All anecdotal reports suggest that this was the hardest year in recent memory for Manhattan, Brooklyn and Riverdale private school kindergarten and pre-kindergarten admission. Reports of shut-outs abound, even at the most prestigious Manhattan nursery schools, with many angry and disappointed parents. (See UrbanBaby for written evidence.)
With roughly 700 elite kindergarten seats available at the most competitive schools, everyone who fails to score one picks between what many consider a rock and a hard place.
- Paying $40,000 annually for a private school that isn’t their ideal choice.
- Going public, and dealing with increased testing, test prep, teacher monitoring, class size and budget cuts.
- Moving to the suburbs, and still dealing with many of the same public school problems.
I am looking forward to seeing the actual admissions and ERB test taking numbers, which normally come out around this time of year.