NYC Private Schools

NOW is the Time: NYC Private School Admissions Consulting... If your child will be going through the NYC private school application process for 2020 Manhattan, Brooklyn, Riverdale or Westchester private school admission, now is your time to get started getting help.

This is your family's chance to work with Emily Glickman, one of NYC's most experienced and respected private school consultants. Emily has been featured in every major New York publication as well as many from around the world. In her twenty years in practice, Emily has been trusted by thousands of educated, distinguished New Yorkers and countless relocating families from around the US and the globe.

For 2018-2019 admission more parents than ever wanted to book with Abacus Guide; we had to turn many families away. For 2019-2020, help your child get into NYC's best private schools by signing up early.  Now is the Time.

Call today 212-712-2228 or email best NYC private school consultant.

Our friends at TestingMom.com sent Abacus Mom this top AABL guide for students and parents.

The AABL is an iPad-administered exam for children ages 4 through 6 for admissions into gifted and talented programs. With fun graphics covering verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, early literacy and mathematics, the screening process is engaging for your young child.

The test itself assesses your child’s verbal and quantitative reasoning, early literacy, and mathematics skills. The scores are then compared to other children taking the test at the same level throughout the United States, giving an accurate level where your child is performing.

What specific skills are covered, you may be asking?  For quantitative reasoning, the following list gives you a clear picture:

• • counting, adding and subtracting
  • patterning, sequencing, ordering, classifying and comparing
  • solving mathematical problems, understanding concepts of relativity, directionality, time and measurement

For verbal reasoning, your child will be tested on his or her ability to tune in, understand, and reason using language they hear or pictures they see.

Finally, for early literacy, your child will be tested on the following:

• • vocabulary
  • Identifying numbers, letters, shapes
  • letter sounds
  • rhyme and alliteration
  • breaking words into syllables
  • phonological awareness
  • knows books are read from left to right, top to bottom, squiggles on page represent letters that make sounds that combine to make words
  • retelling stories
  • knows stories have a beginning, middle and end
  • creatively making up stories based on pictures in a book

The AABL test is administered by the ERB at specific test sites.  The testing will occur on a one on one basis for a child entering preschool. For a child entering kindergarten, it will be five students and one proctor.  For first grade, it will be six students and one proctor.

For more info, go to TestingMom.com.

Our friends at TestingMom.com sent Abacus Mom this top ISEE guide for students and parents.

The Independent School Entrance Exam, or the “ISEE”, is an achievement and reasoning test that is used to evaluate children around the country for private school entry. The ISEE was developed by the Educational Records Bureau (ERB), as an important part of their admissions criteria. It is worth mentioning that although the ISEE scores are an important component of the student’s application, additional factors such as school records and interviews also determine entry into a school.

You may be wondering which grade levels qualify to sit for this exam. Currently, the ISEE can be given to students in 2nd grade through high school. It is offered to students at four different levels with each level consisting of four sections plus an optional section.

The four levels are as follows:

Primary- Students entering grades 2-4

Lower- Students entering grades 5-6

Middle- Students entering grades 7-8

Upper- Students entering grade 9-12

The ISEE has five sections (Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Math Achievement, Reading Comprehension as well as an optional writing exercise). Except for the primary level, all ISEE levels include five sections. The primary level only has reading, math, and optional writing sections. Students entering 2nd grade will be provided with an auditory (listening) section, as well.

The next question you may be asking yourself is both “where” and “how” is the ISEE administered? Your student has a few options! A student has the choice of taking part in “large group testing” at school, or “small group testing” that is offered at a variety of testing offices. Currently the test is offered in both an online and paper-based format (The primary level is only available online). Both formats contain the same number of questions, as well as the same timing.

For more info, go to TestingMom.com.

We were gratified to receive this note this week from a client:

Emily Glickman, is the best, most grounded, no bullshit school consultant placement person in NYC. I trust her.

Abacus Mom received this great info today about Lawrence Woodmere Academy, a rising star for NYC private school students as well as Long Island students seeking a top private high school.

Lawrence Woodmere Academy, founded in 1912,  is an elite College Preparatory School. Lawrence Woodmere Academy is private, non-sectarian, and enrolls grades Pre-K through 12. We are proud to offer a premier college preparatory program unique to the south shore of Long Island. Our program is dedicated to helping students reach their full potential while preparing them for the global world which awaits them.

Our small class sizes create an environment where students receive individualized attention, are continually challenged, and can use critical thinking skills in all subject areas. We educate our students in a supportive academic environment while nurturing their personal talents and abilities.

• • 5:1 Student- to-Faculty Ratio (Small Class Sizes)
  • Ability Based Groupings
  • STEAM Education
  • Global Scholars Certificate
  • 1:1 Four-Year College Guidance Program
  • 100% Graduation Rate and Matriculation to College
  • No Mandated New York State Testing Including Regents
  • Affordable Private School Education

Prime Location and Facilities:

• • Located in an affluent suburban neighborhood
  • 10+ acre campus
  • 18 miles from New York City
  • 3 blocks from the Long Island Railroad
  • 7 miles from John F. Kennedy Airport
  • Dining Commons
  • Historical Theater
  • Art Studio
  • Athletic Fields
  • Summer Camp

We invite you to come for a visit and learn more about the wonderful opportunities a Lawrence Woodmere Academy education can offer your family. Email us today at admissions@lawrencewoodmere.org

Lawrence Woodmere Academy

336 Woodmere Blvd.

Woodmere, NY 11598

516-394-1883

NYC private schools 2019 news? Here is a summary of some important stories.

Fieldston

After Racist Video Surfaces, Private School Students Protest With Overnight Lock-in

Poly Prep

Blackface Video Has Elite New York Private School in an Uproar

Spence

The Private School vs. the Radical Priest

NYC Schools

NYC's elite private schools are richer than ever

William Rick Singer is the college consultant who helped some rich and famous people cheat their way into elite colleges. Singer's "side door method" helped those unable to scale the ivy walls via merit (front door) or donations, influence and connections (back door). The San Francisco Chronicle concisely sums up Singer's modus operandi:

 

* Administrators of college entrance exams such as the SAT and ACT were bribed to allow third parties to pose as students or correct their answers after they had finished taking the tests.

* College coaches were bribed to designate students as athletic recruits, regardless of their ability to play the sport.

* Third parties took classes instead of the actual students and earned grades for them. The federal complaint describes an incident in which a parent was offered a stand-in for their child to take an online course.

* Students submitted college applications with fake awards and athletic activities as well as fraudulent exam scores and grades.

* The bribery payments were laundered through a bogus charity.

In my twenty years in practive, have I heard of "side door" methods being used for elite NYC private school admissions? Fortunately, never.

However, unsurprisingly, wealthy and connected parents sometimes have a significant advantage in their children's admission, whether to college or to private school. Innumerable press articles have been written on this subject, none more than in the last week or so.

Also, being brought to light is the huge advantage that athletes enjoy in college admissions. One example from the Wall Street Journal:

 

At Harvard University, which doesn't award athletic scholarships, the admission rate for recruited athletes was 86%, and 34% for applicants who had at least one parent attend the school, compared with 6% for people who were neither.