Berkeley Parents Network: Preschools That Prepare Children for Private School

Berkeley Parents Network

Preschools That Prepare Children for Private School

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > Preschools > Preschools That Prepare Children for Private School

Is a less-known preschool a liability when applying to private school?

Is a less-known preschool a liability when applying to private school?

February 2004

We are looking for a Montesorri preschool for the fall for our daughter who will be 3. We've seen quite a few and have liked many of them. One we're particularly excited about is Garden Day Montessori ... One of our concerns in that we're considering private elementary schools for our kids and wonder if the fact that our kids will have gone to a less known pre-school will be a problem.

While I am not do know much about Garden Day Pre-school, I want to reassure you about preschool selections relative to private school admissions. I was the Director of Admission at the Bentley School...where people often assume that the preschool you are applying from matters. It doesn't! (We once fielded a phone call from the dad of a six WEEK old girl wanting to know which preschool he should enroll her in to best insure her acceptance to Bentley! After a long conversation, the punchline was, ''Sir, can your daughter hold her head up yet?'')

Please know that the private schools do not care about which preschool your child attends. The most important aspect of the admission process is whether our school is a good match for your child and family. Certainly there are preschools whose programs are similar in philosophy and environment to particular elementary schools...and therefore are obviously good matches...but I promise you that how well known a preschool is, does not affect admission to schools later on.

The best way to optimize chances for admission to private schools is to choose a preschool experience that is ideal to your child's interests and play/learning style and your family's needs. A child who has loved their preschool and had positive school/social exposures there, is predestined to do well (and be admitted) at other schools after they've grown up a bit.

Wanda Stewart

July 2001

For those parents who's children attend either Head-Royce, Bentley or Redwood Day (and have attended from an early age, preferably kindergarten, but possibly 1st grade)... what preschools/kindergartens did your child/children go to (assuming you were in the area)? Did you feel they were prepared for this particular private school? Are there areas where you felt they could have been better prepared? We're finding the preschool decision a difficult one to make, especially since there are so many to choose from - and looking ahead, fairly certain that we want our children to attend private school(K-12), those options seem to narrow considerably. We hope to make the best possible decisions regarding education from the very start. Any advice/feedback is greatly appreciated!

Our daughter goes to Head Royce and the most important thing I can tell you about preschool is don't sweat it. It's really irrelevant. The schools aren't looking for children who are "prepared" in any way. Just pick a preschool where the staff is loving and competent and the kids look like they are having fun Ayelet

My son Jesse is going into 2d grade at Redwood. He was admitted as a K'r. His preschool was a small family day care known as Small Change, in Oakland. Unfortunately, it has closed. Jesse was plenty prepared, as the preschool had a good academic component. Jesse, as fate would have it, is a highly focused little kid who loved to work on art projects or letters, so preparation really wasn't an issue. What was key, I think, is that he learned social skills and group dynamics (he's an only child), learned to like learning, and had early training in numbers and letters and shapes and colors and such. Honestly, I don't think the choice of pre-school is going to make much difference. There's such an oversupply of kids relative to the seats in schools that it's a seller's market. One headmaster told us candidly that after deleting the one third of the applicants they didn't want (not ready, too young, too active, too passive), accepting the few they obviously did (multi-lingual and doing calculus at age four) they really didn't have much basis for selecting amongst the rest. Criteria such as how many from which community, diversity (besides race and gender), parents' backgrounds and other non-academic factors were used. If you think it matters, tho, just call the admissions folks at the schools and ask them. At Redwood, BTW, they have had a pre-K class that is the feeder for the K class (there were only 3 slots for boys when we applied). But I believe that is being phased out this year or next. You might want to check. --wheaton

I'd focus far more on where my child would be happy and successful than where might possibly be a feeder for a private school. A happy and successful child will much more likely be successful in the admissions process than one who is in a place simply because their parents believe that it will assist them in gaining admittance into a prestigous private school.

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