Private School Student Assessments & Day Visits

[sfomummy]

What should expect for the Private School Student Assessments and day visits? What should we tell the children beforehand?

[citymama]

Recently heard Little & Molligan speak. They said to downplay it as much as possible. That you should tell your child that this is their opportunity to meet adults from the schools and tell you what they think. Better to position as an opportunity for play.

The other thing they said is to always let your child know that you are trying to find the best school for your "family". That resonated w/me because what if our kids really like a school that we don't like or that we don't get into, etc... I felt like it gave us an "out" to say, "well, that wasn't the right school for our family."

Good luck, I stress about the same things too and it's just starting!

[88keys]

The assessments are very straight forward. For most private schools in San Francisco the screening portion is evaluating a readiness for kindergarten which can include everything from writing your name to counting to saying your phone number. It does not matter if your child misses a number or forgets a letter - from what I have been told (and experienced with our child) is they are looking for a child's potential.

Then you have the playdates (some schools combine the screening and playdate into 1 event. they pull kids out to screen).
The playdate mirrors similar activities from kindergarten at that school and many kids think it is fun because they color, eat snack and play games.

One important thing to remember is that these screenings and playdates are a moment in time. Schools do not only look at these 1 or 2 hour visits and make a decision. They are 1 piece of the puzzle. These schools have a lot of information about you from your application essays, interviews, preschool evaluations and these visits.