Anyone who has recently gone through the preschool and/or private K application process, or anyone who has updated information on this, can you please share your thoughts/information on the updated preschool ranking in the city? A few years ago when my older DC went to preschool the prestigious ones were 92Y, Brick Church, Episcopal, STMPG, etc. in the UES and West Side Montessori and Park Avenue Christian Day School in the UWS. I must have missed a few but these are what I remember. Has the list changed over the years? And are these still the best in terms of K exmissions? Thanks in advance!
Of the uptown preschools this is still accurate. Chelsea Day and Washington Market are feeders from downtown. DC is at TT and this is majority of the class. i believe REDS, all Souls and Garden House are also represented.
Did you find this list in an old article? It hasn't been Park Ave Christian for many years.
You are right. I probably have always remembered the old name for some reason.
UES: 92 Street Y, Episcopal, Brick Church, STMPG, REDS, and Temple Emanu-El are your TT. All Souls and Garden House -2T
UWS: West Side Montessori, Park Children's Day School
Downtown: Washington Market, Beginnings, First Presbyterian Church Nursery School
I agree with this list!
Did All Souls go downhill? It def used to be one of the top.
Please keep in mind that many of these schools have amazing exmissions due to the large number of legacy families (siblings and parents) and wealth/connections.
Sometimes, it is quite difficult to find a place in a TT ongoing school (if that is your end goal) if you do not fall into one of those categories and are not an URM. Does it happen? Absolutely. Are there far more unconnected families placed at 2T and 3T schools? Also yes.
At my child’s TT preschool, we knew my child’s year that a certain TT ongoing school was only taking specific applicants due to a high count of legacies (I believe there were 7-8) and another TT school was only taking (in addition to another 6-7 legacies) older children of a certain gender - those two schools were automatically out of the running for us because we didn’t fall into the desired categories.
Yes, my child’s preschool is known for having amazing exmissions (and is on your list). But if you look at the number of unconnected, unwealthy (I’m talking about significant, generational wealth), non-legacy, non-URM candidates who gained admission to TT ongoing schools, it’s fewer than five out of 25 or more kids (the remainder of the exmissions were to mostly 2T schools).
Many times, you will be better off looking beyond the TT preschools to places where you won’t have so much competition getting out.
Thanks so much for your generous sharing. Agree that finding a place that fits DC and our family in general is better than focusing on the TTs. Just want to get a sense of the schools before I start the process again.
Having been around this block, I suggest that you don’t go by this. Go with the preschool that you absolutely love and that feels perfect for your dc. If you do that, you will be involved, happy, supported, engaged, etc, and your child will reach his/her potential—- all of which will help your chances much more than being at a so called feeder school.
Agree with this. Thank you!
Same advice, I would go with a solid preschool you love, that fits your family profile and that is close to where you live (as long as you like that area). There are a lot of great schools and these silly lists are useless for most people anyway (they are one dimensional criteria and they game the system). There are also some great schools that start from early age all the way to 8 or even 12 which is great because you do not have to worry with admissions again.
I mostly agree with this, but with the caveat that if you want to go to private K, you should absolutely be at a preschool that has a director with good relationships with the admissions teams at the ongoing schools.
I would also not underestimate the importance of neighborhood for preschool. Basically, because most of the other families are going to schools closest to their home. If you do the same, your DC will have lots of friends in the neighborhood, which has been a blessing for us.
Somewhat unrelated question, but if you have a sibling at TT (that is not a "family school" per se, although I am sure they prioritize siblings in some ways), do you still need to these so-called TT preschools for your younger child if you want to ensure they also get into their sibling's TT? Or can you just go to any neighborhood preschool or even -- gasp -- a daycare and/or 3-K and UPK and just apply from there? Anyone who has done this or know someone who's done something similar?