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.

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Sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, well known as a financier, started his career in the 1970's as a teacher at Dalton. Charged this month with sex trafficking and conspiracy to traffic minors for sex, Epstein is known as a powerful man about town, consorting with powerful political, royal and entertainment figures. Little known until the Times reported it, is his connection with Dalton.

While Epstein's behavior as a teacher was "noticed", thankfully no former students have reported that he sexually abused them. The Times notes:

None of the female students who spoke to The New York Times in recent days remembered Mr. Epstein making unwanted physical contact with them, and he has not been accused of any crimes related to his time at the school.

But a few students said they had been discomfited by a close relationship he had with one of their female peers, a concern that had escalated so much that one of them had raised the issue then to a school administrator.

In 1976, Dalton terminated Epstein, judging that he was inexperienced and not "up to snuff".

 

Abacus Mom received this great news from Trevor Day School:

Happy Spring!

We are pleased to share that Trevor Day School’s Nursery program continues its exciting growth as a foundational step in our ongoing Nursery–Grade 12 school. We began this program to meet the growing needs of our families and our neighborhood, and we are thrilled to announce the expansion of our Nursery experience with the opening of a second classroom for the 2019–2020 school year. We invite you to share this news with your families...we would love for them to visit and explore Trevor.

Our Nursery program is available to children who will be at least 2.8 years old by September 1st. We offer full-day and half-day enrollment, as well as early drop-off and extended-day options. Trevor Nursery classrooms are play-based and driven by our students’ inquiries. Each is staffed by two expert teachers. We take frequent trips to Central Park and also utilize an outdoor play terrace. Art, Spanish, music, physical education, and library classes are integral parts of every week.

Families can come see us in action! Call 212.426.3355 or email us at LSAdmissions@trevor.org for questions or to schedule a visit. www.trevor.org/nursery

Trevor Day School

Ambitious academics. Engaged students. Balanced lives.

trevor.org

Recently, families have called me with concerns that BASIS Independent Schools, well-regarded private schools in Brooklyn and Manhattan, have just been bought by a China-based investment firm.

The Wall Street Journal covered the story: Parents Voice Concern Over Sale of BASIS Independent Schools.

I asked BASIS for their perspective. Here it is:

Since the opening of the first school in 1998 by Michael and Olga Block, the BASIS school network has grown and expanded.  There are now 37 BASIS Curriculum Schools around the world, including 2 independent schools in New York - BASIS Independent Manhattan and BASIS Independent Brooklyn.

In April 2019, Spring Education Group acquired the five U.S. private BASIS Independent Schools. Spring Education Group provides BASIS Independent Schools with an even greater level of long-term stability -- because of Spring Education Group’s resources, dedication to the mission of providing excellence in education, and its extensive network of schools.  They are committed to maintaining the world-class BASIS Curriculum and high teaching and learning standards for which the BASIS schools have become known.

BASIS Independent Schools will operate as a separate, standalone division of Spring Education Group, led by the same management team that is now running BASIS Independent Schools. The BASIS Curriculum will continue to be managed and supported by the same educators who are experts in the BASIS Curriculum, and who are school leaders within the BASIS Independent School network. This team is committed to ensuring the schools have the support and resources they need.   Parents should rest assured that this ownership change will not change BASIS Independent’s high standards for academic excellence, the BASIS Curriculum, the day-to-day operations of each campus for our students or families, or our bright and passionate faculty and staff.

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.