Strollerderby : preschool admissions

Biggest Family Rip Off: Preschool Applications

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:01:00 GMT

A year ago around this time, we shelled out $50 a pop so preschools could "review" our applications -- which largely consisted of 1-page sheets of paper. Why it costs $50 to take a piece of paper, file it away and completely forget about it, I'll never know, but that's what the going rate was.

Fifty bucks. Ten schools. That shit adds up quickly.

This year, it's getting worse.

A friend recently shelled out $75 for preschool application administration charges in San Francisco, and I'm sure it's even worse elsewhere.

The application processing scam was by far the worst part of the preschool process -- far worse than those annoying orientations in which some mom would invariably kiss a teacher's ass by asking "Do you believe in playtime?" or "Do you have any stats showing which colleges your students went on to?"

Thankfully we were able to get into a school last year, but I feel badly for all those parents in the midst of the preschool process right now. What's your least favorite part?

Preschool Panic in Palo Alto

Amy Kuras — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:01:00 GMT

I must admit to being somewhat mystified by the preschool anxiety parents in more affluent cities face -- and this is really, really an upper-middle class problem.

Especially since most kids whose parents who are affluent and involved enough to have their pick of preschools already have a pretty significant leg up in this culture.

This story from Palo Alto describes some of the hand-wringing parents from there face when choosing a preschool. One local parenting group even developed a “preschool binder” with information and parent reviews of local schools that had a months-long waiting list for parents to even get a good look at it (I work for a website that does the same sort of thing in several cities in the US and Canada, by the by).

Admittedly I may be a slacker mom, but here was how we chose our daughter’s preschool: It was Montessori (I went to Montessori schools through sixth grade and loved it, so I wanted my daughter to go to one); it was affordable; and the kids seemed really, really happy.

And she likes it, and she’s learning to get along with other kids and do cool stuff like write her name and count to 100. But the major reason I wanted her there, and the major argument for preschool at all, is that unlike me preschool teachers are trained to work with young kids, and generally have deep reserves of patience with them that I just don’t have. I’ve got to believe that spending however many mornings a week with people who love to teach young children and know how to do it will be beneficial, no matter what the philosophy or style of the school.

And for God’s sake it won’t matter come college time.

Weekly Check-Up: Your Kid's Personality May Be Set By Preschool

Kelly Mills — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:30:00 GMT

Do you have a shy little one you hope will emerge from his shell? Or a rambunctious child you pray will mellow with age? Well, a new study found that kids' personalities seemed largely set by the time they hit preschool. The researchers divided the kids into three groups: undercontrolled (more aggressive, loud, and impulsive); overcontrolled (shy, withdrawn, and unspontaneous); and resillient (the lucky socially adept ones.) They asked teachers and parents about kids at ages 4, 5, and 6, and then followed the for 19 years. They discovered the resillient kids stayed that way, and the shy ones maintained that trait as well, though they could learn to be more outgoing over time.

However, there was an exception: The undercontrolled kids became more withdrawn, possibly as a response to negative feedback from peers over the years. All did seem to turn out fine though, and having a job in high school helped both under- and overcontrolled folks with aggression. And there is some criticism of the study: One researcher says they should have looked at social class too, because kids from middle and upper class backgrounds tend to be more confident once they develop an awareness of their social standing. But hey, as a shy, withdrawn kid who most people would now characterize as anything but, I believe change is possible for anyone, if only in behavior, not how you feel inside.

Getting Into School -- Ari Gold Style

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:31:00 GMT

It's my job to get our daughter into preschool, and the idea of begging and pleading and shedding tears has me at my wit's end. I just know I'm going to mess it up somehow. Thankfully I've found a way. Ari Gold has shown me the light.

In the latest episode of HBO's Entourage, Gold hires a private detective to find dope on private school director. It may sound over-the-top, but when you're staring at scores of applications and all of them have a space that says, "Father's Occupation" and you just know the next word is going to be "moron," you do what you have to.

Of course, it didn't work for Gold. He ended up shedding tears in the end, and hey, that worked. If my dick doesn't, I'll give it a try.

And as I write this, I'm beginning to wonder whether private detectives are even over the-the-top at all. What did you do -- or what good stories have you heard -- about getting kids into the hottest schools?

SavvySource Takes the Edge off the Preschool Hunt

Patti — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 01:30:00 GMT

I went into my first preschool search pretty blindly, and very ignorant. I was quickly knocked out by the process and blown away by the prices, but I didn't want to end up like the caricature moms of fiction, going crazy trying to get my kid into preschool against all odds. Fortunately I had a friend who had a good line on a school that turned out to be a perfect fit for our family in every way.

Now that we're mulling the possibility of a move, and now that I have two kids of preschool age, I'm once again dipping into the available resources. Instead of a savvy friend, I've got SavvySource in my arsenal: lists of preschools nationwide, with basic contact information. For select cities, SavvySource has detailed profiles for preschools, complete with information about curricula, teacher education levels, facilities, and a million things I never even thought to wonder about, with information provided by the school and by parent surveys.

Getting into preschool shouldn't be harder than getting into college. Anything that simplifies the process is all right by me.

Preschool Search: Uber-Competitive Parents Stop at Nothing to Achieve Admission

Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 17:02:00 GMT

Preschool admissions. It's where the parenting strong are separated from the parenting weak. It's where you dig deep, way down deep inside, and see just what kind of parenting stuff you're made of.

Would you schedule a C-section in order to ensure your child will get one of 5 slots a school offers newborns each month? Would you fill out preschool application forms with an epidural stuck in your back? Would you start calling preschools at 5 weeks pregnant (essentially, as soon as the stick turns blue)? Or phone your desired school twice a day, everyday, for six months? How about sending flowers each week until your child is accepted? Or refusing to leave the preschool building until your child is secured a spot?

You wouldn't do that? Pfffffft. *cough* wusses *cough* Good luck getting your kids into Oxford, say these London parents.