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How should parents choose a nursery school?
Look at several schools in your area to see how you feel about their programs. Can you see your child in the setting? Is it nurturing? Given New York City weather, if you’re going to travel far from home, there should be a really good reason. Ideally, you want it to be within walking distance.
What answer are schools really after with questions about parental involvement?
Some schools welcome parent involvement, others couldn’t care less, and some are parent co-ops where you are a huge part of the program. You should have some sense of how the school functions before you answer that question. I’ve found that busy parents may not be able to do a lot, but they can still visit the classroom.
How do you help parents decide between private and public kindergarten?
We do a workshop at our school where we give them as much information as we can about both. We want them to know what public school they’re zoned for and to become familiar with gifted and talented programs so that they know what’s out there. We stress that parents look at both because we’ve found that any ideas they’ve had before a visit often change. Parents who think they would only go to an independent school change their minds and see that there are some really fine public schools in New York.
What’s your best advice for a family applying to nursery school or kindergarten?
Try to relax and be yourself. I think all the schools are looking for nice parents and nice children. For the application, it’s important to write about your child in a positive way; when you try to get too gimmicky on an application or to make yours stand out, you often run the risk of turning off admissions officers. Be honest and have a sense of humor about your child. Also, given the intensity of New York, you should apply to a number of schools. For kindergarten, I would say eight to ten schools—and that’s including public. And for nursery, five or six.
