St. Brendan - how hard is it to get a spot for Kindergarten?

[Irishgal80]

For those of you who either have kids in St. Brendan, or who know something about the school - how hard is it to get a spot at that school?

We are Catholics and also parishioniers at SB. Since they only admit 40 kids per year, and at least half of that goes to siblings, how realistic is it to get a spot at SB?

Do you know what criteria (other than being a donating parish member, and attending mass) they take into consideration when admitting kids? There is no way taht all parishioners get a spot there. So how do they choose between people? Do they take those who donate more?? What else?

Also, does anyone know much about the community of parents at the school? Are they friendly? From the outside, it seems very much like a clique to me, somewhat snooty. But I just don't know.

Our other option would be St. Cecilia, but we are not parishioners there. So probably not much luck.

Would love to hear your feedback.

[kessiesf]

Not a current parent at SB but did attend the tour recently. Ms. Grewal mentioned that 16-18 siblings will be applying this year, which leaves about roughly 20 spots for new families. Also, priority is given to SB parishioners, followed by Catholic non-parishioners then non-Catholics. If you've been a "registered contributing member of SB parish" for at least a year before the start of this school year, then you should be in good shape.

In regards to criteria, there is an applicant screening to make sure the candidates are ready for K. The school also lists some minimum development requirements (http://www.stbrendansf.com/2007%202008%20Master%20Docs/2007%20Web%20Updates/Minimum%20Requirements.doc.pdf) on its site. And as far as community goes, I would imagine that the school's parent community reflects the families in the parish since most school familes are parish members. We have some friends in the parish and wouldn't consider them "snooty" at all.

Since you're a parish member, I would certainly suggest you getting in touch with Ms. Grewal. She seemed very eager to answer any questions applying parents have.

St. Cecilia has similar priorities as SB, but they tend to have space for people outside the parish since they have two classes each grade.

Good luck!