school availability crisis in NYC Schools and crowding in the schools seems to be one of the biggest obstacles to overcome.
Some of the reasons for availability shortages in NYC Schools are

More children. The biggest single reason is that more families are [...]

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The 4 Ps in Private School Tours

January 24, 2010

A tour of your child’s potential NYC Private Schools can give you the opportunity to stand apart from the rest of the application crowd, in every way possible. You can make a wonderful and lasting impression of your self and your family, or you can make a very bad and unfortunately lasting impression of [...]

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Moving to NYC and Choosing Schools

January 20, 2010

If your family will be relocating to the NYC area in the near future, securing the right spot for your child’s NYC Private School education will most likely be one of your top priorities.
NYC is an amazing city in which to raise a family. It offers a diverse sea of cultures and [...]

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Private Schools and The Real Child

January 17, 2010

School interviews and parent essays are just some of the ways in which a clearer picture of your child is brought into focus for the school admissions staff. The best of the NYC Private Schools will adhere to the policy that scores do not mean everything. Just because a child scores in the [...]

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Legacy Discussions Continue

January 13, 2010

At a popular NYC spot, a group of parents had gathered for some good food, good drinks a little grown up time. Because all four sets of parents have young children, however, the topic eventually turned to NYC Private Schools. Because two of the parents in the group had themselves graduated from NYC [...]

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