Independent Kindergarten Application Process Questions
Hi Fellow Parents,
We are navigating the private elementary school admissions process in the East Bay as first timers. We decided to apply to private schools late in the game and have generally been feeling unprepared and overwhelmed. We have the applications mostly finished and are starting to think about next steps - the Parent Interviews and virtual student assessments. I didn't think much about this for some of the virtual tours and Q&A sessions, but I have attended almost all of them alone. My partner's job is not very flexible and requires him to be in person during quarantine, and if the session was at night, the only way for me to pay attention and learn anything is if he is watching our two young boys in another room. I can't tell if I'm simply getting googling anxiety, or if the fact that I was the only present is a problem/something I should explain through the next steps of the application process? I will do my best to make sure that he can attend any of the parent interviews, but there is a chance he will have an urgent call out and not be able to make it.
1) Does anyone have general advice for the parent interviews/next steps in the application process?
2) Has anyone been in a similar situation with parent availability? Did you explain it to the admissions teams?
Thanks!
Parent Replies
I'll repeat to you what an admissions director told me: most schools want to know that both parents are on the same page about the particulars of the school, and also about education and child-raising in general. If you state that your partner can't be present but that you are in agreement about your child's education, that should suffice.
If a school pressures you otherwise, or indicates that they can't evaluate your child for admission without SEEING both parents, or has a complicated metric for evaluating your pre-K child that can't be mitigated by a global pandemic, you might ask yourself how good of a fit that school would be for your family. Good luck.
Hi,
Both my kids go to private schools (different schools) and my husband was never able to attend any tour, interview etc. It was impossible with his work, being abroad etc. I explained this and told the admissions team that, although my husband was not attending, he was very much committed to the whole process. It never seemed to be any problem. Good luck!