Kindergarten Admissions Selectivity?
We'd like to send our toddler to an independent kindergarten. We're considering Head-Royce, The Academy, Redwood Day School, EB, EBI and others. That said, ~500 families showed up for the Head-Royce lower school open house last year (not all for kindergarten). But with only 2 kindergarten classes, I'm curious how competitive/selective Head-Royce is for kindergarten. Assuming it is quite competitive, are there any tips for improving one's chances? Thanks in advance for any input.
Mar 18, 2024
Parent Replies
It's competitive, as are many of the schools listed. Many parents who visit the open house don't ultimately apply - we are a family at one of the schools you listed (not HRS) who visited open houses for all of the schools you listed (and more). We got into all three of the schools we applied to, but we didn't apply at all to HRS because we didn't feel that it would be a good fit for our child or family.
People will say you have a better chance with certain preschools but our child didn't go to a "feeder" preschool or an academic preschool and we have friends whose children went to those "feeder" schools who didn't get into any of the schools they applied to. Honestly, the thing that seems to make a difference - actively partnering with and participating in your child's preschool so that you get a strong recommendation, showing up and being engaged during the application process, and not applying for financial aid if you can afford the school without it (and aren't likely to receive an award anyway). It likely also helps if there is something your family can offer the school that most others can't (e.g., you have a unique skill, are somewhat famous, have access through your job to something, etc.) It's all a little distasteful, but I'm trying to be honest. I really think K admission is more about the family than the child unless your child is really brilliant or has extreme behavior problems that show up during the assessments.
Even then, so much is out of your control - whether a lot of spaces are already taken by siblings, the gender balance of the class, etc. Worst case scenario, your child goes to public school - all of our friends who ended up in that scenario are equally as happy as we are and have spent a lot less money than we have.