I have a kid in his last year of nursery school, or Pre-K. WTF? Some of you are asking yourselves, "Last year of Preschool? How many years of preschool are there?" Well, probably just one if you live anywhere but here (we do three). My sister sent me this video. It is a trailer for a documentary called Nursery University and at 2:40 long it gives you just a taste of what applying for Pre-K is really like here (I don't need to see the movie, I lived it). Yes, I did all this crazy shit too (although I did not apply to the 8 schools recommended to me and only applied to 3, two of which my son was accepted and one of those being our first choice). Go on, shake your head in disbelief, I still do. So here is a little taste of my own personal hell.....
And this year we apply to Kindergarten (that's right, apply). It gets even crazier. In fact my son just took the Stanfor-Binet 5 Intelligence Test yesterday and will be taking the OLSAT (Otis-Lennon School Ability Test) in January. All this to asses if he is "gifted and talented" enough to get into a more advanced program for KINDERGARTEN. We will not however be taking the ERB test (Educational Records Bureau) since it applies only for private school and at 30K a year tuition I think I'll take a pass. Then there is the lottery to get into the charter school and hoping if all else fails there is a seat at our zoned school, because some of the other schools in our district are overcrowded. OH! Dual Language (DL) of course must be considered since my son went to a Spanish immersion Pre-K and my husband speaks the language, but that is a separate application that needs to be applied for if I get into a DL school.....Is your head spinning yet? Cuz mine is....
9 comments:
Ha Small world once again. My friends are the couple at :47 in. I think he may have been the sound editor on this project as well.
Crazy, insane! But you have to do what you have to do, right? I'm outside of DC, and we typically do 2-3 yrs. preschool here too. However, no tests, etc. to get into a preschool, only assessments to place the kids properly in kindergarten. Good luck to you!
I've seen the movie and have a friend about to start the process for her 2-year-old! Good luck with the Kindergarten applications. Only in New York, right?
I remember watching an episode of Law and Order where some mucky muck rich lady had to move OUT of Manhattan because her little kid didn't get into the #1 Kindergarten school because she could no longer be in that social circle with her kid attending another school. YEESH!
Hmmm. That's nutso. I actually got asked yesterday if I had started researching schools yet for Moana. I was like, "Um, she's not even TWO?!?"
That is sooo crazy! I can't even imagine how stressful that must be!
Are you sure he's applying for kindergarten and not college? ;-)
ack! think i'll enjoy new york and skip the kid thing for now! i'm going to give you a ring tomorrow afternoon to see if you're still up for meeting, ok?
I don't succeed in watching the video and I am sure to have missed something of interesting. Preschool and school, only memories for this old runner now grandpa of the future flanker of the italian rugby team.
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