Anne Simon is wonderful my co-author and step-mom. With decades of experience as a head of school and admissions director, here she’s highlighted 3 tips to help you get ready for the parent interview, an essential part of the L.A. private school admissions process at many schools.
Preparing for a parent interview is much easier if you follow a few simple steps:
1) Review the website of the school you are visiting on the day before the interview. You’d be amazed what you might see that’s important and that you had not remembered or noticed before.
2) Review any notes you may have made about your tour experience of that school. Remember that this is a chance to zero in on that school and not be thinking about the many others you are considering. Be ready to talk about specific programs or attributes you like about that school!
3) Review your Family Message and pick out a few key points where you see that the principles of the school (philosophy, curriculum, campus design, teaching approach, community feel) are in alignment with what you have written in your message, either about your child or about what you want for your family in general. Once you have both done this, take 1/2 hour and have a conversation that focuses specifically on this school and how it would serve your family. Also discuss how, specifically, you would want to be involved there. Once you have done these things, you are good to go – don’t worry about it – you will be great!
Remember, it does require a bit of compartmentalizing in order to not be thinking and/or comparing one school to another, but it is important to stay in the moment and trust yourselves. You have much to offer any school, and your child is a bright and exciting student who will bring joy to any classroom where he or she feels safe and seen.
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Great and helpful post. Thank you!