abacusmom Admissions, Brooklyn Private Schools, Educational Consulting, Kindergarten, Manhattan Private Schools, NYC Private Schools, Private Schools, Riverdale Private Schools, School advisor, Westchester Private Schools

Private School Admissions Support Program for NYC Kindergarten is Full

As usual, Abacus Guide's Private School Admissions Support Program is now sold out for 2014 kindergarten admission.  Please contact New York City's best educational consultant for help with admission to older grades only.  For the time being, we are still accepting clients for middle school and high school admission. If you'd like help fo 2015 kindergarten admission, … Continue reading Private School Admissions Support Program for NYC Kindergarten is Full

abacusmom Admissions, Brooklyn Private Schools, Educational Consulting, Manhattan Private Schools, NYC Private Schools, Private Schools, Riverdale Private Schools

Do New Yorkers Really Have to Pay to Teach Their Children to Play for Private School Playdates?

The New York Post, home of the "crazy rich New Yorker" article--recent examples are New Yorkers who pay disabled people to help them cut the line at Disney World and New Yorkers who pay nannies to fulfill their private school volunteering duties--has a new one today:  Rich parents hire play-date consultants to help kids play better … Continue reading Do New Yorkers Really Have to Pay to Teach Their Children to Play for Private School Playdates?

abacusmom Admissions, Brooklyn Private Schools, Educational Toys, ERB Prep, ERBs, Kindergarten, Manhattan Private Schools, NYC Private Schools, Private Schools, Riverdale Private Schools, Westchester Private Schools

The ERB Explains How to Prep for the ERB

The ERB's booklet, What to Expect on the ECAA, makes fascinating reading. In the booklet, the Educational Records Bureau (ERB) maps out explicitly what is on the WPPSI and WISC (confusingly, also known as the ECAA), revealing to parents the tests' content.  The company goes on to recommend preparation strategies, going so far as to … Continue reading The ERB Explains How to Prep for the ERB

abacusmom Admissions, Brooklyn Private Schools, Manhattan Private Schools, NYC Private Schools, Riverdale Private Schools, Westchester Private Schools

Private Schools Go After Grandparents for Donations

Jennifer Levitz of The Wall Street Journal reports  The New Gift-Givers: Grandparents / Schools Increasingly Target Baby Boomers for Donations Levitz reports: In the 2012-13 school year, 13% of grandparents who were solicited made annual gifts, while a decade ago, grandparents were hardly on schools' radar, according to surveys of members of the National Association of … Continue reading Private Schools Go After Grandparents for Donations

abacusmom Brooklyn Private Schools, Manhattan Private Schools, NYC Private Schools, Private Schools, Riverdale Private Schools

NYC Private Schools Ponder How Best to Appeal to Parents

I received an interesting email today: Dear Emily Glickman, <Name of Consulting Company>, a consulting and research firm specializing in private-independent schools, is conducting a study on behalf of an independent school in New York City. The purpose of the study is to determine how school counselors, education consultants, and college admission officers determine the quality … Continue reading NYC Private Schools Ponder How Best to Appeal to Parents

abacusmom Admissions, Brooklyn Private Schools, ERB Prep, ERBs, Kindergarten, Manhattan Private Schools, NYC Private Schools, Private Schools, Riverdale Private Schools, Westchester Private Schools

Changes to the ERB (WPPSI IV) Test for Admission to NYC Private School Kindergarten and PreK

The ERB changed on April 1st.  If your child is applying to New York City private school kindergarten and to many prekindergartens, you will want to know what the ERB (also known as the WPPSI IV or the ECAA) looks like this year. How much did the ERB change?  Not much.   Two subtests, one verbal … Continue reading Changes to the ERB (WPPSI IV) Test for Admission to NYC Private School Kindergarten and PreK

abacusmom Admissions, Brooklyn Private Schools, Hill Schools, Kindergarten, Manhattan Private Schools, NYC Private Schools, NYC Public Schools, Riverdale Private Schools, Westchester Private Schools, Westchester Public Schools

Kindergarten Redshirting in NYC Got Tougher?

Sarah Gonser has a New York Times article today:  Kindergarten ‘Redshirting’ Gets Tougher in N.Y.C., With Repercussions .  The article confuses me, because holding your child back for public school kindergarten in NYC has always been extremely difficult.  It's only in NYC suburbs and in private schools where parents can easily hold their kids back. According to … Continue reading Kindergarten Redshirting in NYC Got Tougher?

abacusmom Hill Schools, Riverdale Private Schools

Another Article about Horace Mann’s History of Rampant Sex Abuse, This Time in the New Yorker

The New Yorker, the New York publication least likely to publish articles about city private schools,  this week features a shocking and enthralling story:  The Master by Marc Fisher. Fisher, a Horace Mann alumnus, describes in detail the psychological and sexual manipulation practiced for years by an influential and brilliant English teacher, Robert Berman, upon his vulnerable … Continue reading Another Article about Horace Mann’s History of Rampant Sex Abuse, This Time in the New Yorker

abacusmom Admissions, Brooklyn Private Schools, ERB Prep, ERBs, Manhattan Private Schools, Private Schools, Riverdale Private Schools, School advisor

The Kindergarten ERB is Changing April 1st

I've known for over a year that the ERB (WPPSI) is being revamped, but Pearson, the company that constructs the ERB test used for NYC private school admission, hasn't announced when. Finally, Jenny Anderson of the New York Times gives clarity to the issue:  New York City Schools Struggle to Separate Gifted from Merely Well-Prepared The … Continue reading The Kindergarten ERB is Changing April 1st

abacusmom Admissions, Brooklyn Private Schools, Kindergarten, Manhattan Private Schools, NYC Private Schools, Private Schools, Riverdale Private Schools, School advisor, Westchester Private Schools

How to Get Off New York City Private School Wait Lists

Wait listing this year is through the roof.  NYC private schools accept and reject applicants as well as wait list and "priority wait list" them. The best way to find out where your child stands on a private school wait list is to ask.  In my experience, wait lists move, even at the best schools.  … Continue reading How to Get Off New York City Private School Wait Lists