choosing a school – Beyond the Brochure

* Update: Since this post was written, many schools now notify families by email or use the Ravenna system for parents to log in to find out the school’s admissions decision.

Here’s a round-up of our some of most popular posts on selecting a school if your child is admitted, what to do if you child is wait-listed, being denied admission and hiring an educational consultant to help get your child off the wait-list. Please note that Porcha Dodson, Beyond The Brochure co-author tells us that schools only use email to send good news acceptance letters. Most schools don’t send wait-list or declined admission emails. Also, we’ve head from several sources that PS#1 Elementary School’s admissions director Andrea Roth, resigned this week.

Waiting For Admissions Letters by Jenny Heitz

Various Types of Admissions Letters by Kim Hamer

Good News: How To Choose

0/X: What’s Next When You Don’t Get In?

Confronting Rejection: When Your All Isn’t Enough

Tips For If Your Child Is Wait-Listed

Hiring An Educational Consultant To Go From Wait-Listed To Accepted

Choosing A School: Every School Tells A Story Part 1

Choosing A School: Every School Tells A Story Part 2 by Jenny Heitz

How Could Choosing A School Be So Hard? What I Did/Did Not Expect About The Willows School

My Girl!

Your child got into one of more school. Great news! But, choosing a school is much more difficult than you imagined. Why?

Rumors abound. School X is very academic. School Y is for kids who aren’t very academic. School Z has too many celebrity families. And so on and on and on…

If your head is spinning trying to decide where to send your child, here are a few things I’ve learned about our school, The Willows, after almost 5 years as a parent there:

The Willows is more academic than I thought it would be
The Willows has more of an emphasis on sports that I envisioned
The Willows’ curriculum is integrated and amazing
The technology resources at The Willows are cutting-edge
The Willows is great for both my kids (who are very different)
The Willows has a some great families we’ve become friends with (I didn’t expect this)
The Willows has inspired my kids to love learning, even if they don’t always love every subject (like drama)
The Willows is small enough so that the head of school, Lisa Rosenstein, knows every child and every family
The Willows’ teachers are fabulous (patient, enthusiastic, nurturing and inspiring). There are two teachers per class.
The Willows does not emphasize standardized testing i.e. ERB or ISEE
The Willows’ practice of looping (keeping the same class and teachers for 2 years) worked extremely well for both my kids
The Willows has bullies just like every other school. It’s how the school deals with them that matters and The Willows teachers are adept at handling this issue.
The Willows’ curriculum is smart and well thought-out ( I am constantly amazed!)

Does what I’ve said mean that everything is always perfect? No. And it won’t be wherever you send your child. There can definitely be rough patches. After all, your child is involved. But, you know your child and let that be your guide when choosing a school.

We cover the different types of school (traditional, developmental, etc.) and what to look for when choosing a school in our book.

Tag: choosing a school

Waiting, Types of Letters, Admitted, Wait-Listed or Shut-Out: We’ve Got It Covered

How Could Choosing A School Be So Hard? What I Did (And Did Not) Expect About The Willows School